Besides the FCRA (enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), the EEOC is much interested in your hiring practices, and use of related candidate information.
I recently heard an experienced attorney who once worked for the EEOC say “… The EEOC assumes that if you have information on potential or existing […]
A research study by Carnegie Mellon University discussed in the Wall Street Journal notes that:
A study involving dummy résumés and social-media profiles, found that between 10% and a third of U.S. firms searched social networks for job applicants’ information early in the hiring process. In those cases, candidates whose public profiles indicated they were Muslim were […]
In general –
Order your Social Media Background Check later in the recruiting process, and ideally AFTER you have made a conditional job offer.
This mitigates exposure to EEOC problems where recruits might claim that they were eliminated from consideration once your company was aware of their demographics.
When you use an applicant’s or employee’s background information to make […]
Beyond helping with recruiting and retention decisions, did you know that social media reports are increasingly used by insurance companies, in deciding who gets covered and who does not?
Social media information is now compared against existing large databases to further support conventional risk assessments and help insurers in deciding about policy risks.
Insurers may weigh information […]
A man who has been charged for allegedly robbing a Virginia Beach bank on April 4 apparently posted a photo of the note he gave the teller and two videos of the incident to Instagram.
One video shows a teller apparently taking and reading the note, while another shows the teller giving him wads […]
Social Media Background Checks often turn up positive information, and reinforce the hiring case beyond what recruits can say about themselves, according to a CareerBuilder study.
Some of the most interesting and frequently cited reasons:
· Got a good feel for the job candidate’s personality, could see a good fit within the company culture – 46 […]
Few groups are more closely scrutinized than professional football players, as witnessed by the many off-field PR blow ups in recent years.
Partially in response, the NFL now conducts extremely thorough Social Media Background Checks on potential college football players hoping to make the cut into the pros.
One NFL analyst recently remarked that the background check […]
Don’t ask for logins to social media and online sites.
Consider only direct entries – not indirect. For example, there is a difference between Sally posting a reminder that “Our supremacist group meets again tonight” vs “Don’t forget Sally, our supremacist group meets again tonight.”
Do the Social Media Background Check later in the recruiting process, when […]
Cyber bullying may involve a false account set up under the same name, and much of the verifying information is correct too – except for a few troubling postings.
Maybe you’ve found something under the right name – but is it really the right person? Look deeper to make sure you that this is the […]
Some attorneys advise that Social Media Background Checks must be conducted on every applicant (and perhaps contractors and employee promotions too) to avoid charges of “Negligent Hiring” or “Negligent Retention.” Others advise just the opposite, in warning that firms conducting this research internally are exposed to charges of discrimination.
My opinion is that it is irresponsible […]