States move to keep workers’ social media passwords away from the boss
For Tanna Klima, accepting a job applicant’s resume automatically ensures a few things will follow. As with most employment supervisors, Klima, the human resources manager for a small veterinary clinic in Sacramento, California, job one is checking the person’s listed references. But Klima doesn’t stop there.
“I look up every single applicant on Facebook,” she says.
As with virtually all hiring managers, Klima is looking for any sign that the person who might look so good on paper or even in an interview has another, less appealing side that could eventually cause her employer grief.
Such in-depth searches are why for years now workers and job seekers have been warned to be careful what they post to their Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites lest an inquisitive current or prospective boss sees something that makes them reconsider the workers’ employment. In addition, privacy experts have long recommended that social media users adjust their privacy settings to allow only friends and family to access their personal information.
But what happens when the boss demands that a worker allow them to access their private social media sites as a condition of employment, either by handing over their user name and password or by letting the employer or hiring agent look over their shoulder while the employee or applicant displays the site? (click to continue reading)
