Employer background check on facebook...

[AMCRambler]

Seems a bit heavy handed to me. If there's nothing on the public facing side to identify that as your Facebook page I would just lie and tell them you don't have one and they must have found someone else with the same name.

 

[Macamus Prime]

Get over it.

Way ahead of you. FB-free for 2 years now.

FB is not a fad. It's not going anywhere. It's one of the ways people socialize on top of phone, text, in person, etc. Who gets it to be an 'internet star'? WTF?

I guess all your friends aren't anywhere near like the "element" I had on my list. Good for you! :thumbsup:

Please note; my rants based on personal experience do NOT dictate you should do what I say. I mean, if I was demanding you sign a petition, you reply /agree or prove to me you are going to delete your face book, then yes, defend yourself tooth and nail. But, my post is just that; my post. Not a mandate you follow.

Again, get over it. FB or something like FB will always exist from now on.

Again, welcome to 2009. Thanks none the less though!

 

[Cuda1447]

How are you going to explain to Facebook friends that they are undesirables...?

I don't know that she has any 'undesirables' as friends. That said, I figure we give them access till she starts the job and than we can remove the employer as a friend.

 

[Theb]

I don't know that she has any 'undesirables' as friends. That said, I figure we give them access till she starts the job and than we can remove the employer as a friend.

Hopefully...

 

[HAL9000]

I don't know that she has any 'undesirables' as friends. That said, I figure we give them access till she starts the job and than we can remove the employer as a friend.

Yep fair enough, if it were me I'd just extremely limit what the employer can see, there's a setting for that.

 

[slayer202]

sure, it's a violation of her privacy.

but when you're also agreeing to a drug test, polygraph, and psych evaluation, you don't really value your privacy

 

[Gunslinger08]

I doubt that it is illegal for them to require this for employment and honestly, you shouldn't be posting anything on Facebook that is even questionable. However, it's a stupid job requirement for a local position and I would probably look for something else. If they want to be that involved in your personal life, who says it stops with that? When a company shows you a little bit of stupid before you're even hired, imagine the iceberg of stupid hiding just below the surface.

 

[SunnyD]

So my wife just got hired for a new job with the county government. They did the usual, drug test, polygraph, psych evaluation etc... Honestly, they did a lot of stuff and I was a bit surprised. A few days ago she got a facebook request from 'county' sherrifs office. She told me and I told her to reject that shit, she doesn't need to be friends with her future employer on Facebook.

Today she got a call from them telling her she needs to accept the friend request because that's part of their background check. She doesn't have anything to hide so she is going to do it, but I personally think that's some total fucking bullshit. I don't think an employer has any right to make you become friends with them on Facebook so they can check you out further.

Am I overreacting or is this some bullshit?

Delete said facebook account. Problem solved.

 

[Zeze]

What the hell is her position that requires drug test, polygraph, and psych evaluation + fucking FB friend request acceptance?

 

[Cuda1447]

sure, it's a violation of her privacy.

but when you're also agreeing to a drug test, polygraph, and psych evaluation, you don't really value your privacy

Drug test I can understand, that's S.O.P. Polygraph I was a bit hesitant about, but I suppose they want to make sure she is being truthful about employment history etc... Psych eval... Well she is taking a position where she works closely with children and families, so ok, I can see why that would be important.

With FB though, if its set to private, no one can see it - why should they be concerned beyond that? *shrugs* It's not the end of the world, like I said she doesn't really have anything to hide, I just think companies are really starting to cross a line here.

 

[Gillbot]

Delete said facebook account. Problem solved.

I think they can still get the info from facebook. If you consent to the background check, that gives them the right to contact facebook and gain access to even "deleted" accounts.

 

[Gillbot]

What the hell is her position that requires drug test, polygraph, and psych evaluation + fucking FB friend request acceptance?

It's common for government jobs, depending on the branch etc.

 

[sourceninja]

I deleted my facebook account the moment my mom and grandma got one (in all seriousness I got rid of it due to privacy control concerns). Fortunately for me, I can't change my mind as facebook will not let you re-use a email address once you delete (not deactivate) a facebook account.

This has paid off in spades with all the people who seem to think facebook is the only means of communication. I actually feel my personal relationships got better once I stopped using the internet as a means of personal communication.

 

[edro]

Defriend everyone, delete all content and accept.

 

[Corporate Thug]

You want the job; you accept the requirements

pretty much this. They aren't doing anything illegal.

 

[sactoking]

The problem with the "Delete the account" advice is that it takes two weeks to delete.

 

[Blackjack200]

You want the job; you accept the requirements

The employer sets the conditions for/of employment. Period. FB has been the death of many, many careers and marriages because people are stupid and post things there that they shouldn't. Or they are friends with folks that have questionable lifestyles.

