Employers’ Use of Social Media in the Hiring Process

An individual’s social media account often contains personal information about their family, friends, and life. A social media profile can reveal information about a person’s race, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability, and other protected characteristics that are often not shown in resumes. Accordingly, employers are usually tempted to use social media in the hiring process to learn more about job candidates. However, such practices can be regarded as discriminatory.

Targeted Advertising of a Job Posting‍

To reach a larger pool of applicants, an employer may want to publish a job opening on social media. Many social media sites offer options that allow users to target a post to a particular community, such as communities based on age and gender. If an employer posts a job opening on their social media account and subsequently filters the post to a specific age group or gender, the employer may bein violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act or the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

If a candidate can show that their job candidacy was affected by a particular post that referenced a protected class under federal or state law, the candidate may file an anti-discrimination claim against their potential employer. Therefore, employers should ensure that job postings on social media are not configured to filter out any protected classes from viewing the job posting.

Private Social Media Profiles‍

If a job candidate’s social media profile is labelled as ‘private’ on a social media site, then the profile is only viewable by other social media accounts that the job applicant verifies. If the employer is not a pre-approved viewer of the job applicant’s social media profile, the employer cannot have another individual who is an approved viewer access the job applicant’s profile. Doing so would risk an invasion of privacy claim against the employer. The employer should not request to view the job applicant’s social media profile if it is private. Because the applicant’s profile likely contains information about the person’s religion, age, or race, it will become more difficult for the employer to protect against a later anti-discrimination claim.

Public Social Media Profiles

If a social media account is public, then the employer should require that employment decision makers do not view the profile. Instead, another non-decision maker can view the profile, gather information unrelated to any protected-class characteristics, and inform the decision maker of that information. Nonetheless, this practice should only be pursued if it is considered necessary to view the applicant’s job profile.

Non-Legal Considerations for Employers‍

Employers should be mindful that not every social media profile contains completely accurate information. Before applying for jobs, potential applicants often substantially alter their social media profiles in case employers view them. Many individuals also have both a public and private social media account, with the latter containing more personal information. Therefore, an employer should consider whether the legal risks that accompany viewing a job applicant’s profile justify the information it may obtain on the applicant.

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