Is it legal to use Facebook or other forms of social media to conduct
background checks on potential new hires? The answer is yes, but if you
use inappropriate information, you could be violating the law.
According to CareerBuilder.com, employers report the following
benefits outweigh the legal risks:
34%
31%
23%
23%
found people
with great
communication
skills
found a link
between the
applicant and
the organization
culture
saw good
professional
resources from
the candidate
thought the
candidate was
creative
We recommend you implement the following as a background check
policy to ensure legal compliance:
Define the background check procedure and
require written acknowledgement by staff
Identify five-ten conducts that would cause
alarm if seen on a candidate’s profile
Identify five positive attributes such as blog is
well written and related to professional
interests, demonstrates creativity or
illustrates good use of professional skills and
networks
Identify an independent researcher someone separate from the recruitment
process - to gather social media information
to ensure hiring personnel have no access to
protected information
Provide the researcher with a checklist to
document both offensive and favorable
findings
Researcher should print or copy offending
material and give appropriate material to the
hiring manager
If you decide not to hire a candidate based on your findings, present
them with the findings along with the basis for concern and give them
a chance to explain.
Hiring a background screening company represents another
alternative than using social media to conduct background checks.
While social networks represent a low cost or free tool, the legal risks
may cost considerably if done incorrectly.
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