If your wife's got nothing to hide and isn't friends with the leader of a white supremacist group or "likes" a number of headshops on the sleazy side of town, then she's got nothing to fear.

My opinion on what my employer demands of me has zero effect on my ability to keep the job, as long as I keep my opinion to myself. As long as I comply, I get paid. It's the new world order, my friend.

And what if the employer showed up at your door and said "let me download all your emails onto a .pst and take them home so I can read them"?

You're not compelled to... it's just a condition of employment.

It's fucking bullshit and it's asinine that companies are allowed to get away with this shit. Employees need the government to help them protect their privacy.

It started with the drug testing. Completely illegitimate invasion of privacy.

 

[Corporate Thug]

sure, it's a violation of her privacy.

but when you're also agreeing to a drug test, polygraph, and psych evaluation, you don't really value your privacy

If you don't agree, you can't apply for a A LOT of government jobs.

 

[sactoking]

I deleted my facebook account the moment my mom and grandma got one (in all seriousness I got rid of it due to privacy control concerns). Fortunately for me, I can't change my mind as facebook will not let you re-use a email address once you delete (not deactivate) a facebook account.

This has paid off in spades with all the people who seem to think facebook is the only means of communication. I actually feel my personal relationships got better once I stopped using the internet as a means of personal communication.

Yes, they do let you re-use an email address.

 

[Cuda1447]

And what if the employer showed up at your door and said "let me download all your emails onto a .pst and take them home so I can read them"?

You're not compelled to... it's just a condition of employment.

It's fucking bullshit and it's asinine that companies are allowed to get away with this shit. Employees need the government to help them protect their privacy.

It started with the drug testing. Completely illegitimate invasion of privacy.

Yea, I think I agree with this. It's that old slippery slope. The drug tests I really didn't have a big problem with, not because I agree with them, but because I have nothing to hide. But the slippery slope is dangerous and I guess this is why we fight things on principle and not the actual affect it has on us.

 

[Corporate Thug]

And what if the employer showed up at your door and said "let me download all your emails onto a .pst and take them home so I can read them"?

You're not compelled to... it's just a condition of employment.

It's fucking bullshit and it's asinine that companies are allowed to get away with this shit. Employees need the government to help them protect their privacy.

It started with the drug testing. Completely illegitimate invasion of privacy.

There is a recognized legal right to privacy to emails. There is no such right to privacy to a facebook account AFAIK since its a public forum (to varying degrees, depending on your privacy settings).

 

[911paramedic]

It's not bullshit IMHO.

It's a background check, and one of the best ways to do that is to look into your personal life...which YOU posted online. Many people get denied jobs that require maturity, integrity, and other such qualities because of FB pics or entries. It's online FFS.

 

[jteef]

if you need the money then give them access; use all the privacy shit to restrict what they see as best you can. i.e. photos; wall;

then complain to your state once she's past her probationary period.

 

[bobdole369]

So my wife just got hired for a new job with the county government. They did the usual, drug test, polygraph, psych evaluation etc... Honestly, they did a lot of stuff and I was a bit surprised. A few days ago she got a facebook request from 'county' sherrifs office. She told me and I told her to reject that shit, she doesn't need to be friends with her future employer on Facebook.

Today she got a call from them telling her she needs to accept the friend request because that's part of their background check. She doesn't have anything to hide so she is going to do it, but I personally think that's some total fucking bullshit. I don't think an employer has any right to make you become friends with them on Facebook so they can check you out further.

Am I overreacting or is this some bullshit?

It is bullshit. It is totally none of their business, and it is her "right" to not do it and find work elsewhere. If the company wants to look in your home and inspect your toilet they can ask you to do that too - but you don't have to do it. And if they want to say you can't work there unless you submit a stool sample, you can always simply not work there.

 

[DrPizza]

LOLOL
The facebook profile is probably about 10 times more valid of a method of checking someone's background than a polygraph. Actually, nearly infinitely times more valid - as there's very little validity to polygraphs. (By the way, has a polygraph test ever caught a spy subjected to routine polygraph tests? Answer: no.)

Depending on what part of the county government she's working for, there may be a LOT of reasons for such a background check. i.e. suppose someone were working for the sheriff's department and it wasn't until the prosecutor lost a major case for technical errors that someone realized the person in the background making the blunders was a member of a gang. Now, I'm sure your wife isn't a gang member, but there are plenty of other reasons.

The nice thing about it is - at least the county government is being honest about it. There are plenty of ways of getting that information without your knowledge. Regardless of your "privacy" setting, if you post it online, it's out there.