BENTON COUNTY — While social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace provide a fun way to communicate and share photos with friends, the threat of online predators makes some people think twice about posting private information on the Internet. Employers also may take advantage of the sites when deciding who or who not to hire for a position, though attorneys warn that this is dangerous ground to tread on.
“ It’s not illegal per se, but these sites could reveal information that an employer shouldn’t necessarily know during the hiring process, ” said Eva Madison, an attorney with the Littler National Employment and Labor Law Firm.
Madison said it’s best for employers to stick to the traditional process, using applications and interviews to base decisions on, though she acknowledged that many employers are most likely using online sources in the pre-hire screening process.
“ I feel confident that it’s happening; just whether it becomes an issue or not in Arkansas, I don’t know, ” Madison said.
She said her office in Fayetteville has not encountered any lawsuits on the matter of employment discrimination based on social networking sites, but she knows that her firm, which has offices across the country, has.
Whether it’s Facebook pictures from a weekend fraternity party or a blog’s comments about a professor or former boss, information posted on the Internet is public domain and can be used for or against a prospective hire. However, employers must be extremely cautious about entering the sites.
Arkansas Department of Labor staff attorney Daniel Faulkner said it doesn’t matter where employers look for information, but it matters what they look at.
“ Like in an interview, there are magic questions an employer doesn’t ask — like age, religion or something like that, ” Faulkner said. “ There’s not a specific law against background checks, whether that’s by fingerprinting, a private investigator or Googling someone’s name. ”
While any discrimination case is hard to prove, Faulkner said that if an employer may have seen information on a site, such as someone’s religion, and if it is evidenced that the person wasn’t hired because of that information, there might be grounds for a lawsuit.
Illegal discrimination includes employers making hiring decisions because of race, religion, gender, national origin or physical disability.
Millions of people around the world have Facebook and MySpace pages, which have helped shaped the way Generation Y is today. But even though the social networking sites were originally designed to help students make better connections with each other; teachers, parents, employers and organizations are creating profiles to join the networking community.
Barbara Batson, director of the University of Arkansas’ Career Development Center, said the once-social networks are now being used for business-related purposes.
“ I think that’s a shame, ” Batson said. “ I tell students all the time, go in and look at your Facebook page and see if there’s anything on there that they wouldn’t want their employer to see. I tell them to clean it up of pictures and Wall posts that could have a negative affect on the hiring process, though this is not how it should be. You don’t want something silly like that to keep you from getting a good job. ”
Madison said that if employers would somehow base a decision off false information from the Internet, then they could be looking at a state tort issue possibly dealing with defamation, though Madison said she has not known any cases that address the issue.
Countless stories are on the Web about people not getting hired because of a derogatory picture or blog, and the problem seems to be solved when the problem-causing content is deleted from the Internet. Area businesses and employee recruiters, however, say that personal information from social networking sites is not a necessary step in the hiring process.
“ It certainly factors in, but I think people think it factors in more than it really does, ” said Cameron Smith, founder and president of Cameron Smith and Associates. “ It’s just catching on, and right now it’s too new to make an assessment. ”
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