Should employers be allowed to ask job applicants for the logins and passwords to their social network site profiles such as Facebook as part of employment background checks? The answer to this question may involve the next frontier of online privacy, suggests the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), after the Maryland Department of Corrections (DOC) asked a job candidate for his Facebook login information as part of a background check. (more…)

By Thomas Ahearn, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News Editor

A recent article on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) website – ‘Employers Tread a Minefield’ – warns employers about “tripping over legal potholes in social media” if they choose to fire people over alleged social media infractions as more employees and job applicants access popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

While job seekers and employees have been warned that what they post on popular social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter during their private time could come back to haunt their public careers, employers are now increasingly facing questions about their own policies regarding social media usage that outlines what is, and what is not, appropriate.

Due to the fact that these social network sites are a virtual treasure trove of personal information about employees and job applicants, the WSJ article cautions employers about the potential for litigation over social media use of employees, citing several legal cases as examples.

• A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge – in the federal agency’s first ‘social media complaint’ – will soon consider whether a medical transportation company illegally fired a worker in Connecticut after she criticized her boss on Facebook (UPDATE: Connecticut Facebook Firing Settlement Talks in Works).
• Workers in New Jersey sued a restaurant company when they were dismissed after managers accessed a private Myspace page the employees set up to chat about work.
• A Silicon Valley company was sued twice for comments an anonymous blogger (who was also an attorney for the company at the time) made about two lawyers and their patent-infringement suit against the company.
• A former Georgia high school teacher has sued the local school district claiming that she was forced to resign her position over photos on Facebook that showed her drinking alcohol during a vacation in Europe.

While information about job applicants and employees found on social media may seem tempting to employers, viewing such information could lead to issues of discrimination, privacy, and authenticity and accuracy if a person is a victim of “cyber slamming.”

Yet, despite these dangers, employers seem intent on using social media for screening. A 2009 survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers conducted by leading job networking site CareerBuilder.com found nearly half of employers – 45 percent – used social networking sites to research candidates. The survey also revealed that 35 percent of employers rejected job applicants based on what was uncovered on social networking sites. Of these 35 percent:

• 53 percent cited provocative/inappropriate photographs or information.
• 44 percent cited content about drinking or using drugs.
• 35 percent cited bad-mouthing of previous employers, co-workers or clients.
• 29 percent cited poor communication skills.
• 26 percent cited discriminatory comments.
• 24 percent cited misrepresentation of qualifications.
• 20 percent cited sharing confidential information from a previous employer.

Experts quoted in the WSJ article say the best defense against legal action for employers is to establish a social media policy and train employees about the policy, something that experts estimate that fewer than half of U.S. companies have done. In the meantime, the amount of legal action resulting from employer missteps in social media is likely to rise.

The issue of using social network sites such as Facebook to screen job candidates increasing the legal risk for employers was the Number 6 Background Screening Trend for 2011 for 2011. For a complete list of the Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Fourth Annual ‘Top Ten Trends in Background Screening’ for 2011, visit http://www.esrcheck.com/Top-Ten-Trends-In-Background-Screening-2011.php.

In addition, Lester Rosen, safe hiring expert and founder and President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR),  a background check company accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), recently participated in a podcast on BackInfoSecurity.com, ‘Background Checks: Beware Social Media,’ and talked about how employers use, and sometimes abuse, social media for background checks. For more information, visit http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/podcasts.php?podcastID=951.

Founded in 1996 in the San Francisco area, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen and is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) . To learn more about Employment Screening Resources, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com or contact Jared Callahan, ESR Director of Client Relations, at 415.898.0044 or jcallahan@ESRcheck.com.

Source:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576089850685724570.html
http://thehiringsite.careerbuilder.com/2009/08/20/nearly-half-of-employers-use-social-networking-sites-to-screen-job-candidates/

By Thomas Ahearn, ESR News Blog

Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has sent letters to the heads of two popular social networking sites – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and MySpace President Michael Jones – requesting more information about privacy breaches recently reported in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), according to a press release from the Senator that includes the text of both letters.

