Social Media Archives - JDP https://www.jdp.com/blog/category/social-media/ Employment Screening, Background Check Mon, 26 Aug 2019 20:00:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Should Employers Screen Their Candidates’ Social Media Activity? https://www.jdp.com/blog/should-employers-screen-their-candidates-social-media-activity/ Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:56:17 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=3377 A bad hire costs employers an average of 30% of that individual’s first year of potential earnings. Keeping in mind the potential high costs of a bad fit employee — not to mention the potential cost of damages caused by a bad fit employee — it’s no surprise employers are looking for ways to make […]

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A bad hire costs employers an average of 30% of that individual’s first year of potential earnings. Keeping in mind the potential high costs of a bad fit employee — not to mention the potential cost of damages caused by a bad fit employee — it’s no surprise employers are looking for ways to make more careful, informed hiring decisions.

One way employers are learning more about their job applicants is through social media screenings. Because this type of screening is new to many hiring managers, we’re sometimes asked if it’s necessary a step of the background screening process.

To help you figure out if social media background checks are right for your candidates, it’s important to understand how the screening works.

What’s a Social Media Background Check?

A social media background check reviews a job applicant or employee’s publicly available social media content. The goal of the screening is to get additional insights about a person that can’t be found through a traditional criminal background check or reference check. Employers use this screening to find alarming online behaviors that indicate the individual could put the organization, its employees or its customer’s in harm’s way.

Platforms that may be audited in a social media background check include:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Google
  • Bing

When conducted by a trained third-party, a social media background check follows Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) guidelines and ensures employers only learn information that’s legally permissible in the hiring process. For example, a third-party wouldn’t report on information that could cause hiring bias, like information about a person’s sexual orientation. They could, however, report on social media posts where the individual used racist language.

Common red flags found during social media screenings include:

  • Racist or intolerant language
  • Violent or potentially violent language or activity
  • Illegal activity
  • Inappropriate (but not illegal, like nudity) activity
  • Drug use
  • Racist or intolerant language

What Jobs and Organizations Benefit Most from Social Media Background Checks?

While having a thorough understanding of your candidates is helpful for any organization looking to make more informed hiring decisions, some jobs and organizations stand will find social media screenings particularly beneficial. That’s because jobs and organizations that have either a wide-reaching audience or the potential to harm the people they’re trusted to help can face backlash and penalties should their employees behave unacceptably.

We strongly recommend social media background checks for:

  • Healthcare Organizations: If your organization is responsible for the wellbeing of others, it’s critical you know who you’re hiring. Healthcare organizations are already subject to strict hiring protocols; social media screenings give employers an additional level of confidence in their hiring decisions. Not only can social screenings find bad behaviors — like bigotry that could translate to biased care — but they can reveal if candidates have previously violated HIPPA laws (such as posting about a patient on social media) or harmed patients.
  • Schools: Organizations that require their staff to interact with children — like schools — can greatly benefit from knowing how their job applicants behave online. Bad online behavior may indicate a candidate isn’t fit to keep children safe or foster a fair school environment. Preventable incidents involving teachers and school staff can cause backlash from the families of students and the public. A social media screening provides an extra layer of protection for schools trying to reduce the likelihood of their staff causing harm.
  • High-Profile or Public-Facing Positions: If your candidate will have a public-facing role — like a spokesperson, PR manager or on-camera talent — it’s critical that you know what they say online before hiring them. You’ll want to know if they’re prone to bigotry, illegal substance use or harassment before they represent your organization.

Should You Screen Candidates’ Social Media Activity?

Social media screenings offer insights into your candidates’ personalities and behaviors that you may not otherwise learn during the hiring process. If you care about spotting bad behaviors — including those that may not be criminal but could still harm your brand, your employees or the people your organization helps — these types of background checks are a great option.

You can learn more about social media background checks here.

