Google. YouTube. Facebook. LinkedIn. Twitter. You can access almost anything on the Internet, but should you? In the first part of this session, you will learn the risks and benefits of using the Internet and, specifically, social networking sites as part of your institution’s hiring process. We will facilitate a lively discussion about what social networking sites might reveal about applicants, and then offer our advice about when it is appropriate to use them, and who should use them, in the hiring process.
An employer’s access to information continues in the workplace, but the considerations are different. The second part of the session will examine employees’ privacy rights and when an employer can look at employees’ social networking sites, computers and cell phones. Drawing on examples from the audience, we will offer our advice about when employers should look at such sites and devices.
The learning objectives for this session include:
1. Understanding how federal and state law may limit the use of the Internet and social networking sites in the hiring process;
2. Understanding how the common law of privacy impacts when an employer may access an employee’s social networking sites and electronic devices; and,
3. Understanding the balance between employee rights of privacy and protecting the reputation and good work environment of a college.
