The Legal Aspect of Social Media Employment Background Check and its Implications for Employers

Abstract

As the social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have become popular among students and new graduates, employers or recruiting organizations are using them as a tool in a recruiting process. The so called “background check” is increasingly conducted online through social networking sites, in many cases without permission. Online background check is viewed as a less expensive and effective tool to get the useful information about job applicants. However, this could contribute bias and discrimination in employment a decision making process since a number of employers reject job applicants because the information they have seen on the social networking sites. This article will discuss the legal aspect of social media employment background check, and aim to determine whether the background check in social networking sites violates the right to privacy of the job applicants and complies with law. Moreover, this article provides the implication for employers in order to avoid privacy right infringement.