Employers Beware: What you need to know before checking the applicants Facebook page
As tempting as it may be to check an applicant’s Facebook profile as part of the screening process, there are some legal issues you should be aware of prior to doing so. First of all, a Facebook profile includes more than just work-related information. It could contain information about a person’s age, religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, and associations. Making yourself privy to such information prior to hiring someone puts you at risk for a discrimination claim. If you wouldn’t ask for this information during an interview, you probably shouldn’t be collecting it from a social media site. If you are only checking Facebook profiles of those applicants who have profiles, you are treating your applicants differently. The overabundance of personal information on one candidate may cloud your judgment where it is not an issue with the candidate who does not have a profile. Facebook recently indicated that asking for a user’s password is a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. There are also several U.S. states that are considering legislation that would ban this practice.
With the proliferation of social media sites such as blogs, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and their increasing prominence in the business realm, it is not surprising that employers have begun to access the information posted on these sites in the course of conducting background checks on prospective employees. It is not a good practice, however.
Employers Beware: What you need to know
July 9, 2012 by kimberlyhouser
In the eyes of the law 
My mother has always warned me about my Facebook profile because today, it seems like a primary means of obtaining information for possible future employees. I think if a person has their profile set to private, nobody should be allowed to specially obtain information from that person’s page because that person is subject to bias whether they are conscious of it or not, and it does seem slightly discriminatory because not everyone has a Facebook. I am curious of the debate over this when it applies to colleges looking at possible future student’s pages. I have heard that it is a pretty popular thing now among colleges. Quite frankly, I am human and my Facebook profile page is far from perfect. Facebook functions as a social media, not a means for obtaining information from people who for the most part, are probably not aware that they are being watched and scrutinized through this social media. It makes me a little uneasy that this is being done, but not something I am very concerned with.
I also just assumed that employers are in the clear on checking an employee’s online life as a background check. For example, I thought the purpose of LinkedIn is for employees to look more employable. I never heard about an employer asking an employee for their Facebook password, but that does sound very illegal to me.
I think it is good advice to leave the applicants Facebook page alone, not because I have anything to hide on my page, but because there are several things on there that you can’t unsee, so as far as remaining unbias in an interview, it would put a great strain on your skills of being level headed. But to be devil’s advocate, if there is something that were to help you get the job on the page, and the employer saw it, should it remain out of the interview until brought in but the applicant? Some interesting thoughts considering the fact that Facebook is very public place.
I personally have a facebook and never post anything to personal on my page because I was under the impression that employers can see it, without any questions. Also, whatever goes on the internet never comes down. With that being said, after reading your blog on this I am more informed and I totally agree that if they are going to check one persons facebook page, they have to check everyones and not everyone has a facebook page. Not only do some people not have facebook pages, but also we need to be aware that people who are applying for a career job may deactivate their facebook page during the hiring period so that the potential employer can’t access it. It is highly wrong for us to get a position based on information about us, such as sex, race, religion, all of which you stated because a future employer “stalked” our facebook page.