Assess the Ethical and Legal Implications of Social Media and Hiring

Best Practices: The Future of Social Media and Hiring Preventing a lawsuit because of the access and misuse of information gathered from social media has become a challenge for human resource professionals to control the hiring process by ensuring only legitimate criteria is being used to make hiring decisions. There is a wealth of valuable information that an employer can legitimately consider from social media sites, such as relevant volunteer work, foreign travel, and language skills. However, research found that perception alone that a company viewed the job applicant’s social media profile without permission creates concern among applicants about the fairness of the hiring process and could have damaging effects on the company’s reputation (Vroman & Stulz, 2016). Employers should have a clear and defined policy revolving around the use or non-use of social media in hiring that trains employees to be aware of the policy and understand the importance of compliance. Getting consent from the job applicant to review their social media profile is strongly advised but should be used with discretion and not to illegally discriminate against an individual or group just because the information was legally obtained. A responsible and informed employer and employee is less likely to engage in behavior that results in litigation. By assessing the legal rules of social media in hiring, companies are prepared to mitigate risks and effectively engage in best practices.