Employers Using Social Networks For Background Checks

Two employment lawyers writing in the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Journal talk about the increasing number of employers who use online social networks (like Facebook) to perform background checks on their potential employees. The article is entitled: “MySpace or Yours? How Can a Web Site Cost Someone a Job?” and you can read it here. Among other things, they conclude that, unlike screening information they obtain from outside companies, the information gleaned from these sites need not be disclosed to the prospective employee under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.