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Your Company Needs a Social Media Policy https://www.jdp.com/blog/your-company-needs-a-social-media-policy/ Wed, 09 Oct 2019 06:50:10 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=3368 Organizations looking to protect their brand often keep a close eye on the ways their job candidates and employees behave on social media. In fact, social media background checks do a great job of helping employers spot job candidates and employees who post illegal or offensive content online. However, to best protect your organization from […]

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Organizations looking to protect their brand often keep a close eye on the ways their job candidates and employees behave on social media. In fact, social media background checks do a great job of helping employers spot job candidates and employees who post illegal or offensive content online.

However, to best protect your organization from harmful social media posts, you’ll want to create clear guidelines explaining how your employees should use social media. Doing so will set concrete expectations for employee behavior and reduce the likelihood of an employee saying brand-damaging (though not necessarily illegal) things online.

What’s a Social Media Policy?

A social media policy is a set of guidelines or rules regarding how your employees may use social media. The goal of a social media policy is to set expectations about what behaviors, on both personal and professional social profiles, are acceptable — and which may result in a negative employment action (like being fired).

Every organization will need to work to develop a unique policy that makes most sense for them, since there are a variety of factors that should be considered during the creation of guidelines.

Who Needs a Social Media Policy?

In short: everyone.

If you have employees on social media, you need a social media policy.

Why?

What your employees say or post on social media may reflect poorly on your organization — even if the content they post has nothing to do with it. For example, a popular website took heat when it was discovered one of their contractors was posting racist messages on Instagram. The contractor wasn’t posting about their employer, but it didn’t matter: their employer took it as an act of discrimination, and swiftly terminated their relationship.

Of course, what most organizations are worried about are brand-damaging social media posts that are somehow related to their organization — like the MLB stadium concession employee who posted a video on Facebook and Twitter of himself spitting into food he was preparing to serve. (The employee was subsequently fired and arrested).

Bad social media behavior can impact any organization. That’s why getting ahead of it by clearly communicating expectations is so important.

Considerations When Creating a Social Media Policy for Your Company

The guidelines set in an organization’s social media policy will differ per organization.

Before we share examples of social media policies, let’s first talk about what to consider before you create yours:

  • What types of social media posts are ground for negative consequences? For example, you may feel comfortable with your employees using occasional profanity on social media but consider racist language grounds for termination.
  • How big is your organization’s presence on social media? Do you have 3 million followers on Twitter, or do you not even have a Facebook page? While every organization should have a social media policy — even if their brand doesn’t have a social presence — the stakes are typically higher for those that have many people following their social accounts.
  • What is considered acceptable employee social media activity in your industry? If you’re in healthcare, for example, consider how an employee posting about their job could result in HIPPA violations.
  • What amount of restrictions around social media will your employees tolerate? Strict rules dictating what an employee can say online may be seen as censorship.

It’s also critical to remember that some employee speech on social media is protected under the National Labor Relations Act. For example, an employer may not penalize an employee for discussing their working conditions on social media.

Example Social Media Policies

Since every company will need to develop a unique social media policy template, let’s look at some real-life examples to see how other organizations regulate their employees’ use of social media.

While each of the examples below is different and tailored toward the needs to each company, you’ll notice a few recurring themes:

  1. Don’t share proprietary company information
  2. Use common sense when posting online
  3. When necessary, disclose your affiliation with the company
  1. Coca-Cola
    Coco-cola employees are encouraged to use social media but are reminded to use common sense while doing so. Below are some of the highlights of Coca-Cola’s social media policy:

    • “Our Company’s Information Protection Policy, Insider Trading Policy, and other policies still apply.
    • You are responsible for your actions. We encourage you to get online and have fun, but use sound judgment and common sense.
    • You are an important ambassador for our Company’s brands, and you’re encouraged to promote them as long as you make sure you disclose that you are affiliated with the Company. How you disclose can depend on the platform, but the disclosure should be clear and in proximity to the message itself.
    • When you see posts or commentary on topics that require subject matter expertise, such as ingredients, obesity, the Company’s environmental impacts, or the Company’s financial performance, avoid the temptation to respond to these directly unless you respond with approved messaging the Company has prepared for those topics. When in doubt, contact your local Public Affairs and Communications director.
    • Be conscientious when mixing your business and personal lives; be sure to know your work group’s policies regarding personal use of social media at work or on Company devices.”
  2. Nordstrom

