Is it ethical or legal for employers to look at your facebook or myspace?

Oh nonsense.. You put it out there.

 

It's probably wrong for them to do, but it's avoidable if you're somewhat intelligent. Either don't have, or don't post dumb stuff on it. I'm only 22, and I got rid of mine when I was 19.

 

I stopped using facebook but aren't there privacy settings? I always use them because as far as I'm aware the owners of facebook allow others to look at your information legally if you set your privacy low and that's not just the gov but private groups. I stopped using facebook because it's ran by untrustworthy people. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook
I just use my phone which is much more private.

 

Just don't put anything on Facebook that you wouldn't proudly tell your mom.

 

If you post it on the internet, it's fair game to be seen. Any law suits will lose.

 

Is it ethical for people to post private information about themselves on a public website and then complain that other people dared to look at it?

 

That is rather like an indecent exposurist complaining that a girl looked at his willie, isn't it?

 

Or, more like women who dress to expose copious cleavage then feign outrage when men stare at their glorious jugs of swinging fun.

 

There will definetly be lawsuits in the future. Because they are descriminating. Employers are looking at color, look, sex, etc. There is no way to separate that from what they are trying to say are legit reasons.

 

What? Why would someone need to look at Facebook to determine an applicants "color, look, sex"? All of those things can be determined during the interview and when the applicant applies in the first place.

 

Interesting that people do though. This is why I through this out there.I don't think people realize how far and close to being unethical goes with some of these employees. Just by having that on an application is discrimination. Very interesting that people who do these practices just amp it up on the internet. Also there are a lot of employers who don't try to do the right thing. Keep that in mind. Even if only 30% were purposely doing wrong that's still 30% too many.

 

The purpose of private settings is you have it available for people who you want to see it. Not for snoopers or hackers. So in essence they are meant to be private. It's unethical as I stated before and will not again, when employers hack profiles, and use friends of friends to snoop.

 

Of course it is! In fact, it is something that the employees willingly allow, since they're the ones who provide the information for the public to digest, no?

If you do not wish to share things about yourself publicly, don't post them publicly!

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090828231417AAO6nY8

 

This has nothing to do with the topic.

 

I've actually heard employers says they would never hire somebody who they knew voted Democrat....which isn't hard to figure out. Democrats like unions, think employers are evil rich people, and have an overriding philosophy that the world owes them a living. Who would want to hire an employee with that outlook on life?

 

This may come as a shock, but employers discriminate with every hire they make. It is perfectly legal and appropriate.

Have you ever not got a job and asked the interviewer why? The interviewer probably told you that you didn't have enough education, experience, or maybe even that you were over qualified. Those are all examples of discrimination. Many states have laws that prohibit employers or landlords from discriminating against folks based on race, religion, or other protected characteristics but "getting ripped" isn't a protected status.

A potential employer is considering investing a lot of time and money in you. A lot more than you're planning on investing in your next movie night. No one can sue you for looking up Mel Gibson on the internet and making your ticket decision based on what you find... and no one can sue your potential employer for doing the same. So you and Mel should be careful about what public statements you make, including what you put on your facebook page.

 

This may come as a shock, but the term discriminate is bad and is a WRONG practice. Interesting that people aren't using proper judgement but are discriminating and people think that is ok. Once you get that concept then you understand why there will be lawsuits just like there were lawsuits against racial acts and sexist act. There were times when people didn' think those were wrong either.

 

???

So basically you're saying that jobs should go to 'first come, first served'? Qualifications or lack thereof be d4mned?

 

I helped coordinate a mass-hiring project once for a large employer in Ft. Lauderdale. Since they were hiring mostly money-handlers, mgmt made a decision to use an experimental 'Integrity Test' for potential new hires. It was based on the assumption that MANY people will freely admit past indiscretions if you ask them outright. The results were amazing.

Some of the questions were vague like, "Do you ever find yourself rooting for the bad guy in movies?" Some were pointed, "Have you ever taken ANYTHING, even a pencil, from an employer without permission?"

The grading was very complex and flagged not only those who were risks, but also those who appeared too 'perfect' to be telling the truth.

I'm not sure if they kept using that test or not, but nowdays they can prob save the expense and just read people's Facebooks. The assumption is true... MANY people don't see anything wrong with 'minor indiscretions' and can't resist bragging about it. Dumb move if you're in the job market.

 

dis·crim·i·nate verb \dis-ˈkri-mə-ˌnāt\

Definition of DISCRIMINATE

1a : to make a distinction <discriminate among historical sources>
b : to use good judgment

The act of getting "ripped" and posting picture of your own drunken behavior on the internet is a reasonable basis of discrimination between potential candidates. I look forward to the first lawsuit that claims otherwise.

 

It is not ethical and should be illegal, businesses should not bar employment based on pre judgements from the internet because it is discrimination based on private life.

 

Businesses are too holy to hire potential candidates because their private drunken lives were posted on the internet?

This is a case of wrongful discrimination because what people do on their own time should not be used to hinder gainful employment.

 

LOL, remember that next time you put your life in the hands of an airline pilot. Or a bus driver for that matter.

Silly notion, LM. Businesses are responsible for the actions of their employees. Nobody's gonna hire a drunk, esp if that information is out there in cyberspace.

 

A person's past judgement and actions should not be used to estimate their future judgements and actions... I don't agree.

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