solved Reply: Staci Saunders FACEBOOK ACCESS BY EMPLOYERS MondayNov 1 at

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Staci Saunders

FACEBOOK ACCESS BY EMPLOYERS

MondayNov 1 at 8:23pm

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Should employers be asking job applicants for Facebook passwords? Why or why not?
– I do not believe employers should be asking job applicants for their social media passwords. For myself, I keep any and all social media and my personal life private from my co-workers. I don’t mix those two sides of me at work for the sake of my privacy. Monitoring someone’s personal messages and social media accounts in my opinion is an invasion of privacy. I would consider this an intrusion of seclusion. One who intentionally intrudes physically or otherwise upon ones private affairs or concerns is subject to be considered an invasion of privacy. (Abuin, powerpoint slide 29) People use social media for all kinds of things such as private, personal messages, having fun, or sharing memories. It is not in the best light for an employer to snoop through private moments. If employers wanted to know the character of the person they are looking to hire, talk to them. Get to know them more than just basic interview questions that do not shed light on the real you. Honestly, if a job required me to give my social media passwords, I would decline immediately. I need a job that respects my life outside of work just as much as how I am in work.

second one here.

Marcia Hill
ThursdayNov 4 at 12:07am

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Why do you think employers wish to monitor an employee’s social media accounts and postings? Are employers responsible for the actions of their employees while they are working?
Professor and Classmates:
I think that employees are responsible for the action of their employees while they are working because their actions implicate their employers. Some of us have studied the legal doctrine of “respondeat superior”, that is an employer is legally responsible for the actions of its employees. But if the employee acted independently, out of the scope of his or her work, or purely out of personal motives, the employer might not be liable.
On the other hand, employers can get into legal trouble for their workers’ actions. For example, it can be embarrassing and cause a company to lose an important client or customer if an employee posts offensive content or does something illegal via social media. Also, employers want to protect their companies’ reputations and confidential information. These are important to employers in terms of knowing the caliber of employees in the company.
While I volunteered on Saturdays at a nursing home, there was an employee who had posted pictures of a nursing home resident on her FB page. She and the resident had befriended each other and the resident’s relatives liked her as well. The nurse-aid was reprimanded and they demanded that she remove the pictures from her FB page. After that, the nursing home issued a policy about protecting the privacy of their residents.
But I do not think that monitoring of employees’ social media is a good “quality control” measure for employers, and perhaps it can do more harm than good. Some clients like dealing with a particular staff member, and when an employee has had enough of this surveillance, they can resign from the job with all their acquired knowledge, experience, and institutional knowledge, and this can affect the client base. I see this happening very often.
Marcy.