Last week the Federal Trade Commission decided to stop investigating a start-up company that searches social media and other websites to perform background checks on potential (and current) employees.
The government has decided that as long as the company complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act by telling applicants if something that was found in their employment background check resulted in them not being hired.
This is potentially big news in the pre-employment screening industry, as it could signal the future of background checks may include an element that delves into personal information shared on social media websites and other online outlets.
There could be a slippery slope there of what some employers would want to find out about a potential employee’s personal life, and whether knowing such things as sexual orientation or religious preferences could taint an employer’s view of the applicant, or even hurt their chances of being hired.
It’s true that many employers already check out applicants’ Facebook and Myspace pages and perform other cursory Google searches to find out whatever they can about a potential employee. Stay tuned for more as this trend possibly develops into something more…
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