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Social Media & Employment

Social Media & Employment

Employers have a new way of finding out about you. It’s called social media. From Facebook to Tumblr, Blogger to YouTube, employers have access to over 550 million users on the Internet and it’s the modern background check.

According to the National Law Review, “an employer’s examination of an employee’s or potential hire’s social network sites may provide the basis for claims under employment discrimination statutes if the employer used these methods to seek out information that was legally protected in some way.”

As a reported 70 percent of companies conduct online research during the hiring process, employers risk “violating federal antidiscrimination employment rules and laws by using online research in hiring decisions,” explains Joe Bontke from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Screening techniques for potential hires are becoming more readily available for employers as the legalities behind online searches are trying to keep up with fast-paced social networking.

To protect your privacy in the public domain, consider what you post the next time you log on to your account.