Search online for postings by employees, new hires
Search online for postings by employees, new hires
The popularity of social networking sites can be helpful when it comes to screening new employees and seeing what current employees are saying on the Internet, says Jeffrey M. Pincus, JD, a partner with the law firm of Lewis Johs in Melville, NY. More companies are searching for a job applicant's online presence as a way to investigate his or her background, he says.
The online search can be particularly useful in health care because of the sensitivity about trusting people with the care of patients and with their private health information, he says.
Pincus cites a case in which his firm represented a transportation company being sued after a driver had an accident while drunk and killed someone. The plaintiff's attorney found a Facebook posting from before the accident in which the driver admitted a history of drunk driving. The plaintiff then argued that the company should have found that information and known that the driver was dangerous.
"We are advising our clients that it is a good [idea] to see what is out there already, what this person has chosen to post online, because this can give you some idea of what you are working with," he says. "It also can be a good idea to do the same search with existing employees, with their knowledge. Inform them as a condition of their employment that they can expect you to periodically search for them online."
Pincus notes that on some social networking sites, including Facebook, one cannot look at a person's full profile and postings without that person first agreeing. (On Facebook, this means asking if you can be the person's "friend," which allows you access to see that person's information.) That means that you may need to include a policy requiring the employee to allow the employer access to the information as a condition of employment or the hiring process.
"Of course, once you gain access to the information, they are less likely to post something offensive or inappropriate. They may just remove their Facebook page," Pincus says. "But maybe that's not a bad effect."
Pincus notes that risk managers must be careful to implement such a policy uniformly, rather than singling out some for special investigation. Also be sure to avoid inappropriate use of personal information found on the Internet site, such as information about sexual orientation.
When companies search job applicants' online postings, they find that about a third of the applicants should be rejected because they documented alcohol or drug abuse or lied about their qualifications, Pincus says.
"What if the hospital in Wisconsin knew that employees were posting information about patients? What if that information were out there for a while and they had not taken the steps to look for it?" he says. "I'm not saying that definitely would make them liable for damages, but this is an evolving area of law, and it wouldn't look good for that hospital. This is a new claim that I think we will be seeing in the future."
Source
For more information on using online searches, contact:
Jeffrey M. Pincus, JD, Lewis Johs Avallone Aviles LLP, Melville, NY. Telephone: (631) 755-0101. E-mail: [email protected].
The popularity of social networking sites can be helpful when it comes to screening new employees and seeing what current employees are saying on the Internet, says Jeffrey M. Pincus, JD, a partner with the law firm of Lewis Johs in Melville, NY. More companies are searching for a job applicant's online presence as a way to investigate his or her background, he says.Subscribe Now for Access
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