    Nordstrom’s social media employee guidelines emphasize the protection of customers’ privacy and respect for others. Below are some highlights of their policy:

    • “Don’t post sensitive, private or confidential company information (e.g., unannounced product launches and promotions, internal sales results, company strategy, pricing information or comparisons).
    • Respect customer privacy. Never give out personal customer information (e.g., personal addresses, phone numbers or credit card information) or add information you receive from social networking to Personal Book or other Nordstrom tools.
    • Don’t post photos of or make negative comments about our customers and do not share details about customer visits—both private and public figures—without their permission (unless it is a marketed personal appearance for the Company).
    • Don’t post comments about a coworker, customer or vendor that could be perceived as harassing, threatening, retaliatory or discriminatory.
    • Comply with our Guidelines for Endorsers (see “Guidelines for Endorsers” on Nordstrom.com) by disclosing your Nordstrom affiliation and noting that the views expressed are your own.”
  3. Mayo Clinic
  4. The Mayo Clinic’s social media guidelines carefully explain how employees and students are expected to conduct themselves on social media, including rules about connecting with patients on social media and endorsing products or organizations. Highlights of the policy include:

    • Follow all applicable Mayo Clinic policies. For example, you must not share confidential or proprietary information about Mayo Clinic and you must maintain patient privacy. Among the policies most pertinent to this discussion are those concerning patient confidentiality, government affairs, mutual respectpolitical activityComputer, E-mail & Internet Use, the Mayo Clinic Integrity Program, photography and video, and release of patient information to media.
    • Write in the first person. Where your connection to Mayo Clinic is apparent, make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of Mayo Clinic. In those circumstances, you should include this disclaimer: “The views expressed on this [blog; website] are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.” Consider adding this language in an “About me” section of your blog or social media profile.
    • If you identify your affiliation to Mayo Clinic, your social media activities should be consistent with Mayo’s high standards of professional conduct.
    • If you communicate in the public internet about Mayo Clinic or Mayo Clinic-related matters, you must disclose your connection with Mayo Clinic and your role at Mayo.
    • Be professional, use good judgment and be accurate and honest in your communications; errors, omissions or unprofessional language or behavior reflect poorly on Mayo, and may result in liability for you or Mayo Clinic. Be respectful and professional to fellow employees, business partners, competitors and patients.
    • Mayo Clinic strongly discourages “friending” of patients on social media websites. Staff in patient care roles generally should not initiate or accept friend requests except in unusual circumstances such as the situation where an in-person friendship pre-dates the treatment relationship.
    • Mayo Clinic does not endorse people, products, services and organizations. Official Mayo Clinic accounts should not be used to provide such endorsements. For personal social media accounts where your connection to Mayo Clinic is apparent, you should be careful to avoid implying that an endorsement of a person or product is on behalf of Mayo Clinic, rather than a personal endorsement.”

As the above examples show, organizations in different industries have different needs for their policies. While the Mayo Clinic discouraging employees from “friending” patients on social media, there would be no need for Nordstrom to prohibit their employees from “friending” customers. That’s why it’s so important to think through not just high-level social media guidelines, like to use common sense or not share proprietary information, but to think about how employees actually use social media in the real world.

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Here’s Why Employers Shouldn’t Conduct Social Media Background Checks by Themselves https://www.jdp.com/blog/heres-why-employers-shouldnt-conduct-social-media-background-checks-by-themselves/ Thu, 03 Oct 2019 06:22:12 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=3365 Social media background checks have become a common step in the background screening of job applicants. While they may seem like the part of the process that employers can quickly and easily do on their own, there’s more to a social media screen than meets the eye. It’s easy for that seemingly simple check to […]

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Social media background checks have become a common step in the background screening of job applicants. While they may seem like the part of the process that employers can quickly and easily do on their own, there’s more to a social media screen than meets the eye.

