Employee social media monitoring should only be conducted by a third party company to avoid bias opinions and legal issues

1. Social Media Monitoring Should ONLY Be
Conducted by a Third Party Company To
Avoid Unfair Bias

2. Social media screening is one way to enhance the
background check to determine whether a
candidate should be hired.
Segal,
J.
A.
(2014,
September).
LEGAL
TRENDS
Social
Media
Use
in
Hiring:
Assessing
the
Risks
Vol.
59
No.
9
When
it
comes
to
using
social
media
for
hiring,
it's
all
about
balancing
risk.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

3. 75% of human-resource professionals
report that their companies require them
to do online research about candidates
Rosen,
J.
(2010,
July
24).
The
Web
Means
the
End
of
ForgeTng.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016

4. 70% of U.S.
recruiters report that
they have rejected
candidates because
of information found
online, like photos
and discussion-board
conversations and
membership in
controversial groups.
Rosen,
J.
(2010,
July
24).
The
Web
Means
the
End
of
ForgeTng.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016

5. Recent research conducted by the
CIPD showed that two out of five
employers look at job applicants'
online activity or profiles on sites
such as LinkedIn at the
recruitment stage.
It's an easy task for
employers to search for the
name of a job applicant on
Facebook in efforts to
learn more about him or her.
In corners of the job
market, such as media
and technology,
candidates and recruiters
swear by Twitter's value.
R.
Lauren
(2014,
April
17).Social
Media
Screening.
Retrieved
May
29,
2916.
C.
Choi.
(2014,
October
27).
5
Best
PracZces
for
Lawfully
Monitoring
Employees.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.
Silverman,
E.
Rachel,
L.
Weber.
(2013,
April
9).
The
New
Resume:
Its
140
Characters.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.

6. However
recruiters
are seeing
things (they)
CAN’T
unsee…
R.
Lauren
(2014,
April
17).Social
Media
Screening.
Retrieved
May
29,
2916.

7. While HR professionals
should not allow
irrelevant information to
influence their decisions,
they often do (…) they are
Human too.
A.
Dollinger.
(2015,
November
18).
Social
Media
Monitoring:
How
Much
is
Too
Much.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

8. Experience
shows that
employers
fire employees
for reasons
having
nothing to do
with work.
J.
Weber.
(2014,
October
22).
Should
Companies
Monitor
Their
employees’
Social
Media?.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.

9. This is also apparent in COLLEGES…
Colleges could arbitrarily discover
seemingly troubled comments by a
handful of applicants and deny
them admission — without
telling them why.
N.
Singer.
(2013,
November
11).
In
College
Admissions,
Social
Media
Can
Be
a
Double-­‐
Edged
Sword.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016).

10. Of 381 college admissions officers
31% said they had visited an
applicant's Facebook or other
personal social media
page to learn more
about them
N,
Singer.
"They
loved
your
G.P.A.
then
they
saw
your
tweets."
New
York
Times
10
Nov.
2013:
3(L).
Academic
OneFile.
Web.
3
June
2016.

11. Organizations that don't have formal
processes regarding the use of social
media for selection may put themselves
at risk of legal complaints because
of inconsistent practices.
R.
Jacobson.
(2014,
January
13).
Facebook
Snooping
on
Job
Candidates
May
Backfire
for
Employers.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.

12. Once employers learn of an employee’s
religion, sexual orientation, political
stance, they have opened themselves up
to POTENTIAL LAWSUITS.
A.
Dollinger.
(2015,
November
18).
Social
Media
Monitoring.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

13. However employers are human and cannot avoid
being offended by employees' private behavior that
goes against their values.
J.
Weber.
(2014,
October
22).
Should
Companies
Monitor
Their
employees’
Social
Media?.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.

14. BUT be careful.
Once you review a
candidate’s online
profile, a court will
assume you are
aware of that
person’s
“protected
characteristics”
that are often part of
their online postings.
M.
Berkowitz.
(2016,
March
8).
Social
Media
RecruiZng:
Understand
the
Legal
Guidelines.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

15. These characteristics include
gender and race as well as those that
are not always evident in a face-to-face
interview such as religion, age, sexual
orientation or disability.
M.
Berkowitz.
(2016,
March
8).
Social
Media
RecruiZng:
Understand
the
Legal
Guidelines.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

16. 74% of organizations said they were concerned
with legal risks or discovering information about
protected characteristics when perusing candidates’
social media profiles.
J.A.
Segal.
(2014,
September).
Social
Media
Use
in
Hiring:
Assessing
The
Risk.
Retrieved
May
30,
2014.

17. Even if a company itself is neutral, the subjective feelings
of the person tasked with monitoring employees’ social
media could easily lead to discrimination
S.
Kumar.
(2015,
May
22).
Why
Monitoring
Employees’
Social
Media
Is
a
Bad
Idea.
Retrieved
May
30,
2016.

18. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibit
employers from making hiring decisions on the basis
of certain protected characteristics, such as an
applicant’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender or
disability status
R.
Jacobson.
(2014,
January
13).
Facebook
Snooping
on
Job
Candidates
May
Backfire
for
Employers.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.

19. The ONLY fair way to track the social media activity
of an employee or prospective employee is to hire a
third-party screener.
A.
Dollinger.
(2015,
November
18).
Social
Media
Monitoring.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

20. This removes one certain risk: the more personal
information an employer finds about an employee, the
greater the chance that the employee will accuse his or
her boss of discriminatory decision-making.
A.
Dollinger.
(2015,
November
18).
Social
Media
Monitoring.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

21. The third-party company
would look at social media sites and report only those
items relevant in a professional setting
A.
Dollinger.
(2015,
November
18).
Social
Media
Monitoring.
Retrieved
May
29,
2016.

22. Therefore, In cases like
these, employers
SHOULD hire a third
party to conduct the
search. Employers should
determine what type of
information is relevant to
the job and instruct
search firms to report
ONLY this type of
information.
J.
Weber.
(2014,
October
22).
Should
Companies
Monitor
Their
employees’
Social
Media?.
Retrieved
May
29,
2014.