An NPR report titled “Can't Ask That? Some Job Interviewers Go To Social Media Instead” focuses on the impact of social media on hiring. More than three-fourths of employers now use social networking for recruiting, and potential hires anecdotally report that they often receive “friend” requests after interviews. Some recruits believe that they must accept these requests, which in turn means that they clean up their online profiles (which may be advisable in any event).
A potential legal problem is that reviewing social media profiles may provide information that employers are not permitted to ask at interviews, such as a recruit’s religion or marital status. A recent study using candidates with fake identities and identical qualifications with their religion available only on social media showed that those who self-identified as Muslims had 17 percent fewer callbacks.
The NPR report notes that some employment attorneys recommend that employers establish clear guidelines for online hiring practices, such as who is to do online searches, when the search will be made, what sites will be searched, and what information will be reviewed. Third-party firms such as Social Intelligence will do social media searches for employers by looking for violent or other illegal behavior but will redact anything that is an unlawful factor to consider.
To date the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has not issued rules or guidance concerning the use of social media in hiring, but it did issue a press release in early 2014 stating that the use of social media may raise discrimination concerns. While there is no law stating that an employer can’t friend-request you, nearly a dozen states have passed laws prohibiting an employer from asking a prospective employee for username and password information. Similar bills are pending in other states and before Congress.