It’s easy for that seemingly simple check to turn into a huge headache, which is why employers should never conduct a social media background check on their own. This doesn’t mean they can’t get information about their candidates’ and employees’ social media profiles; it just means they should leave it to a social media background check professional.

Today, we’ll talk about three reasons employers should leave social media screening to a third-party:

  1. When employers conduct their own social media background checks, they put themselves at risk for lawsuits
  2. When employers conduct their own social media background checks, they may not use a consistent process
  3. A third-party will allow an employer to free up time to work on other projects

Employers Risk Lawsuits If They Don’t Conduct a Legal Social Media Background Check

This is the single most important reason employers shouldn’t run social media screens on their own. When done improperly, a social media background check can put your organization at risk for lawsuits.

Here’s why.

Employers are allowed to review publicly available, user-generated information on candidates’ social media profiles. However, many employers are unaware that there are regulations (including state laws) limiting how they use social media in the hiring process. For example, employers can’t ask a candidate to change their privacy settings so their private profile becomes public, request to be friends with them to gain access to their private profile, ask a candidate for their social media usernames and passwords or ask them to pull up their private profile so they can view it.

What’s more, the EEOC and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit discrimination against a number of protected characteristics, including race, color, nation of origin, sex, disability, age and citizenship status. An employer researching a candidate on social media could easily learn that their candidate has one or more of these protected characteristics. This knowledge could cause a biased hiring decision.

How a Third-Party Social Media Screener Helps

When a third-party social media background screening provider conducts a check on a candidate, they help you stay compliant with all social media screening laws.

Besides adhering to FCRA requirements, they’ll only let you see public, legally permissible information. They’ll scrub any personally identifiable information, like information about race or disability, from their final report so you aren’t exposed to information that could bias your decision.

Employers Often Fail to Standardize Their Social Media Screening Process

Employers who do social media screenings on their own often have no written guidelines, processes or procedures in place to ensure they put every candidate through an identical screening process.

For example, an employer may look at three different social networks to find public profiles for candidate 1, but look at six networks for candidate 2. When they look at candidate 1’s profiles, they may find and flag content with offensive language, but don’t do so when they find the same language on candidate 2’s profiles. They may even review what pages candidate 1 likes or follows, but forget to do the same for candidate 2.

As you can see, there are many ways to give different candidates a different screening. This negligence can not only put you at risk for lawsuits like mentioned earlier, but it defeats the purpose of a social media background check entirely. If you don’t have standards in place for your candidates to meet, and they aren’t tested equally, your hiring decision will be made using bad data.

How a Third-Party Social Media Screener Helps

The professionals conducting social media screenings at a third-party provider have written processes and guidelines in place, which they follow for every single candidate they screen. At JDP, our social media background screeners are trained and certified to be experts at conducting effective, accurate screenings. They are familiar with the processes and have experience researching and analyzing social media content, they’re able to find and report on more useful information, faster.

A Social Media Background Check Takes Time Away from Your Other Hiring Responsibilities

Think about everything you have to do to hire one new employee:

  • Recruit
  • Review resumes

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Is It Legal to Screen Job Candidates’ Social Media Profiles? https://www.jdp.com/blog/is-it-legal-to-screen-job-candidates-social-media-profiles/ Tue, 01 Oct 2019 06:21:53 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=3362 It’s only natural to be curious what your job candidate is posting on their social media profiles. But before you send them a friend request, learn what is — and isn’t — ok when it comes to screening their profile and how you can get help conducting legal social media background checks. Screening Candidates on […]

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It’s only natural to be curious what your job candidate is posting on their social media profiles. But before you send them a friend request, learn what is — and isn’t — ok when it comes to screening their profile and how you can get help conducting legal social media background checks.

Screening Candidates on Social Media Is Legal — but There’s a Catch

Employers are allowed to review a candidate’s social media profiles as part of the hiring process. But there are rules they must follow — and they may have trouble adhering to them if they conduct the social media screening on their own.