Senator Rockefeller states in both letters that he is troubled by a recent Wall Street Journal investigation report that revealed the practice of Facebook, MySpace, and affiliated applications (or “apps”) transferring user IDs and user personal information to marketing firms, tracking companies, and third-party advertisers without their knowledge. As reported by the WSJ:

• Third-party applications have transferred Facebook users’ personal information to marketing firms, data brokers and tracking companies. This violates Facebook’s explicitly stated privacy policy.
• MySpace has shared user IDs with third-party advertisers. This has happened after users clicked on advertisements or accessed affiliated third-party applications.

Senator Rockefeller is quoted in the press release saying that these reports “raise serious questions about social networking sites’ commitment to enforcing their own privacy policies on behalf of consumers” and that, as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, he intends to “find out whether today’s social networking sites are adequately protecting their users’ personal information.”

In the letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Senator Rockefeller requests answers – with specificity – to the following questions:

• 1) How does Facebook enforce its Privacy Policy relating to affiliated application operators and websites? What logistical protocols are in place to promote maximum compliance? What resources, including the number of personnel, does Facebook dedicate to monitoring and enforcing application operators’ compliance with its Privacy Policy?
• 2) What penalties does Facebook impose on application operators and websites that violate the company’s Privacy Policy? Are offending application operators allowed to continue to do business with Facebook?
• 3) Does Facebook take steps to retrieve information from application operators found in violation of the company’s Privacy Policy?
• 4) The Journal article quotes a Facebook official that asserts the company has “taken steps… to significantly limit RapLeaf’s ability to use any Facebook-related data.” What exactly does this mean?
• 5) According to the Journal article, there appears to be a pattern of privacy infractions involving Facebook applications. Specifically, what other past problems has Facebook encountered with regard to applications, and what steps did Facebook take to rectify them? Are these applications still available on Facebook’s platform?
• 6) To the extent that personal data has been shared in violation of Facebook’s Privacy Policy, what steps has Facebook taken to notify individual users as to the specific information that has been mishandled, and who has had access to that information?

In the letter to MySpace President Michael Jones, Senator Rockefeller requests answers – again, with specificity – to the following questions:

• 1) Why does MySpace’s Privacy Policy place the responsibility on Members to control their personal information when interacting with affiliated apps and advertisers, when other social networking sites have more restrictive policies that better protect consumer privacy?
• 2) Why does MySpace’s Privacy Policy assert that the company “does not control” and “cannot dictate” the actions of third-party applications on how they retrieve and use Members’ information when other social networking sites impose limits on the use of such information?
• 3) The definition of PII is very narrow and does not capture a range of consumer information – such as user IDs – that could be used to identify MySpace Members. Please explain the rationale behind this narrow definition of PII and how it differs from personal information that is considered non-PII.
• 4) How does MySpace reconcile the explicit terms of its own Privacy Policy with the Journal’s report that the company “had pledged to discontinue the practice of sending personal data” to ad networks and similarly prohibited third-party application operators from doing so?
• 5) If MySpace has publicly pledged to prohibit such information transfers, how has this prohibition been enforced and what plans does MySpace have in place to effectively enforce its policy in the future?

The protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of individuals – such as names, birthdates, addresses, identification such as Social Security Numbers (SSN) and driver’s licenses, and financial data – should be reflected in the Privacy Policy of every company.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) does not re-sell or “offshore” Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of individuals and all domestic background checks are performed exclusively in the United States. Once Personally Identifiable Information is offshored and leaves the U.S., the PII is beyond the reach of U.S. privacy laws. A large number of background screening firms have also taken a position against offshoring Personally Identifiable Information at http://www.concernedcras.com/no_offshoring.htm.

For more information about Employment Screening Resources (ESR), visit http://www.ESRcheck.com.

Employment Screening Resources (ESR) literally wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen. ESR is recognized as Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC) Accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) for proving compliance with the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). For more information about Employment Screening Resources, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com.

