1. Employers and… By: Jeffrey Marsh Cody Coyle Justin Brunson Brad Parker

2. Get The Facts… FaceBook’s purpose and mission is to help you “connect and share with the people in your life.” However, FaceBook is now serving a new purpose: Employers are now using the social networking site to help with hiring decisions This is also referred to as “online vetting”

3. Studies Show… In 2009, Oregon Business Report reported that 45% of employers use FaceBook as a tool for screening job applicants CareerBuilder writes that 33% of companies decide not to make job offers based on the negatives of applicants found on FaceBook Only 24% of employers admitted to actually hiring applicants based on the positives found on the applicant’s FaceBook

4. What Catches the Employer’s Eye? Employers stated that there are three common mistakes found on applicant’s FaceBooks Applicant’s posting provocative or inappropriate photographs or information Applicant’s posting information or statuses referring to illegal drug use or excessive drinking Applicant’s posting negative comments about their previous employers, co-workers, or clients

5. Positives of Online Vetting Employers can weed out potential bad employees that seem unfit for the given tasks necessary to complete the job offered If employers find applicants who spoke negatively about previous employers, it may be a red flag or a sign of future problems with the possible employee

6. Negatives of Online Vetting Applicant’s are sometimes rejected based on who they are friends with or what their friends post on FaceBook Employers use personal information to base their hiring decisions on rather than an applicant’s skills and other assets Employer’s could be possibly discriminating against applicant’s based on what is posted on their FaceBooks (Race, Gender, Religion, Political Views)

7. Freedom of Speech? Is Discriminating Applicants Based On There Facebook Information A Violation Of The Applicant’s Freedom Of Speech? Facebook created an environment where users could express themselves freely and share information with friends and family Users never imagined that employers would be stalking their FaceBooks in hopes to find negatives on their sites However, in 2006, a Federal District Court declared that online posted photographs were not protected under the 1st amendment

8. Taking it to Court! Possible Court Cases Against Online Vetting Freedom of Speech Invasion of Privacy Discrimination Many employers ask for consent on the employee applications It can be argued that online vetting without consent from the applicant goes against the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if the acts relate to background checks So there could be a possible court case for getting rid of all online vetting, as well as possibly removing the online vetting section from all applications

9. Is it worth the challenge? There are many negatives with online vetting, but is it worth it to challenge in court? There are many violations when it comes to using FaceBook such as Freedom of Speech and Discrimination…this needs to be challenged However, it would take a ton of money, as well as having the prosecutor’s name possibly slandered in the press

10. Bibliography http://www.observer.com/2009/media/evolution-facebooks-mission-statement http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2009/08/45-employers-use-facebook-twitter-to-screen-job-candidates/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_vetting http://www.ohioverticals.com/blogs/hrlite/2010/11/online-vetting/