First things first: here’s what employers are allowed to do:

  • Review any public information posted on a candidate’s social media profile. That means if you can view their social media account without being their “friend,” — meaning anyone can access their profile, whether or not they’re connected on the social network — their social media content is fair game.

Next, here are some things you can’t do (depending on your state’s laws) or shouldn’t do (if you don’t live in a state with these laws) when screening job applicants social media accounts:

  • Request to be friends with the candidate so you can see their private profile
  • Request they change their privacy settings to make their private profile public
  • Ask a candidate for their login credentials for their social media accounts
  • Ask the candidate to view their account (for example, ask them to load their Facebook profile on their phone and allow the hiring manager to view it there)

You can find a list of each state’s social media privacy laws here.

Even if your state doesn’t have laws prohibiting the above-mentioned social media screening tactics, we still discourage employers from using them for two reasons:

  1. Many candidates may feel it’s an unnecessary invasion of privacy and put a bad taste in their mouth. It may even cause candidates to withdraw their interest in working for your company.
  2. You open your organization up to the possibility of discrimination lawsuits.

Let’s talk more about how a poorly executed social media background check can result in a discrimination lawsuit.

Done Incorrectly, Social Media Screenings Puts You at Risk for Discrimination Lawsuits

Even when you’re in full compliance with local laws regarding social media screening, you still put your organization at risk for discrimination lawsuits. That’s because you may find information during your social media screening indicating your applicant has protected characteristics. If this new information biases your hiring decision (which you may not even realize is happening!), you put yourself at risk for litigation. If your candidate believes you denied them employment because of bias against their protected characteristic(s), they may sue on grounds of violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and/or state laws.

Below are some of the protected characteristics that can’t be discriminated against during your hiring process:

If you look at a candidate’s social media profiles — especially if you haven’t met them yet — you’re almost certainly going to find out if they are members of a protected class. While any bias that results from this search may cause problems, it will be particularly troublesome if you choose not to interview an otherwise qualified candidate because of bias (which, once again, you may not even realize you have) against their race, sex or other protected characteristic.

All of this is to say it is really tricky to look at a candidate’s social media profiles and avoid breaking laws or discriminating against them.

How to Easily Comply with Job Candidate Social Media Screening Laws

The good news is that there is a way to review a candidate’s social media profile that complies with laws, helps you avoid discrimination and alerts you to the red flags you need to know about before hiring them (for example, if they’ve posted threats to conduct acts of violence on their social media accounts).

An FCRA-compliant social media screening service, like the one provided by JDP, can conduct the screening so you don’t review information that can illegally (whether or not intentional) influence your hiring decisions.

A social media screening service can:

  • Find your candidates’ public social media profiles, using ID verification to ensure they’re reporting on the correct candidate
  • Apply consistent and compliant and complete screening protocols to ensure every candidate gets a fair and legal screening
  • Leverage expertise to deliver reports that meet FCRA and other legal standards, so you never see information from their social accounts that’s prohibited from use during the hiring process

Working with a trusted, third-party social media screening service will let you learn about any red flags that should influence your hiring decisions, while letting you avoid any information that can’t influence your hiring decision. It’s an easy way to know you’re making a more informed hiring decision.

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Study: How Job Seekers Curate Their Social Presence https://www.jdp.com/blog/job-search-social-media-study-2019/ Thu, 15 Aug 2019 13:10:10 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=3319 Are you the same person on social media as you are at work? For many people, the answer is no. According to our latest study, 43 percent enable privacy settings to keep material hidden from current employers and future social media screenings, and one in five admit to posting material that could jeopardize a current […]

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Are you the same person on social media as you are at work? For many people, the answer is no. According to our latest study, 43 percent enable privacy settings to keep material hidden from current employers and future social media screenings, and one in five admit to posting material that could jeopardize a current or future opportunity.

What are people hiding, and how far will they go to protect their professional reputations? We surveyed 2,007 Americans to find out.

