Social Media Background Check Risks Explored in Webcast by Safe Hiring Expert

Attorney and safe hiring expert Lester Rosen, Founder and CEO of nationwide accredited background check firm Employment Screening Resources (ESR), will present the webcast ‘Web 2.0 Caution! Using Social Networking Sites and Search Engines to Recruit and Screen Applicants’ for HR.com’s Institute for Human Resources (IHR) on Monday, February 27, 2012 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM to 1:00 PM PT). To register for the event, visit: http://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/webcasts/upcoming_webcasts/web-20-caution-using-social-networking-sites-and-s_gxdvyhqe.html.  “Employers and recruiters have discovered a treasure trove of information on potential job applicants by using social media background checks,” says Rosen, the author of ‘The Safe Hiring Manual,’ the first comprehensive guide to employment screening background checks. “However, the unrestricted use of Web 2.0 by employers, human resources professionals, or recruiters for hiring is not without substantial risks.” Rosen adds: “Just because information is online does not mean it is true or can legally be used.” During the hour long webcast, Rosen will examine what information is available on social media sites, discrimination issues, the use of legal off-duty conduct, privacy, accuracy, and authenticity. Through case studies, legal decisions, and web site reviews, employers, recruiters, and HR professionals will see how social media sites work, what they may find, and potential legal landmines and practical risks involved with social media background checks. The webcast will deal with:

• Special risk factors for recruiters looking for passive candidates online.
• How to protect against allegations of failure to hire as a result of viewing impermissible information online such as race, creed, color, ethnicity, sex, marital status, medical conditions, and similar factors.
• The dangers of utilizing off-duty conduct in recruiting and hiring decisions.
• Whether everything on the web is fair game or if privacy rights still exist online.
• Dealing with issues of authenticity and accuracy.
• The dangers of NOT doing social media background checks. 
•  Issues associated with doing social media background checks in-house or outsourcing to a background check firm.
• Best practices to follow if preforming social media background checks in-house.

The webcast will also focus on strategies for getting any information needed from the Internet while minimizing potential complaints for discrimination or invasion of privacy. The session will also uncover how Web 2.0 is used fraudulently. Participants in the webcast will also:

• Learn why employers, human resources, and recruiters use search engines and social media sites to screen candidates.
• Review what social media sites are available and what information may be found.
• What are the risks in using social media background checks?
• Discover if everything on the web fair game since privacy is waived once information is placed on the Internet?
• Learn how discrimination laws and rules concerning off-duty conduct apply online.
• Uncover best practices for employers, HR professionals, recruiters, and job applicants for social media background checks.
• Learn how to deal with phony degrees and references from new online services.

Rosen founded Employment Screening Resources (ESR) in 1997 and the company is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®). He was also the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the NAPBS, a non-profit trade organization for the background screening industry, and served as first co-chairman. Rosen is a frequent speaker nationwide on due diligence issues as part of the “ESR Speaks” training program. To learn more about “ESR Speaks,” visit: https://www.esrcheck.com/ESR_Speaks.php.  Rosen also wrote a white paper in 2011 titled ‘Managing the Risks of Using the Internet for Employment Screening Background Checks’ to provide an informative introduction to the risks and roadblocks employers and recruiters face using Internet search engines like Google and social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter for recruitment and employment screening, as well as potential solutions to avoid legal issues. The complimentary white paper from ESR is available for download at: https://www.esrcheck.com/Download/. This webcast ‘Web 2.0 Caution! Using Social Networking Sites and Search Engines to Recruit and Screen Applicants’ is available to all registered HR.com members for free. For more information and to register for the event, visit: http://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/webcasts/upcoming_webcasts/web-20-caution-using-social-networking-sites-and-s_gxdvyhqe.html.  For more information about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority^SM’ – at https://www.esrcheck.com/ or call 415.898.0044. Source: http://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/webcasts/upcoming_webcasts/web-20-caution-using-social-networking-sites-and-s_gxdvyhqe.html.  About Employment Screening Resources (ESR): Employment Screening Resources (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority^SM’ – provides accurate and actionable information, empowering employers to make informed safe hiring decisions for the benefit for our clients, their employees, and the public. ESR literally wrote the book on background screening with “The Safe Hiring Manual” by Founder and CEO Lester Rosen. ESR is accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a distinction held by less than two percent of all screening firms. By choosing an accredited screening firm like ESR, employers know they have selected an agency that meets the highest industry standards. For more information about Employment Screening Resources (ESR), visit https://www.esrcheck.com/ or call 415.898.0044. About ESR News: The Employment Screening Resources (ESR) News blog – ESR News – provides employment screening information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers on a variety of topics including credit reports, criminal records, data privacy, discrimination, E-Verify, jobs reports, legal updates, negligent hiring, workplace violence, and use of search engines and social network sites for background checks. For more information about ESR News or to send comments or questions, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected].]]>