http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Facebook+snooping+return+haunt/2424965/story.html
I came across this article just recently, but the debate has been ongoing ever since social networking became a huge part of modern culture. The question is: is it ethical for employers to use the personal profiles of potential employees as determinants of whether or not they should be hired?
The article informs of the various risks for both employers and employees associated with this controversy- a business must take into account the risks involved in such a process (i.e. human rights lawsuits arising,etc), as well as addresses the need of an employee to filter his or her profile, asking themselves: “would I want an employer to see this material?”
While this article doesn’t necessarily DEBATE whether or not employers are ethical in performing background checks in such a way, it brings up the main ethical issue of relating social behavior to work behavior. Should an employer be allowed to disregard the impressive resume of a candidate after seeing them passed out in a drunk stupor on Facebook? Or should this candidate’s personal life be irrelevant to the hiring process and focus on their job performance and what they could contribute to the company?
The argument continues…