Social Networks and Your Company

The recent popularity of websites like Myspace and Facebook have offered a whole new way of looking at job applicants and current employees. Many employers actually use these websites as a way of vetting their candidates. Looking at an applicant's profile on Facebook can be more revealing than peering at their resume. But what are the employer's obligations to the employee? Are there any rules about the practice of snooping on public sites to make hiring decisions?

Peopleclick, a recruitment company in Raleigh, NC, understood the confusion facing employers practicing these tactics and released a free eBook, Social Networks and Employment Law. To receive your electronic copy, go here.

“Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter offer an excess of information about job seekers applying for any open requisition in the marketplace today,” said Dr. Lisa Harpe, PhD, Sr. Consultant and Industrial Organizational Psychologist at the Peopleclick Research Institute. “The novelty around these sites overshadows the fact that using these technologies for recruiting and hiring carries with it many legal obligations. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the laws and regulations behind using these sites in the talent acquisition process as employers utilize these networks to consider individuals for employment, verify employment data, evaluate qualifications or use an applicant’s leisure activities as a basis for making hiring decisions. All methods used to make employment decisions are considered selection procedures and subject to anti-discrimination regulations.”