Pre-Employment Screening and Social Networking: a Legal and Ethical Analysis Essay Example
Pre-Employment Screening and Social Networking: A Legal and Ethical Analysis
Currently, state and federal lawmakers are playing catch up in the battle of privacy and technology when it comes to private life in the public online environment. The Associated Press called nationwide attention to the subject when it published a report on an incident in 2011 in which an employer had required password access to an applicant's Facebook account. As law suits associated with Facebook password requests and employee surveillance arise, legislators are scrambling to introduce regulations and legislation to protect employees. In April 2012, the Social Networking Online Protection Act, or SNOPA, was introduced in Congress by Representative Eliot Engel of New York and Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. If passed, SNOPA would "prohibit current or potential employers from requiring a username, password or other access to online content” according the Engel’s website (“Rep. Engel Seeks to Protect Personal Online Content”, 2012). SNOPA would also prohibit employers, schools, and universities from demanding such access in order to discipline, discriminate or deny employment, or punish them for refusing to volunteer the information.
The rapid growth of social media has outpaced the courts and legislation. Information that individuals post onto social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace is being used by a growing number of recruiters, employers, and potential employers to seek additional information on the after-work behavior of employees and applicants. Organizational and human resource management practices have not kept pace with the changing use and abuse of social networking websites used for job searches, background checks and employee surveillance. Managers and business owners are more frequently turning to internet searches and social networking to investigate employees and prospective employees, potentially turning up more personal information than they
Currently, state and federal lawmakers are playing catch up in the battle of privacy and technology when it comes to private life in the public online environment. The Associated Press called nationwide attention to the subject when it published a report on an incident in 2011 in which an employer had required password access to an applicant's Facebook account. As law suits associated with Facebook password requests and employee surveillance arise, legislators are scrambling to introduce regulations and legislation to protect employees. In April 2012, the Social Networking Online Protection Act, or SNOPA, was introduced in Congress by Representative Eliot Engel of New York and Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. If passed, SNOPA would "prohibit current or potential employers from requiring a username, password or other access to online content” according the Engel’s website (“Rep. Engel Seeks to Protect Personal Online Content”, 2012). SNOPA would also prohibit employers, schools, and universities from demanding such access in order to discipline, discriminate or deny employment, or punish them for refusing to volunteer the information.
The rapid growth of social media has outpaced the courts and legislation. Information that individuals post onto social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace is being used by a growing number of recruiters, employers, and potential employers to seek additional information on the after-work behavior of employees and applicants. Organizational and human resource management practices have not kept pace with the changing use and abuse of social networking websites used for job searches, background checks and employee surveillance. Managers and business owners are more frequently turning to internet searches and social networking to investigate employees and prospective employees, potentially turning up more personal information than they