Facebook says it may sue employers who demand job applicants' passwords

foundit66 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-23-2012, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Facebook has taken a stand against what it calls a "distressing increase" in reports of employers demanding the Facebook passwords of employees and job applicants.

One such report came from the Associated Press this week, which detailed cases of interviewers asking applicants for Facebook usernames and passwords, a clear invasion of privacy if we've ever heard of one. Employers examining applicants' and employees' activity on social media networks isn't new—but typically it is restricted to what information users have made publicly available to everyone. Facebook said it could seek policy changes or file lawsuits to prevent employers from demanding passwords.

While Facebook is often criticized for privacy violations of its own, this time it's fighting on behalf of its users.

"Facebook takes your privacy seriously," Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan said in a statement issued today. "We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges."

Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, is drafting legislation that would outlaw the practice of employers asking for login credentials to social networking sites and e-mail accounts, Politico reported Wednesday. Blumenthal called it an "unreasonable invasion of privacy."

Sharing or soliciting a password is already a violation of Facebook's user agreement.

"As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job," Facebook said. "And as the friend of a user, you shouldn’t have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don’t know and didn’t intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job. That’s why we’ve made it a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to share or solicit a Facebook password."

In addition to these password requests being a threat to both user privacy and security, Facebook said it could expose employers to legal liability.

"We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s right the thing to do," Facebook said. "But it also may cause problems for the employers that they are not anticipating. For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don’t hire that person."

Facebook says it may sue employers who demand job applicants' passwords

No man.
It's all cool.

I had a recent job interview with a company that demanded that I give them my current corporate login information.
They wanted to review my discussions to verify professionalism.
I figured it was just as valid, right?

saltwn · #2 (**permalink**) 03-23-2012, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foundit66

Facebook says it may sue employers who demand job applicants' passwords

No man.
It's all cool.

I had a recent job interview with a company that demanded that I give them my current corporate login information.
They wanted to review my discussions to verify professionalism.
I figured it was just as valid, right?

Yes my daughter told me her company is weird about Facebook. I don't know all the details but they are very leery of the site. Probably because social networking is so viral it could literally take down a company especially a restaurant corp in nothin' flat.

foundit66 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-03-2012, 07:00 AM

The above article mentions how stupid companies are to pull this stuff as it removes "deniability" on characteristics where discrimination is illegal.
If the Facebook surfing reveals a handicap or sexual orientation or religion and the employee is later fired (or not hired), the question as to whether or not the basis for firing was on the characteristic in question could be one for the courts...

Quote:

Dear Mr. President:
Thank you very much for honouring me with the position of Director of Software Development. I value your trust and have enjoyed my first two months on the job immensely. You have a world-class team and are executing on a daring vision. It pains me to tell you this, however I am forced to resign my position as Director and from here on, I must cheer your team from a distance.

The situation is simple. As you doubtless recall, the new COO has issued a new set of employment contracts. The legalities of arm-twisting employees into signing a new employment contract when they already had a contract with the firm is her responsibility, I’ll just have to trust her when she says we can fire anyone without notice if they refuse to agree.

One of the new terms is that every prospective new hire allow their manager to “shoulder surf” as they browse their Facebook or better still, to voluntarily log their manager into their Facebook account. If I recall correctly, she claims that we have the obligation to do a “background check” on prospective hires. I’m extremely vague on the correlation between faux-promiscuous sex or drinking and employee performance, but as she is a seasoned veteran, I have to trust her when she says that things like this overrule my judgment as to who is and who isn’t fit to be a programmer in our employ.
I was willing to go along with things and see how they panned out. But today something went seriously wrong. I have been interviewing senior hires for the crucial tech lead position on the Fizz Buzz team, and while several walked out in a huff when I asked them to let me look at their Facebook, one young lady smiled and said I could help myself. She logged into her Facebook as I requested, and as I followed the COO’s instructions to scan her timeline and friends list looking for evidence of moral turpitude, I became aware she was writing something on her iPad.
“Taking notes?” I asked politely.
“No,” she smiled, “Emailing a human rights lawyer I know.” To say that the tension in the room could be cut with a knife would be understatement of the highest order. “Oh?” I asked. I waited, and as I am an expert in out-waiting people, she eventually cracked and explained herself.
“If you are surfing my Facebook, you could reasonably be expected to discover that I am a Lesbian. Since discrimination against me on this basis is illegal in Ontario, I am just preparing myself for the possibility that you might refuse to hire me and instead hire someone who is a heterosexual but less qualified in any way. Likewise, if you do hire me, I might need to have your employment contracts disclosed to ensure you aren’t paying me less than any male and/or heterosexual colleagues with equivalent responsibilities and experience.”
I got her out of the room as quickly as possible. The next few interviews were a blur, I was shaken. And then it happened again. This time, I found myself talking to a young man fresh out of University about a development position. After allowing me to surf his Facebook, he asked me how I felt about parenting. As a parent, it was easy to say I liked the idea. Then he dropped the bombshell.
His partner was expecting, and shortly after being hired he would be taking six months of parental leave as required by Ontario law. I told him that he should not have discussed this matter with me. “Oh normally I wouldn’t, but since you’re looking through my Facebook, you know that already. Now of course, you would never refuse to hire someone because they plan to exercise their legal right to parental leave, would you?”
What could I say? I guess we have another hire whether he’s qualified or not. Here’s the bottom line: My ability to select the best candidates for our positions has been irreparably compromised by looking into their private lives. I’ve been “tainted” by knowledge of their sexual orientation, illnesses, religion, political affiliations, and other factors that expose us to anti-discrimination legislation. We can't even claim that the employee improperly disclosed these matters to us, as we are the ones initiating the investigation of their private doings
Worse, I cannot manage these people once they're hired. I would be diffident about censuring them or passing them over for advancement for fear of incurring a lawsuit that would be a distraction to our business and damaging to our reputation as fair employers.
Therefore, please consider this my formal resignation. The COO does not tell me how to write software, so I will not tell her how to set HR standards, but I suggest that you review this policy and ask whether it is truly in the company’s interest to indiscriminately dig through a candidates’ private life. Either that, or we should move to a jurisdiction where we have zero exposure to legal consequences for discrimination.
Yours very truly,
Reginald Scott Braithwaite

I hereby resign - raganwald's posterous

GottaGo · #4 (**permalink**) 04-03-2012, 07:11 AM

Any employer who requires access to either fb or email is putting themselves up for a game of pin the tail on the employer in court.

The violation of privacy laws is in the multiples.

Any prospective employer who asked me for access, would not be my employer.

rivrrat · #5 (**permalink**) 04-03-2012, 08:57 AM

LMFAO

If any prospective employer asked about logging into my facebook page, my personal email, or coming over to my home to go through my underwear drawer, I would stand up and walk out of the interview. No way in hell would I work for a company with any policies like that.

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