Now with the knowledge of the statistics of the progression of recruiters using social media to recruit their staff, now we must ask is this legal? What ever happened to freedom of speech? What about discrimination? Should employees be worried on what they put on their social media profile? According to Elizabeth Garone in her article of “Can social media get you fired?” it is possible that social media can affect your employment status. She states that one’s way of thinking that their profile may be appropriate for them on their own time, then again to another may not.
Another source is in the Sage Journal, regarding “Social Media- A Virtual Pandora’s Box: Prevalence, possible legal liabilities, and Policies” on page 9, sub category Online Employee Speech Protected by Labor Laws asserts that it is probable that a company may restrict employees to express their job concerns on social media, however this may result to legal action. Federal law protects employee’s freedom of speech on discussing any work matters. And so this means it is illegal to a company to ask their employees not to vent regarding their working situations. An additional factor to report is that some companies have been wise in a sense to get around it. For instance, Jonathan Segal’s article of “Social media Use in Hiring” assessing the Risks” suggest some guidance of how companies should implement social media in hiring. (see box)
7 Ways to Maximize Benefit and Minimize Risk Employers are well-advised to follow this guidance when using social media in the hiring process:
- See more at: http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2014/0914/pages/0914-social-media-hiring.aspx#sthash.94lhWex3.dpuf
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This is something to really be aware of as a recruiter and as a job seeker. Knowing this may help not only recruiters in avoiding any legal suits, but as a job seeker, because this can affect their future employment opportunities.