Source:
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c26b5c34-cf19-4d8a-93aa-d9a29b749337

By Les Rosen, Employment Screening Resources

Lester Rosen, President of Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading international employment screening background check firm headquartered in the San Francisco area, will present a national webinar for a leading business information site on employment screening on Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST.

The webinar – How Social Media and Traditional Background Checks Trigger Privacy Lawsuits – is being presented by Business 21 Publishing, which provides multi-media corporate learning and employee training products. Participants in this 60-minute webinar will learn best practices to help screen employees thoroughly without violating the law.

In the webinar, Rosen – a nationally recognized expert on employment screening background checks – will address such topics as:

• The pros and cons of using social media internet sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter and how privacy and discrimination laws apply.
• What employers should do when they discover that a job candidate has a criminal record, a bad credit report or some other red flag.
• The Title VII implications of background checks and credit reports.
• The legal requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and how state to state privacy laws also apply.
• The legal risks associated with “one button” automated background check systems.
• What applicants need to sign before and after the background check is complete.
• How employers should deal with independent contractors or temporary workers.
• Considerations when conducting International background checks.

“Hiring safe, qualified, and honest employees is mission critical for any business, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to help employers avoid the risks of a bad hire,” commented Rosen. “Recruiters and hiring managers also need to understand the potential liabilities that employers can face if employment screening is done incorrectly or unfairly as well.”

Mr. Rosen, who is also an attorney, is a writer and speaker on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), pre-employment screening, and safe hiring issues. In addition, he is the author of the first comprehensive book on employment screening – “The Safe Hiring Manual: The Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters, and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace” – and also wrote an additional guide on the subject called “The Safe Hiring Audit.”

Mr. Rosen’s speaking appearances have included numerous national and statewide conferences. He has testified in the California, Florida, and Arkansas Superior Court as an expert witness on issues surrounding safe hiring and due diligence. Mr. Rosen was also the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), the professional trade organization for the screening industry, and served as the first co-chairman in 2004.

For more information about the webinar How Social Media and Traditional Background Checks Trigger Privacy Lawsuits, please visit: http://www.b21pubs.com/p-892-how-social-media-and-traditional-background-checks-trigger-privacy-lawsuits.aspx. More information about Employment Screening Resources (ESR) can be found at www.ESRcheck.com.

Source: http://www.b21pubs.com/p-892-how-social-media-and-traditional-background-checks-trigger-privacy-lawsuits.aspx

By Les Rosen, Employment Screening Resources

2010 Trends in Screening — Trend Five:  Lawsuits for Use of Social Networking Sites for Background Checks

In past posts, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) has labeled the use of the internet and social networking sites as a hot topic.  In 2010 and onwards, it appears very likely that litigation over the use of these sites will be the hot topic.

One big issue of course is discrimination.  Applicants can bring a “failure to hire” lawsuit if the employer utilized information from a social networking site about their race, ethnicity, nationality, martial status, religious preference, age, etc.  Another issue yet to be decided is privacy. Even though the information is on the internet, strong arguments can be made that consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy on websites where only friends are supposed to visit and the terms of use prohibit commercial exploitation. In addition, employers need to be careful about the use of legal off-duty conduct.  There are also issues as to authenticity and whether a site really refers to or belongs to an applicant.  Recruiters are also not immune from potential liability just because they are searching for “passive” candidates who may not know they are the victims of discrimination. 

As ESR has described in past articles, discrimination rules apply equally to recruiters.  And firms that use social network sites in a discriminatory fashion could find themselves in hot water if a recruiter spills the beans, or the recruiting practices results in a workforce that is statistically imbalanced. See:  http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/775/the-rush-to-source-candidates-from-internet-and-social-networking-sites-2

Stay tuned to the ESR blog for updated information.

(Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a leading national online employment screening background firm, is releasing the “Third Annual Top Ten Trends in the Pre-Employment Background Screening Industry” for 2010. This is the FIFTH of the ten trends ESR will be tracking in 2010.)