Employers wanting access to your Facebook account.....

[gimmethesimplelife]

I just heard something I find very disturbing.....Supposedly there are employers out there who want access to your facebook account as a part of the interview/hiring process.....Ouch that smacks of going illegally way overboard to me, it really does. What do you'all make of this? Would you give this access to a potential employer, and something else I thought of - what about those of us who could not be bothered with Facebook, there are such souls out there, how do they handle this in an interview without looking like totally behind the curve fools to the interviewer? I can see something like this ending out in the Supreme Court.....Rob

[Tradd]

There's something that non-FB users don't realize. Not only would employers see your photos, wall posts, etc., but FB has an internal chat/PM system, that many people use heavily. So they would see really private communications as well.

IL, and I believe MD, are two states with legislation in progress to make this illegal.

[Tiam]

Why should I say yes?

[bae]

I suppose I would tell them "no". Nor would I give them the passwords to my email accounts, my electronic banking accounts, or my public library account.

[Tiam]

I suppose I would tell them "no". Nor would I give them the passwords to my email accounts, my electronic banking accounts, or my public library account.


Exactly. Just because they ask does not make you obliged to give them that information.

[Maxamillion]

There's no way I'd give them that info. You might as well hand over the key to your house.

[meshio]

That’s privet information so I would just say: “I am sorry but No”.

[cattledog]

I remember reading this story last week. It's ridiculous and a complete violation of privacy. No way would I ever do it. It's a moot point since I'm not on FB. I'm way too private. If I'm ever forced to open an account it won't be with my real name anyway.

I'm thankful that I am not desperate for work. It seems like people have to jump through more and more hoops just to get a job these days.

[bae]

I also think that in most cases a company would have to be daft to ask for this information. Consider what happens if in looking through the private section of the Facebook account they discover the religion, birth date, race, medical history, sexual preferences, etc. of the job applicant, and then fail to hire....

[CathyA]

This sounds too screwy to me to be true. Employers aren't allowed to asked personal questions, but they can get into your Facebook and email accounts? No way would I give them access to those.

[mamalatte]

I'm not on Facebook so I don't know how it works. I can totally understand a company wanting to look at your Facebook page before hiring you. If you are drunk in every picture or holding up a swastika flag or something then you may well not be someone they want to hire. Are we talking about something different/additional here, where they would have access to something that another Facebook user normally would not be able to see?

[Charity]

I'm baffled by this. I'm the finance director for the city I work for and as such I handle payroll and human resources. On a job application we cannot legally ask for an applicants date of birth, race or other personal information. How can employers possibly ask for passwords to anything? To put this in perspective, if an employer calls me for a reference on one our past employees, the only thing I can answer is whether or not their attendance was good.

[flowerseverywhere]

I'm not on Facebook so I don't know how it works. I can totally understand a company wanting to look at your Facebook page before hiring you. If you are drunk in every picture or holding up a swastika flag or something then you may well not be someone they want to hire. Are we talking about something different/additional here, where they would have access to something that another Facebook user normally would not be able to see?

there is an e-mail function and you can see e-mails just like a regular e-mail account. On my account you can see pictures of my family and friends and what they are up to. If you comment on a gay rights march, abortion etc. (pro or con) it would all be there for them to see. One of my friends has a child with a terminal illness and she is involved in raising awareness and money and frequently talks about this on facebook. This might be the kind of info you might not want to share in an interview, as well as religious status, birthdate, sexual orientation, gun ownership etc. Just like here, people give opinions on things like gun ownership, abortion, their feelings on civil rights etc. You might not want them to know you are living with someone and it could be right there. A friend of mine posted her Christmas picture of she and her boyfriend trimming the tree at their house, if you are applying to someone who does not believe in living together before marriage it could harm you.

my account is pretty boring, I just have it to keep in touch with some people but many people post highly personal things.

[flowerseverywhere]

I thought of another situation Mamalatte.

When the gay marriage law was signed I had two wonderful friends who had been in a relationship for over 25 years. They were so jubilant that they could finally get married in the eyes of the law and many people, including myself posted congratulations.

If an employer saw that and was very anti-gay marriage it could mean the difference between getting a job or not.

also, I post things like upcoming quilt shows or scrabble events. What if you posted about a pro-abortion or anti-abortion event? Or about a gun show you were going to? Or your childs upcoming Bar Mitzvah or Communion? Many things that an employer has no right to ask or know could easily be revealed.

[herbgeek]

The thing that makes it doubly bad, is that by asking for your username/password, they would be able to see even those things that you've set privacy rights on (ie the stuff that only people you've named can see). I have my Facebook account set not only very private, but also not searchable so a person googling my name isn't even going to see I /have/ a Facebook account. That said, my personal policy is to never say anything bad about work, and not "friend" someone I work with while I am still working with them because you never know.

[mamalatte]

But what I don't understand is, can everyone else on Facebook, i.e., potentially the employer's customers or clients, see this stuff (like the XMas decorating pics or the person's gay marriage), or not unless they have the "password."? If their customers/clients who also happen to be FB users can see it (which could be millions of people), then I can understand why the employers would want to see it. Can't the company already see all of this if the company has a FB account?

If it is private emails that would NOT be visible to every FB user, then I don't think the employer needs to see it. But, if they want to ask for it, I don't think it should be against the law. If you don't like it, delete your FB account, or don't work there.

[mamalatte]

herbgeek - had not seen your post before my last one. If you have set the privacy settings so that only certain people, and not the entire population of FB can see the info, then in my mind the employer has less and less justification for wanting to see that type of info.

[Gregg]

I also think that in most cases a company would have to be daft to ask for this information. Consider what happens if in looking through the private section of the Facebook account they discover the religion, birth date, race, medical history, sexual preferences, etc. of the job applicant, and then fail to hire....

Exactly. As an employer there is no conceivable way I would ever request such information. The potential problems are without end. There are a few folks that work for us who also happen to be relatives and connected to DW and I individually on FB. There has not been any problem with that (FB came first, BTW) and I do not anticipate any, but the situation still demands that we proceed carefully.

[flowerseverywhere]

my setting are private and I only have a few friends. Only they can see my posts. If you search my name I do not come up.

The fact that they happen to be gay, or Jewish or Catholic or are my buddies at the shooting range, scrabble tournament or gym is none of an employers business. It is a social network not a business network.

[redfox]

Employers have zero justification to ask for this!

[Spartana]

And it's not just employers either. The police dept (around here at least) wants FB passwords of people who they are investigating yet do not have enough probable cause to get a warrant for. They think that people who don't just hand over their password info are hiding something. I don't have a FB account and can not even conceive that a potential employer could have legal or justifiable grounds to get a persons private FB password. Talk about an invasion of privacy! While the public info that anyone, including an employer, can get via FB accounts is one thing, the stuff that people have privately is different. One potential problem with NOT giving an employer/police your FB info is that if you have a common name, they may try to find you on FB anyways and find someone else's FB page and assume it's you. And who knows what that other person has on their FB page!

[fidgiegirl]

I heard today that Minnesota lawmakers are trying to make this (not just FB, but all password-protected services) illegal.

[mira]

So... if you don't have a Facebook account, are employers going to ask for all the photos you've taken over the last couple years, along with a comprehensive list of your likes/dislikes, your journal/diary and the names of all your friends?

Not sure I'd want to work for such a whack employer...