Dive Brief:
- Recruiting often involves finding career-related information right on candidate social media profiles, says Tammy Binford, who writes for HR Hero — but privacy has quickly become an issue that may threaten employers. Anything discriminatory can be met with legal action, even if a third-party conducts the review.
- Francine Esposito, a lawyer with the New Jersey-based Day Pitney LLP firm told Binford that, "employers must comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when hiring outsiders to conduct checks." This includes notifying candidates how their consumer report information may be used to make hiring decisions. Esposito adds that 25 states have laws that prevent employers from demanding access to private social media accounts, so employers must tread carefully.
- Companies like Social Intelligence and Fama provide artificial intelligence-gathered reports on social media information, which can help to eliminate bias in hiring.
Dive Insight:
Social media has invaded so much of our lives that it's hard to imagine recruitment before this technology. Studies indicate that around 60% of recruiters turn to social media to screen candidates.
Companies are more careful when evaluating candidates before making job offers, but they use social media and social data mining technology at their own risk. Candidates have ways to tell who is looking at their profiles, so employers have the responsibility of letting candidates know this in advance. Employers must never base their hiring decisions solely on what they find on social media sites, but instead base it on several other factors.
* Editor's note: Updated to correct quote.
