Government: OK to hire, fire employees based on social media
SPARTANBURG (WHNS) -- Whenever you log onto social media pages like Facebook or Twitter and post pictures or stories from the night before, if it's not set to private your potential boss may be looking.
"I think it's alright," Eric Alexander, a Facebook user said.
He believes potential employers have the right to check social media pages before making a decision to hire someone.
"If you're going to talk about things and put things and blog things, then you've gotta know that people are going to be looking at that," he said.
However, some said logging onto those pages mean clicking into someone's private life.
"I just think they're being nosey and just want to find something to do. My privacy should be my privacy and it should stay that way," Teresa Allgood, another Facebook user said.
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission decided employers who hire a company specifically for background checks can legally decide to hire or not hire based on what they find on social media sites. But there are some rules they must follow first.
"The company is required to notify the employee, or perspective employee of the reasons why they're not going to hire that person based on something that they found," Mike Shetterly, a lawyer with Ogletree, Dekins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart law firm said.
"The third party vendor has to then send the results of those findings to the prospective employee," He said.
He practices labor and employment law with the firm. He said to be sure business stays business and personal things are personal, be mindful what is put on those sites.
"It's sort of that old rule, if you don't want your grandmother to know about it, don't put it out in the public eye," he said.
The FTC determined these rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which also allows for credit checks before a person is hired.
What do you think about employers being allowed to make hiring decisions based on your Facebook and Twitter postings? Leave a comment and let us know.
(This story courtesy WHNS and Fox Carolina.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH