Legal Implications of Social Media and the Hiring Process
MBA 610
Final Paper
Legal Implications of
Social Media and the Hiring Process
Tammy Rider
October 17, 2012
Social media has become one of the most important tools in business practices. Companies can advertise their services and products for nothing or next to nothing, network with other businesses, generate new business, connect with their customers, and provide a valuable research tool. It has changed the face of business as we know it. With this wonderful innovation comes responsibility. Employers and employees alike must face new rules and laws associated with their social media practices. One such practice that has become important in the business world is the use of social media during the hiring process. Some companies even go so far as to request job applicants for their username and passwords for such sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Where do the rights of employers and the rights of employees fit into this new high tech world? The legal system faces new challenges every day regarding this relatively young business quandary. Where should the lines of privacy be drawn? How much social media information should an employer be permitted to use during the screening process for hiring a new employee?
It has just recently come to the media’s attention that some employers ask their job applicants for their Facebook login information and password. However, the reality is that employers have been using social media to investigate these applicants for years. In 2011, Reppler, a social media monitoring service, conducted a survey of 300 hiring professionals to learn if, when, and how they are using social media to screen job applicants. The study found that 91% of recruiters or hiring managers use social networking sites to screen prospective employees. Out of these recruiters and hiring managers, 69% revealed that they have denied employment to a job applicant due to something they found on an applicant’s social
Final Paper
Legal Implications of
Social Media and the Hiring Process
Tammy Rider
October 17, 2012
Social media has become one of the most important tools in business practices. Companies can advertise their services and products for nothing or next to nothing, network with other businesses, generate new business, connect with their customers, and provide a valuable research tool. It has changed the face of business as we know it. With this wonderful innovation comes responsibility. Employers and employees alike must face new rules and laws associated with their social media practices. One such practice that has become important in the business world is the use of social media during the hiring process. Some companies even go so far as to request job applicants for their username and passwords for such sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Where do the rights of employers and the rights of employees fit into this new high tech world? The legal system faces new challenges every day regarding this relatively young business quandary. Where should the lines of privacy be drawn? How much social media information should an employer be permitted to use during the screening process for hiring a new employee?
It has just recently come to the media’s attention that some employers ask their job applicants for their Facebook login information and password. However, the reality is that employers have been using social media to investigate these applicants for years. In 2011, Reppler, a social media monitoring service, conducted a survey of 300 hiring professionals to learn if, when, and how they are using social media to screen job applicants. The study found that 91% of recruiters or hiring managers use social networking sites to screen prospective employees. Out of these recruiters and hiring managers, 69% revealed that they have denied employment to a job applicant due to something they found on an applicant’s social
Cited: (1) Swallow, Erica, “How Recruiters Use Social Networks to Screen Candidates”, October 23, 2011, http://mashable.com/2011/10/23/how-recruiters-use-social-networks-to-screen-candidates-infographic. (2) http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf (3) http://epic.org/privacy/workplace/