Lucky for us Canadians, we have less to worry about when it comes to employment and social media privacy, when compared to our neighbours down south, the U.S., however experts urge that we can never be too careful.
There’s been a trend in the U.S. for job applicants being asked to hand over their social media log in information over to prospective bosses so that they can gain access to your information. There have been several cases of companies in the U.S. where bosses have asked potential employees for their passwords to social media sites, as well as requests of adding them as friends on Facebook during the hiring process so that they can view their social networking information.
Labour laws here in Canada offer a great deal of protection between jobseekers and employers, and protection against too much personal information, such as social media passwords. Where as in the U.S. rules are much more relaxed, and there is less protection for jobseekers agains’t their prospective employers. According to Toronto-based labour lawyer, Paul Cavaluzzo, Canadian employers do not have and should not have access to personal information whatsoever.
One prime example of this kind of invasion of privacy would be Robert Collins of Maryland, who was asked by his potential boss to hand over his Facebook password for a job as a prison guard, so that his boss could make sure he was not related to any sorts of gang activity.
According to Shirin Khamisa, founder of job counselling firm Careers by Design, job seekers shouldn’t be hesitant to question their potential employers about their somewhat intrusive and inappropriate requests. Khamisa believes that the interview process shouldn’t be one sided, and if uncomfortable, applicants should simply say so.
Social media author and strategist Amber MacArthur believes that we Canadians need to learn about what should and shouldn’t be shared via social media. Some things can be plain inappropriate and unnecessary, its all about finding balance. We can never be too careful, even though we have tougher laws that protect our privacy doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be careful!
Would you ever give a potential boss your Facebook or Twitter password?