Social Network Searches Being Used Less for Background Checks
While a hot topic in past years has been the use of the internet to help with employee selection through social media background checks, it appears that this trend is fading fast, says Employment Screening ResourcesTop Ten Background Check Trends for 2014.
Why are social media background checks fading as a hiring tool? First, a number of states have passed or are considering laws that prohibit an employer from requiring a consumer social networking password, or to insist on “shoulder surfing,” meaning the applicant goes online and the employer examines a website site over the applicant’s shoulder, says ESR. A current list of social media password privacy legislation in the U.S. is available on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website at http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/employer-access-to-social-media-passwords-2013.aspx.