How Cyber Law is Changing Employee Recruiting

The internet should not be viewed as a new way of living and working, but rather as an extension of our physical world. Anything you can do online can be done in the physical world, but using Google and Wikipedia is much more convenient than going to a library. That translates into the Human Resource world in much the same way, for instance employee recruiters still use fliers, they’re just on Twitter instead of on bulletin boards. It is a lot easier to see if a potential employee’s behavior is desirable with a search engine against a detailed hunt through newspapers. The internet is changing the game again, and the following will help you stay safe.

What Can You Do?

If you don’t have an online presence as part of your employee recruiting process, then you’re behind the times. 92% of businesses say they use social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to recruit employees. Not only are businesses filling open positions 20% quicker, they are finding the right employees 43% of the time. Social media can also serve as a layer of vetting a potential employee. One-third of employers said they have found something unsavory on a potential employee’s social media site (like sexual or racist comments, promoting illegal drug usage, or trashing former employers) that kept them from hiring a potential employee.

What Should You Do?

The trouble with using online sources to vet potential employees is you could learn something that might turn an employer off. In the case of Peter TerVeer, his supervisor discovered he was homosexual through Facebook and began harassing him until he quit. TerVeer is now suing the company, a case likely to reach the Supreme Court. Other information which can’t legally be asked on an application is easily accessible such as race, gender, age, religion, and political affiliation, all of which are not grounds to decline employment are being found and used against potential employees. Using an outside vetting agency, or using a manager removed from the hiring process, will allow you to find red flags while protecting you from discrimination lawsuits.  

What is the Right to be Forgotten? Is it a Right?

While accepted in the European Union and Argentina, the “right to be forgotten” is a movement in the United States saying that an individual should be able to remove damning information about themselves from search engines. Lawmakers have suggested adding provisions for exonerated people or minors, but no such law is in effect, and everything is, legally speaking, fair game. Whether or not one bad experience should ruin your job aspirations can be debatable, but the argument stems from freedom of speech and Google not being censored. If a candidate ever complains about his or her right to be forgotten, politely tell him or her that he has no such right.

Poaching is now Easier than Ever

While poaching has never been dead, unhappy employees at least had to put in effort to find a new job or hide their search; come on Jim, you look very dressed up for your “dentist appointment”. Even with the internet, going on Monster.com in the office was a huge red flag that probably ended a good amount of careers. However, Tinder-like apps like Switch, Poacht, Jobr, and White Truffle promote your resume, name and identifiable information excluded, to businesses who post blind job openings. You only get in contact if both of you “Swipe Right.” EHarmony is even setting up a branch of their website to set you up with your dream job, without much risk of your employer finding out.

Non-Compete, Non-Disclosure, Confidentiality are your Best Friends

If you aren’t familiar with these contract terms then you are not as protected as you should and could be, especially in this age of technology. Non-compete clauses ensure that you can’t go to a close competitor, but in the digital age where we are connected as possible, a worker could hypothetically move across the country and still target a former client. Specifying non-compete against current/potential clients saves your business with those clients. Non-disclosure and confidentiality clauses protect your digital files from being sent to their new business and ensure that any digital marketing or strategy is kept safe, limiting corporate espionage.

Like everything in our increasingly connected world, it seems as though searching for an employee has gotten much faster and more efficient, but also easier to dip a toe out of line. The best advice for a company who is thinking about starting or expanding into online employee recruiting is making sure you don’t think it’s a magic bullet. You’re still susceptible to discrimination lawsuits and if you don’t have certain clauses in contracts, you can’t complain about rivals snatching up your talent. Just remember, don’t become a company you’re not, and if doing things the old fashioned way is the right way for you, you won’t see many people disagreeing.

For more information on cyber law and telecommunications law, contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or call (712) 226-4000.