Facebook - employers request password??

[TheCock]

Asking a jobseeker for their Facebook password is stepping over an ethical line, but doesn't constitute a legal breach of privacy, according to a researcher at the University of New South Wales Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre.

No law currently exists in Australia to protect a potential recruit from such requests and employers have the freedom to require such details in an interview, Chris Connolly told ninemsn.

"It's certainly not illegal to ask someone for a social network password," he said. "The real issue is what if they don't employ you — that is they discriminate against you — because you said 'no' and other people said 'yes', (but) there's no legal case."

The issue has come to the fore after reports surfaced of companies in the US employing the tactic in their recruitment process.

While there are no known cases in Australia, Mr Connolly said people were concerned with the trend.

"We have had people contacting the centre querying whether they'd have to give their Facebook or social network password to a potential employer," he said.

It was natural for employers to be concerned about their staff posting negative statements about the company on a public social profile, but there seemed little value in delving into the private information of a prospective recruit, Mr Connolly said.

"It's fine for employers to retain the right to do some general background checking of employees. Checking someone's background on Google is okay as it's the normal process," he said.

"But it's really overstepping the mark going to the private information that is generally being shared with family and friends."

Connolly said while there were no legal obstacles in the way for employers, it created an ethical minefield.

"From an ethical standpoint it's just bizarre," he said. "It doesn't seem at all relevant to employment.

"There is information on Facebook that can only be seen behind a password and that information should be of no concern to an employer," he added.

Mr Connolly said there was potential for discrimination against those who were "privacy aware" and "concerned about their civil liberties and freedoms" suggesting the treatment didn’t receive the same importance as other privacy issues in the recruitment process.

"If you did this in other areas — for example you discriminated against someone who was in a trade union because they believed in workers' rights — then you'd definitely be breaking the law and you'd be acting unethically," he said.

"You'd be at the bottom of the pile in terms of being a good and fair employer."


http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technolo...legally-ask-jobseekers-for-facebook-passwords

Dont think it would happen here lol

 

[ecchimiki]

Yes, and any employer that makes such a request is one I will immediately walk out on. Work and private lives are separate. Unless they give you the same power to request the MD's last few bank statements (hey, I gotta know how financially secure my potential employer acts), this is totally outrageous.

On top of this, how do you know the interviewer's PC is not infected with a keylogger, and the moment you enter your password, your account is compromised. No fracking way.

I already had to put my foot down at my current employer. We have a sometimes overzealous HR person, who thought it'd be a totally natural idea for the company to have every staff members' login password (and sent out an email to that effect to all staff). Admittedly she thought it would only be used if someone needed access to a work-related file when a staff member was away on holidays, but she just didn't think about the implications. She didn't even consider what would happen if the person happened to connect to online banking and saved her password in her browser. If you, as an employer, have access to their login, you have access to such personal details. Not acceptable. Eventually the idea was abandoned, and all passwords already collected destroyed.

 

[WRXXXR]

It would be very rare for an employer to ask for a Facebook password but it's the norm for them to do a background check. As easy as googling their name or asking for a friend request.

What happens out of work should be kept away from work but the reality is that an employee is a representsentation of the employee at all times.

It's simply really, think about what you put online. The world doesn't need to see you passed out and covered in vomit in front of a Casino at 5am

 

[ecchimiki]

It's simply really, think about what you put online. The world doesn't need to see you passed out and covered in vomit in front of a Casino at 5am

Oh, agree with that sentiment. BUT, on my Facebook (which is set viewable by friends only, and I make sure none of my coworkers have access to me) I do frequently discuss political views and the like, and THAT I don't care for them to see. What if their view was diametrically opposed on a topic, would that, even subconsciously, work against me if my employer saw my view?

So to some degree, there should be a clear separation. I never mention my employer by name on Facebook, and likewise, on my linkedin profile, I don't have any non-work related info.

Otherwise they may as well put questions like "what is your sexual orientation", "what are your political views", etc. in job application forms. If that sort of question is against the law (and it is) on a job application form, then my employer has no right to ask me to reveal my Facebook wall content.

 

[svengali]

Sounds to me as if Facebook is more trouble than it is worth.

 

[WRXXXR]

Amen to that Sven! The amount of people who have lost friends, relationships and jobs over Facebook is incredible.

Employers generally care very little about an employees sexual, religious or political preferences. It's more about finding out what a person is really like, outside of work.

 

[Switchxxx]

There are like 800-900 million users on Facebook, employers a) cam't afford to put al of them othe bottom of the file, or b) legally do that. Plus it is a huge invasion of privacy. But if you profile is public, it's your responsibility!

 

[muftai]

What would the employer do if the employee had no facebook account I wonder?

 

[WRXXXR]

Plus it is a huge invasion of privacy!

Surely I'm not the only one who sees the irony in this comment!!

 

[Naughty Thoughts]

He's talking about non-public information, such as private messages with other members and notes / posts that aren't publicly available.

...any employer that makes such a request is one I will immediately walk out on.

Agreed.

There are some jobs where I would imagine that this would be a valid request. Someone who was applying to work in the secret service, as a spy or other high-level, high-trust position would expect that their potential employer would do a very thorough check on their life. Asking for their Facebook password would be a fairly simple way of doing a part of that.

However, if I was applying for a retail job, or working as a sales rep then I don't see why they would need to ask for something like that.

If someone applied to go work at a Ford caryard selling Fords, then it shouldn't really matter if they were a Holden fan. If they really didn't like the company then they either wouldn't apply in the first place, or their attitude would show up in the first few days, or even at the interview.