Adventures in Ethics...

had this all typed up last night and it didn't post for some reason, so let's try an abbreviated version...

I have been tasked to do research on DoD regulations on social media... my company is wanting to empower hiring managers to use facebook/myspace/etc. in an official capacity to vet candidates for employment. I have found a couple of docs that address social media usage but I am sure there are none for this, but my question is, do you feel that it is acceptable for a potential employer to make hiring decisions based on information found on social media sites? I lean towards no.

If anyone has any links/articles concerning this I would love to read them.

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Comments

arwes

I make sure they don't have access to any of my stuff.

I don't know much about the hiring aspect, but we had a firing at a local TV station which made national news. Their news anchor posted this on his private Facebook status:

“[Griffin Scott] knows what the Enola **** was and that makes me the only person under 40 who knew that in our newsroom. Not sure whether to be proud or not…”

Someone sent a screenshot of that to the station manager (lol so much for Facebook "friends") and he was fired because the remark "damaged the station's in the community". He was denied unemployment, and won his appeal to receive unemployment compensation. He's also filed a civil suit for wrongful termination & breach of contract, though I haven't heard anything more on that.

Scott wins unemployment hearing, Still knows about the Enola **** | the vault

Bottom line? I'd check with a local attorney who deals in employment law to get a legal opinion on their proposal. A couple hundred bucks up front with an attorney may be better than possibly fighting a civil suit later on.

earweed

Personally I think using content on the social networks in hiring decisions to be wrong. That being said, there's nothing to keep the hiring manager from "unofficially" looking you up and using that info in the decision. As far as making it official policy to use it for vetting purposes you may want to check the legal implications.

petedude

My understanding is that if information about you on the Internet is readily accessible, and posted of your own free will, employers can legally research it without any ramifications.

Doesn't mean I think it's necessarily the best approach, though.

colemic

petedude wrote: »

My understanding is that if information about you on the Internet is readily accessible, and posted of your own free will, employers can legally research it without any ramifications.

Doesn't mean I think it's necessarily the best approach, though.

..the problem with that though is that there is no validation that they have the right person, or that you even put it up.

I don't know if they have consulted lawyers or not, and it's not my place to question the ethicalness (?) of it... just to provide input on how it fits into DoD regs.

Hyper-Me

I imagine there would be certain things that could preclude its use.

For instance if you make everything on your facebook "friends only", and someone at a company HR department gets into someone elses account, "friends" you under false pretenses, or gets someone they know to look at your profile through their account....i dont think it would be right. I also think you would have some expectation of privacy.

Ahriakin

If people choose to broadcast parts of their lives on the net then they need to learn to live with the consequences. Personally I think being held responsible in some measure for what you do and say online is not a bad thing, it might make things a wee bit more civil. It's not like they're hacking your interwebz, just using what you choose to post about yourself.
However as has been said the validation of data could be an issue, but then hiring managers who don't do a good job of vetting their sources will bypass good candidates and ultimately do a worse job themselves, they'll get eliminated for the incompetence eventually.

RobertKaucher

Ahriakin wrote: »

If people choose to broadcast parts of their lives on the net then they need to learn to live with the consequences. Personally I think being held responsible in some measure for what you do and say online is not a bad thing, it might make things a wee bit more civil. It's not like they're hacking your interwebz, just using what you choose to post about yourself.
However as has been said the validation of data could be an issue, but then hiring managers who don't do a good job of vetting their sources will bypass good candidates and ultimately do a worse job themselves, they'll get eliminated for the incompetence eventually.

I agree. If you are participating in some thing you don't want potential employers to be aware of then don't put it out on the Internet.

So long as you are able to list your employer on the site, your actions are at least on some level associated with the company...

darkerosxx

Ahriakin wrote: »

If people choose to broadcast parts of their lives on the net then they need to learn to live with the consequences.