2019 statistics on social media presence

Almost half of respondents (46 percent) say they’ve plugged their names into a search engine and further concealed their social media presence based on what they found. Facebook was home to the most incriminating material.

Social Media Screening Statistics

Adjusting your social media presence isn’t always about hiding. When it comes to curating a professional reputation on social media, 25 percent actively present themselves to attract employers by liking, posting, or following industry-relevant material.

Social Media Screening

Methodology: Between July 11 and 12, 2019, we surveyed 2,007 Americans about their social media habits and how job hunting impacts them. Respondents’ ages ranged between 18 and 88, with an average age of 36.

For media inquiries, contact media@digitalthirdcoast.net.

Fair Use

Feel free to use this data and research with proper attribution linking to this study.

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Social Media: The Productivity Killer https://www.jdp.com/blog/social-media-productivity-killer/ https://www.jdp.com/blog/social-media-productivity-killer/?noamp=mobile#respond Thu, 15 Nov 2018 06:25:48 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=1855 A little time on Facebook during the workday won’t hurt, right? Wrong! Despite common wisdom, research shows that time spent on the platform can prove to be a real drag on productivity. Click here to download the PDF.

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A little time on Facebook during the workday won’t hurt, right? Wrong! Despite common wisdom, research shows that time spent on the platform can prove to be a real drag on productivity.

Click here to download the PDF.

Social Media Killer

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Social Media Fails that Got People Fired https://www.jdp.com/blog/social-media-fails-got-people-fired/ https://www.jdp.com/blog/social-media-fails-got-people-fired/?noamp=mobile#respond Tue, 13 Nov 2018 08:23:39 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=1852 As we all know, employers aren’t just looking at candidates’ criminal backgrounds anymore to determine a good fit. Companies want the whole picture, and nothing captures a better portrait than social media. But if misused, social sharing sites could spell disaster for employees. Here are a few of the most unforgettable social media fails that […]

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As we all know, employers aren’t just looking at candidates’ criminal backgrounds anymore to determine a good fit. Companies want the whole picture, and nothing captures a better portrait than social media. But if misused, social sharing sites could spell disaster for employees. Here are a few of the most unforgettable social media fails that got people fired.

The PR problem: Justine Sacco

If you work in PR, you should know better than to make jokes about AIDS and Africa, but PR exec Justine Sacco just couldn’t help herself. So she tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” right before boarding a long flight to South Africa. Upon her landing, she discovered that her tweet went viral, and her employer, IAC, had given her the boot. That’s a heck of a way to start a vacation.

The tantrum tweeter: Roseanne Barr

In early 2018, comedian Roseanne Barr tweeted out a series of jabs aimed at Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. As a result, ABC quickly pulled the plug on the reboot of her classic sitcom, thus interrupting the blast back to the 90s we were all anxious to enjoy. Bummer.

The beer-tossing copy editor: Ken Pagan

In 2016, copy editor Ken Pagan hurled a can of beer at Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim from his seat in the stands. While he may have narrowly missed the baseball star, social media didn’t miss his face, as internet detectives got busy and uncovered his identity. He lost his job as a copy editor, and was sentenced to community service and probation for the incident.

The presidential beheader: Kathy Griffin

People are entitled to their own opinions, but everyone can agree that mimicking the assassination of a U.S. president is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Kathy Griffin apparently didn’t get that memo, so when she tweeted a photo of herself holding a “decapitated” mask of the president in 2017, she was let go from a series of jobs, including her gig as host of CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve program.

The tsunami trasher: Gilbert Gottfried

Because tsunamis that kill more than 3,000 people are apparently comedy gold, comedian Gilbert Gottfried tweeted a series of cringe-inducing jokes about the 2011 devastation in Japan, like this gem: “Japan is really advanced. They don’t go to the beach. The beach comes to them.” We know at least one organization that didn’t get a chuckle from Gottfried’s tsunami roast — Aflac. After reading his timeline, the company released Gottfried from his contract as the voice of the Aflac duck.

