I do seminars on how to use social networking sites and why lawyers and
other legal professionals would want to use them for
investigative/background research. I mostly focus on using them to
investigate the opposing parties, experts, attorneys, clients, and
potential clients.
You asked for "suggestions, advice, warnings, etc. on using Internet
sites to search for information on job applicants." Well, that's another
story than using them against the opposition or for client
backgrounding. At this point, it's a gray area as to whether it's
"ethical" to use these sites AND to make decisions based on the
information found on these sites... For instance, what if you learn
something from an Internet site about the applicant--something that you
couldn't ask an applicant about at an interview, and you decide not to
hire them (whether it's based on what you learned from the Internet site
or not) and they find out. There could be an employment discrimination
suit possibility. How they would find out, I'm not sure... But, there is
always electronic discovery if an applicant is turned down and suspects
you learned something about him/her from an Internet site.
After doing almost 30 in-house seminars last year, I learned that most
firms have no policy on whether to use these sites to search for
information on job applicants, while a few have strict policies NOT to
use them and a few have strict policies that they WILL use them.
This is probably something to discuss with an employment lawyer before
you decide on your policy.
--Best Regards,
Carole
Carole Levitt J.D., M.L.S. clevitt@netforlawyers.com President,Internet For Lawyers http://www.netforlawyers.com
Business Office: P.O. Box 1065, Culver City, CA 90232 / Seminar Office: Bernalillo, New Mexico
phone: 310/559-2247
SEMINAR SPEAKER: http://www.livecleseminars.com/
AUTHOR: The Lawyer's Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet, ABA 2006 (http://www.internetfactfinder.com)
AUTHOR: The Cybersleuth's Guide to the Internet, IFL Press 2008 (http://www.netforlawyers.com/prod01.htm)
EDITOR: Internet Fact Finding For Lawyers, ALI-ABA (http://iffl.ali-aba.org)
PAST CHAIR: California State Bar LPMT Section(http://www.calbar.ca.gov/lpmt)
-----Original Message----- From: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu] On Behalf Of Heather_Phillips@LB9.uscourts.gov Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 11:16 AM To: Karen Mahnk Cc: law-lib@ucdavis.edu Subject: [LAW-LIB:56264] Re: Researching background information on job applicants ...
In addition to that, there is always the complication posed by common names. Case in point: my brother was evidently bored one day and decided to Google my name. He discovered that there are quite a number of people who share my name -- including a realtors, a dancer, a graphic design artist, and (most memorably), a stunt woman and actress who has worked in movies such as "Bikini Bandits go to Hell".
Now, while this example is a bit extreme -- I doubt that anyone would mistake me for a "bikini bandit" -- more subtle forms of confusion among
people with the same or similar names could easily occur. And while most librarians are careful about provenance and the authenticity of information, it still isn't hard to imagine someone being credited with involvement in their namesake's controversial hobby, committee or project -- especially if other information (such as geographical location) also seems to overlap.
"Karen Mahnk" <kmahnk@gmail.com> Sent by: owner-law-lib@ucdavis.edu 07/31/2008 06:54 PM
To "Hill, Byron C." <BHill@bowditch.com> cc law-lib@ucdavis.edu Subject [LAW-LIB:56253] Re: Researching background information on job applicants
...
Hi Byron; Using general Internet places such as Facebook, etc. are good "getting to know you" adjunct tools for obtaining very, "lite" information about an individual, such as what organizations the subject may be a member of(hobbies, etc.). I stress may* because much of this sort of data is often unconfirmed and not always accurate - pparticularly so for common
named subjects but also for data found on unique named individuals in this age of cyber-revenge, as well as attempts at anonymity. All internet data should be confirmed with original "official" supporting, quality data. For example, if a blog named an individual as ie. having been arrested, that could be confirmed with first hand sources such as local clerk records. I have had great success using Internet sources that were very good "leads" /or starting points for finding more confirmed data. However, I would think relying on any unofficial, Internet sources - especially negative issues, *could be a potential liability if it was found that an employer used the Internet as standard practice to screen applicants in any way. Karen Mahnk, Reference Librarian Lake Park Public Library 529 Park Avenue Lake Park, Fl., 33403 561 881-3330 Fax: 561881-3336 kmahnk@lakeparkflorida.gov www.lakepark-fl.gov
On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 12:00 PM, Hill, Byron C. <BHill@bowditch.com> wrote:
I am seeking suggestions, advice, warnings, etc. on using Internet sites to search for information on job applicants. While we would continue to use a third-party service to do in-depth background checks when advisable, I'm wondering if searches of Google, Facebook, MySpace, etc. are being used as hiring tools. I understand the shortcomings of all these sites, but would be interested in hearing anyone's experiences
and suggestions. Thank you. Byron Byron Hill, Librarian Bowditch & Dewey, LLP Worcester - Framingham - Boston, MA TEL: 508-926-3331 FAX: 508-929-3140 E-M: bhill@bowditch.com Communications from our firm may contain or incorporate federal tax advice. Under recently promulgated US Internal Revenue Service standards (Circular 230), we are required to inform you that only formal, written tax opinions meeting the requirements of Circular 230 may be relied upon
by taxpayers for the purpose of avoiding tax-related penalties. Accordingly, this communication is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax-related penalties under the Internal Revenue Code.
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