Quoted for truthiness

Paul Boz

There is a misconception with people that just because you post it online to your "friends" means its off-limits or private. That just isn't reality. Hiring a new employee is a big risk for companies. You're looking at the cost of benefits, salary, and performance yield. It's a lot like professional sports drafting. If a college football player is known as a loose cannon who sounds off on facebook and twitter all the time his draft stock is going to fall. Likewise, if you're going for an interview and your potential boss finds pictures of you doing keg stands with 10 year olds you're going to have problems. I always say that if you wouldn't print it out and paste it on the front door of your house its probably not a good idea to paste on the Internet.

I also have zero sympathy for people who talk negatively about their jobs, employers, co workers, or in any other way put down the place they work. You may have a co worker on your friend list that you trust but that doesn't mean your posts aren't going to become watercooler talk. they're called social networking sites for a reason. If you want to slam your job do it at a bar or on a private livejournal. People play political suicide with facebook every day.

Hyper-Me

Paul Boz wrote: »

There is a misconception with people that just because you post it online to your "friends" means its off-limits or private. That just isn't reality..

It isnt reality. We all know that anything put online is basically there forever, and accessible to anyone that wants it bad enough.

My point is, that it seems to me, an employee that enables privacy features (friends only, totally private, etc) on something like a facebook page has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Obviously, there are exceptions. If one of your friends works at the same company and has your FB page open on a company computer screen...the content displayed just became fully legally viewable by the company.

colemic

Well, just for grins and giggles, here is what I sent up the chain for this. Doesn't really apply unless you are a DoD entity but the links at the bottom are useful.
Task: Research implications of a DI (Departmental Instruction) to authorize Hiring Managers to employ Social Media sites (Facebook, YouTube, Myspace, etc.) in an official capacity in determining a candidate's suitability for a position.

- DoD Documents referenced: Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-026 - Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities (attached)
- JTF-GNO CTO 10-008 Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities (attached)

Comments:
The CTO referenced above states the requirements for a NIPRNET user to engage in Social Media sites for official use. However, this situation is not directly addressed in any DoD regulations. There are regulations (attached) that deal with a NIPRNET user (in this case, the Hiring manager) utilizing Social Media websites for official use. The DTM specifically states that for 'Official Use' (such as researching a potential employee), the user is required to '...maintain liaison with public affairs and operations security staff to ensure organizational awareness.'

These regulations assume that the NIPRNET user is using an 'Official' social media account, NOT their personal account. No provisions are given for allowing personal accounts for official use, but definitive guidelines for official accounts are given in Attachment 2 of the DTO referenced above.

Another area that might have potential implications, is Section 4 of the DTM, concerning Records Management: 'Internet-based capabilities used to transact business (screening potential employment recruits might fall under this) are subject to records management policy in accordance with Ref (h)' - DoD Directive 5015.2, “DoD Records Management Program,” March 6, 2000.

Other issues that research brought up:

There are some concerns about the legality of checking social media profiles. Like many things, it isn’t so much checking the profile that’s the problem, it is what you do with some of the information you uncover in the process. For example, some profiles will give away a protected status that wasn’t apparent before (for example, a religious affiliation or national origin). This can open up liability if you reject the candidate.
Source: http://www.crimcheck.com/background-check-news/social-networks-as-a-preemployment-screening-tool

Ask job candidates for written consent allowing you to use social networking sites as part of your screening process. (Statutes already exist if a website is searched by a background screening firm on behalf of an employer to provide consent, and disclosure as required under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The FYI site suggests that the “safest approach is to perform a social network search after there is applicant consent and a job offer is made contingent upon completion of a satisfactory background check.” Be careful of the tactics you use as an employer to gain access to information on social networks (e.g., never use fake identities or engage in “pretexting”).
Source: http://www.peba.org/MUCH A TWITTER.pdf

Considering all the resources referenced above, I would recommend against formulating a policy allowing Hiring Managers to formally vet candidates using social media at this time, as national and state privacy laws have not yet addressed the concerns listed above. As the peba.org link above states: 'Although it appears from searches and articles on this subject that there are currently no outstanding lawsuits, there seems to be a consensus that it's simply a matter of time until an employer is sued for using a social network to screen a candidate.' If a policy does go forward, it will need to be in compliance with the DTM and CTO referenced above to stay within to stay within DoD mandates.