It has been a while since I have had the chance to post a new blog. I have been adjusting to life with a newborn in the house again. Josée is now two months old, and I am able to get back to a regular work schedule and blogging.
It is all over the internet. Job seekers are being asked to provide prospective employers with their passwords for e-mail and social media sites. The Associated Press reported, a sheriff’s department in Virginia asked job applicants to “friend” background investigators, because today virtual friends know more about each other than actual next door neighbors. The background investigators then look at the social media sites for any potential “derogatory” behavior that could damage the sheriff agency’s reputation if the applicant is hired.
Legislators are not ignoring the phenomena either. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is currently sponsoring legislation which would make it illegal for employers to ask for this information, citing the private nature of the inquiry.
Currently, it is not illegal for an employer to request a password from a job applicant, but it is certainly a slippery slope with regard to protecting an employer’s right to know, against an applicant’s right to privacy. It is also against Facebook’s policies for users to provide their passwords to others. It is understandable employer’s want to hire the best candidate and protect their business interests, but before social media was even around, employer’s had many other avenues available to properly vet a job applicant, including background checks, reference checks, and detailed interviews.
Social media is the water-cooler of the 21st century. People voice their complaints, share stories and opinions, all on social media websites. Requesting a job applicant’s password is akin to asking for the key to their personal diary. It is important to determine why an employer is interested in the information found on a social media site. Is it really necessary for hiring a job applicant? After the employer gets information from a social media site, what will be done with it?
If an employer is concerned about the character of a prospective job applicant, then traditional background checks, reference checks and interviews are an appropriate means to gather the necessary information to make an employment determination. If an employer is concerned about protecting their business interests from employees sharing information or disparaging the business on social media sites, the better approach would be to inform applicants as a requirement to being hired, they must sign a confidentiality agreement and a non-disparagement agreement. Of course, such agreements must not impact on an employee’s speech rights under the NLRA.
I would not advise employers to ask job applicants for passwords to e-mail and social media sites. I would not want one of my employer clients to be the test case in the legal system over this unsettled issue. Right now, the old-fashioned approach is a better alternative to vetting prospective employees.