Your Facebook account—specifically how it pertains to your employment or employability—has recently made front-page headlines across the United States. On March 21, 2012, it was reported by the ACLU that prospective employers were adding a byline to the job application process, requesting access to applicants’ Facebook accounts and/or passwords. Despite warnings from the onset of technology not to share passwords, many people, desperate to find employment, have given in. They may hope that their Facebook accounts will reveal harmless personal details rather than compromising information when compared to other applicants.
The ACLU, which presented a bill to the GOP House of Representatives, argued that asking for such information is an invasion of privacy and violates constitutional rights. They claim that individuals who are unwilling to disclose their personal information or make their profiles public for prospective employers are often disadvantaged. In other words, if you decline to give out your personal Facebook information, you may appear guilty to an employer.
Facebook and Job Security
Even worse, your Facebook account could cost you your job. Many employers are now turning to social media to keep tabs on employees. If you call out sick, you better be smart enough NOT to post about your fishing trip or excessive partying the night before, or else it may be held against you by your boss the next day.
Employers who ask applicants for Facebook information believe it helps them hire “better” employees. They claim they are simply using Facebook and other social platforms to weed out potential problem employees by searching for inappropriate or flagged content that might indicate the applicant would be a bad hire. Additionally, many employers—sometimes without permission—are searching for applicants on Facebook, hoping for a non-public profile to get a feel for an applicant’s personality and lifestyle choices. They are also looking for signs that the applicant might be a bad employee, has had past conflicts with bosses, or exhibits behavior that could indicate poor work ethic. After all, employers spend a lot of money hiring and training new employees, only to sometimes discover too late that the person they hired has personal issues that negatively affect their job performance.
The legality of these searches is being questioned. Some states are considering legislation to make this behavior illegal and to prevent companies from refusing to hire people based on social media information. Unfortunately, there is really no way for the government—or any other authority—to prevent employers from looking up an applicant on Facebook, even though the Department of Justice deems it illegal and a violation of social media sites’ terms of service. The best you can do is set your profile to private and use common sense when posting comments or making statements online. Sadly, most people fail to do this. Even worse, your ill-willed rants about how horrible your boss is can—and likely will—be used against you by a prospective employer if they gain access to the information.
Facebook has also jumped on board, striving to ensure that its users’ private information remains private, but largely relying on users’ common sense privacy restrictions to protect themselves.
The truth is, legal or not, if your Facebook profile is public and others can see it, you WILL be judged on it. If your boss stumbles upon a post, a scandalous picture, or evidence of an inappropriate employee-employer relationship, they may not be able to use Facebook directly against you—but you can bet they will find other ways to mediate their case against you. Facebook could serve as the seed that grows into a tree of discontent in the employer-employee relationship. It may even plant a seed of doubt or disgust in the mind of a prospective employer, swaying their decision not to hire you in the first place.
On March 28, 2012, the House Republicans blocked the measure, with a mostly party-line vote of 184 to 236, that would have allowed employers to request Facebook information. “It only makes sense because those who are using these kinds of social media have an expectation of privacy,” said Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) on the House floor. The Huffington Post reported that “They (employees) have an expectation that their right of free speech or their right to free religion will be respected when they use these social media outlets.” This will likely not be the last time the government hears about this matter.
The most important thing to realize is that, no matter how private Facebook claims to be, no matter how many rights to privacy and free speech you are entitled to, the written and recorded word of online interactions can be used against you. It might not directly impact your employment or employability. However, if you’re looking for a job or trying to keep your current position, your best bet is to keep certain aspects of your private life private. Review your profile and view it from a public perspective to ensure that your posts, pictures, comments, and information aren’t being shared with others. Even if your profile is set to private, a friend’s profile might not be, and your information could be shared and misconstrued by those in a position of power. Use your head, be smart, and keep tabs on what your Facebook image says about you.