The taco defiler: Cameron Jankowski

In a post that would make anyone steer clear of fast food, former Taco Bell employee Cameron Jankowski tweeted a photo of himself urinating on a plate of nachos. And although he claims he never actually served the dish to anyone, the restaurant promptly relieved him of his duties. Wise move, because eew.

The extra who overshared: Nicole Crowther

Who wouldn’t be excited to work as an extra on one of their favorite TV shows? One catch, though — you’d have to keep quiet, which is the opposite of what Nicole Crowther did when she worked as an extra on Glee in 2011. Crowther tweeted out some pretty big spoilers, and once word got back to the show, she was promptly let go.

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Labor Laws and Social Media https://www.jdp.com/blog/labor-laws-social-media/ https://www.jdp.com/blog/labor-laws-social-media/?noamp=mobile#respond Thu, 25 Oct 2018 08:31:54 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=1819 Whether through firsthand accounts or via the national news, we’ve all heard stories of someone who’s been booted from a job because they trash-talked their employer online. In today’s Internet-driven culture, it’s a pretty common occurrence, and you’d think that most in the workforce would know better. But it turns out, all negative online chatter […]

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Whether through firsthand accounts or via the national news, we’ve all heard stories of someone who’s been booted from a job because they trash-talked their employer online. In today’s Internet-driven culture, it’s a pretty common occurrence, and you’d think that most in the workforce would know better. But it turns out, all negative online chatter isn’t equal. According to the federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), employees can’t be fired for online “concerted activity” to increase their pay, improve their working conditions or resolve other workplace problems.

Let’s look some real-world examples of “protected concerted activity.”

  • An employee had a dispute with a co-worker about job performance and the overall conditions at the nonprofit where they worked. The employee took to Facebook and asked colleagues for input on the issues they collectively faced. Several other employees chimed in offering advice, and all were subsequently fired. The NLRB found that they were engaged in protected concerted activity.
  • An employee made negative comments about a supervisor on Facebook, and several of the employee’s colleagues offered their own perspective on the supervisor. The employee who made the initial negative post had been denied union representation in responding to a customer complaint, but the NLRB found that the employee’s comments were protected concerted activity because the employees were working together to address a larger issue.

While these cases that seem like textbook “Facebook Firings,” the NLRB saw things differently because employees were working as a collective to improve their workplace. However, “personal gripes” that don’t address collective issues aren’t protected.

  • After an angry exchange with a supervisor, an employee updated her Facebook status to an expletive and the name of her employer. Several co-workers “liked” her status, and she was subsequently fired. The NLRB found that she was not engaged in protected concerted activity because she wasn’t acting on behalf of other employees or looking for ways to improve their overall working conditions.

In short, concerted activity to improve the state of the workplace is protected, while personal gripes that don’t advance a larger employee agenda are unprotected.

Let JDP help screen your organization’s candidate and employee social media. Contact us to learn more!

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8 Celebs Whose Social Media Wouldn’t Pass Our Screening https://www.jdp.com/blog/8-celebs-whose-social-media-wouldnt-pass-screening/ https://www.jdp.com/blog/8-celebs-whose-social-media-wouldnt-pass-screening/?noamp=mobile#respond Tue, 23 Oct 2018 08:30:15 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=1814 In today’s media landscape, people in the public eye rely heavily on social media to craft their images. But if they were normal, everyday folk, their “strategies” for cultivating an enthusiastic following probably wouldn’t go over so well with prospective employers. Here are the eight celebs who’d likely fail our social background screening. 1. Kim […]

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In today’s media landscape, people in the public eye rely heavily on social media to craft their images. But if they were normal, everyday folk, their “strategies” for cultivating an enthusiastic following probably wouldn’t go over so well with prospective employers. Here are the eight celebs who’d likely fail our social background screening.

1. Kim Kardashian

Her sex appeal has played a huge part in her rise to fame, but if she were after a regular 9 to 5, those scantily clad photos and videos would definitely torpedo any job prospects on the horizon.

