States and feds moving to block employer access to social media

Lexology Foley & Lardner LLP John F. Birmingham Jr. USA April 16 2012 Employers are increasing the review of applicants’ social media sites as part of their standard hiring processes. A 2009 poll revealed that as many as 45 percent of employers regularly screen applicants through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and many of these employers have declined to hire candidates because the sites contained provocative or inappropriate photographs, drinking or drug use, negative comments about prior employers, discriminatory comments, and so forth. While laws like the Electronic Communications Privacy Act require permission to access sites and government organizations such as the NLRB have policed discipline based upon social media activity, no state has banned the review of applicants’ social media sites until now. Full Story: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=43b3885f-c13b-41fc-a058-19c5f900e581&utm_source=lexology+daily+newsfeed&utm_medium=html+email+-+body+-+federal+section&utm_campaign=lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=lexology+daily+newsfeed+2012-04-23&utm_term=