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2008 Best Employee Screening Posts

Dangers Of Using Social Networks On The Job Hunt In Australia

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NEWS.com.au (Australia) reports about the Dangers of using social networks on the job hunt.

Employers using social networks to gather information on job candidates could be breaking the law.

Social networks have become hot recruitment tools but Harmers Workplace Lawyers warn that using such sources to gather personal information to screen would-be employees carries a number of legal risks.

Harmers senior associate Bronwyn Maynard says many employers and recruiters are not aware of their obligations under the existing Privacy Act let alone the “General Protections” section of the Fair Work Act that came into force on July 1, 2009.

Under the Privacy Act employers and recruiters must:

  • Inform a candidate that they have collected personal information about them.
  • Explain the purpose of gathering the information.
  • Tell the candidate who else will see the information.

Luckily for recruiters and hiring managers, most candidates don’t realise that under privacy legislation they are entitled to see notes made about them during the recruitment screening process.

“The Privacy Act also dictates that companies must only collect personal information that is necessary for their business,” explains Ms Maynard.

Candidates can apply directly to employers and recruitment consultants to see the notes made and information gathered about them during a recruitment campaign. A candidate can request that inaccurate information be corrected. If the candidate considers the information irrelevant he or she can then make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner.

Ms Maynard said while there is no set timeframe, to expect a reply within 30 days would be a reasonable.

Read more about the Dangers of using social networks on the job hunt.

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Never, Never Lie On Your Resume

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Secretsofthejobhunt.com has a good article titled ” Should I lie on my résumé?” by Ginger Korljan.

“Today I learned about a new website which for a fee, will fabricate job history, degrees, and references for a résumé. Their justification? “A résumé is not a legal document.” They even provide an answering service if a potential employer wants to follow up with a phone call. I was astonished that any company would be so brazen to attempt this outright illegal activity, and even more astonished that people are actually buying it!

Read the rest of the article here.

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The Pitfalls Of Using Social Networking To Screen Potential Employees

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Here’s an excellent article on using social networks for employee screening.

Source: IT Business Edge

Lora Bentley spoke with Jacqueline Klosek, senior counsel and privacy law practitioner at Goodwin Procter, about the pitfalls employers want to avoid when using social networking and other Web sites to screen potential employees.

Bentley: I’ve read about the public outcry that resulted from the City of Bozeman, Montana’s decision to ask job applicants for their social networking site user names and passwords. Obviously, there are enough problems associated with that practice that the city discontinued it. Can you explain?

Klosek: It’s just, in my mind, fraught with legal dangers. For example, what you post on your own Web site, the writings and photos and such, you’re really using someone else’s service. And for the most part, if you provide your password to the sites in which you participate, you could be violating their terms of use, which could leave you as the user subject to potential claims, including termination of your account or worse.

Then, as an employer, say you ask someone for their user name and password and then give it to another employee to do the screening, you don’t know exactly what they’re going to do with that information. With the user name and password, they’re basically impersonating the person whose account it is. They can send e-mails that purport to be on that person’s behalf, they can review e-mails that were sent from other people… It could be mundane personal communications, but there could also be trade secrets being exchanged, or a host of other things behind these protected e-mails. It’s just a minefield of dangers, in my view.

Bentley: What if you are using the Internet to screen prospective employees without their user names and passwords? Aren’t there still risks in doing that?

Read the rest of the article here.

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Great, New HR Technology for Background Screening – Simplifies HR Management

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Take Control With Convenient Account Management Options Built Into Your Screening Software

Go beyond ordering and reports – simplify HR management and tap into powerful tools.

Our client module gives you access to features that streamline the whole screening experience.

  • Modify email and fax information, notification preferences and company information in real time
  • Sign up for regular screening statistics emails, giving a comprehensive summary of screening information on a daily, weekly or monthly basis
  • View past invoices online and download useful documents such as release forms from your own secure site
  • Administrative users can add, remove and manage other users online
  • Permissions management allows you to limit specific user access as needed

Request a Free Online Demo

Small Business Guide To Pre-Employment Background Checks

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Business.gov helps small businesses understand their legal requirements, and locate government services supporting the nation’s small business community.

This site is easy to use and an excellent resource for small businesses. The Employment & Labor Law section covers the following areas:

Read How To Stay Compliant With Pre-Employment Background Checks.

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FYI Screening, Inc. is a leading global provider of employee screening solutions to corporations, government agencies, healthcare systems and educational institutions.

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