2. Milan Christopher

He may be breaking new ground for LGBT people in the rap music world, but Love and Hip Hop star Milan Christopher is also known for breaking the internet with some pretty risqué social media shots. They don’t call him the male Kim K for nothing.

3. Nicki Minaj

The self-proclaimed Queen of Rap is also the queen of online beef, as she’s taken shots at everyone from Cardi B to Mariah Carey on Twitter. It seems there’s a new war of words every week, and her hot-headed approach to social is enough to make any organization want to stay far away.

4. Azealia Banks

Rapper Azealia Banks has used social media to speak out against anyone she takes even the slightest issue with. And she’s offended almost everyone under the sun — including fellow women — in the process. Definitely not employee of the month material.

5. Cher

She may be a living entertainment legend, but Cher is also known for some pretty legendary, all-caps, political rants on Twitter. We don’t em>belieeeeve she’d pass our screening.

6. Ted Nugent

Iconic rocker Ted Nugent has been around for decades, but it’s only fairly recent that his fiery political views have landed him in hot water on social media and beyond. Can you say corporate PR nightmare?

7. Roseanne Barr

Fans of the classic sitcom “Roseanne” were heartbroken when her politically motivated Twitter rampage cost her the starring role on its reboot. If her social presence was too much for Hollywood, it’d definitely be too much for most business organizations.

8. Rihanna

@badgalriri is her Instagram handle, and she sure lives up to her name. Some would say singer Rihanna has a reputation for being an online bully. And who could blame them for thinking that? After all, she did mock one of her own fans who attempted to recreate one of her looks for prom. Ouch.

Protect your brand with JDP’s social media screening. Contact us to learn more!

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What Shows Up on a Social Media Background Check? https://www.jdp.com/blog/what-shows-up-on-a-social-media-background-check/ https://www.jdp.com/blog/what-shows-up-on-a-social-media-background-check/?noamp=mobile#respond Tue, 06 Oct 2015 20:51:41 +0000 https://www.jdp.com/?p=787 No matter how cautious you are on social media, something can always slip through the cracks with all of the tagging options on various platforms. And maybe after you’re hired at a job you become a little less strict with your online presence despite the possibility of ongoing background screening throughout your employment. So, what […]

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No matter how cautious you are on social media, something can always slip through the cracks with all of the tagging options on various platforms. And maybe after you’re hired at a job you become a little less strict with your online presence despite the possibility of ongoing background screening throughout your employment. So, what shows up on a social media screening check and what should you do to avoid problems during the hiring process?

Red Flags On Social Media

If there’s a photo of you sipping a glass of wine, you probably don’t have to worry about it affecting your job prospects. Social media background checks don’t usually consider consuming alcohol relevant to your potential employer whether you’re sipping a glass of wine or chugging a beer.

While you don’t have to worry about telling the world you drink alcohol, these are the most common red flags companies search for:

  • Unlawful activity such as using illegal drugs or drinking underage
  • Discriminatory behavior such as racist or sexist comments
  • Acts of violence or aggression
  • Sexually explicit activity (this includes nudity)
  • Negative comments about co-workers and employers

Job seekers should also remember that consumer reporting agencies can uncover damaging content from profiles even if the content was deleted. So even if swearing, bad grammar, and alcohol consumption won’t show up on a report, job seekers would do well to follow these tips and keep damaging content out of their profiles.

Why Don’t Employers Conduct Their Own Social Media Searches?

Social media screening checks don’t just go through all of the information on your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Risk mitigation companies are able to go beyond a Google search to find background information from the deep web such as school databases, archives, blogs, and unlinked content.

Before searching for candidates on social media or conducting a Google Search, employers should understand all of the legislation surrounding background screening checks and social media screening. This is a ton of information because it differs from state to state. Maine, for example, prohibits employers from requesting usernames and passwords to access personal accounts. This is why it’s better to rely on a risk mitigation company such as JDP who guarantees compliance and will help employers avoid lawsuits.

JDP ensures compliance with local, state and federal laws. We also hand check all red flags that arise during a candidate’s background check. If you have any questions about our social media screening services, feel free to contact us!

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