Screening Applicants Using Social Networking Sites: Legal or Liability?

Utilizing social media to learn about potential employees can be an effective tool make sure it doesn't become a legal risk.Employers and recruiters aren't only using search engines to find information on applicants but are now examining social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, as well as blogs and other online sources. For job applicants, social networking site are places to interact with peers in any manner they choose. Entries on these sites are typically not meant for employers to view. Conversely, some job applicants feel they have been denied opportunities unfairly by employers or recruiters that snoop on social websites and view materials out of context or web entries that are meant just in fun for friends.

Why the Sudden Interest by Recruiters and Employers in Using Social Networking Sites? Potential Online Tools for Employers - Search Engines, Social Network Sites, Blogs and Chat Rooms • What Employers May Find Online and How • Why Recruiters Also Need to Be Concerned About the Legal Landmines of Using Social Media to Source Candidates Media to Source Candidates • Why Court Cases Have Not yet Clarified What Employers and Recruiters Can and Cannot Do When Using Social Media for Hiring Decisions • The Key Differences Between a Social Media Policy for Hiring, and a Policy for Current Employees How Web 2.0 Has Made It Extremely Easy for Job Applicants to Create Fake Employment and Education Credentials Can a Background Screening Firm Do Online Social Media Searches for Employers Consistent With Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) The Legal Landscape • The Use of Private Behavior for Employment Decisions • The TMI Problem - Too Much Information? EEOC and Discrimination Issues • Privacy in the Brave New Online World - Is Everything on the Web Fair Game? • What Is Real? Issues Concerning Identity and Authenticity • What Happened to Free Speech? • The Use of Third-Party Firm and the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act • New State Laws Prohibiting Employers From Obtaining an Applicant's Online Passwords Where to Go From Here • Approaches for Employers, Recruiters and Job Applicants • Approaches for Online Sites and College Placement Offices • Using the Web to Investigate Current Employees - a New Legal Minefield