Cengage Advantage Books: Business Law Today, The Essentials 11th Edition by Roger LeRoy Miller

تمرين 1

ADAPTING THE LAW TO THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT
Hiring Discrimination
Based on Social Media Posts
Human resource officers in most companies routinely check job candidates' social media posts when deciding whom to hire. Certainly, every young person is warned not to post photos that they might later regret having made available to potential employers. But a more serious issue involves standard reviewing of job candidates' social media information. Specifically, do employers discriminate based on such information
An Experiment in Hiring Discrimination via Online Social Networks
Two researchers at Carnegie-Mellon University conducted an experiment to determine whether social media information posted by prospective employees influences employers' hiring decisions. The researchers created false résumés and social media profiles. They submitted job applications on behalf of the fictional "candidates" to about four thousand U.S. employers. They then compared employers' responses to different groups-for example, to Muslim candidates versus Christian candidates.
The researchers found that candidates whose public profiles indicated that they were Muslim were less likely to be called for interviews than Christian applicants. The difference was particularly pronounced in parts of the country with more conservative residents. In those locations, Muslims received callbacks only 2 percent of the time, compared with 17 percent for Christian applicants. According to the authors of the study, "Hiring discrimination via online searches of candidates may not be widespread, but online disclosures of personal traits can significantly influence the hiring decisions of a self-selected set of employers."
Job Candidates' Perception of the Hiring Process
In another study, researchers at North Carolina State University looked at how job applicants view prospective employers' use of their social media profiles during the hiring process. Job candidates appear to view the hiring process as unfair when they know that their social media profiles have been used in the selection process. This perception, according to the researchers, makes litigation more likely.
The EEOC Speaks Up
Since 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has investigated how prospective employers can use social media to engage in discrimination in the hiring process. Given that the Society for Human Resource Management estimates that more than three-fourths of its members use social media in their employment screening process, the EEOC is interested in regulating this procedure. Social media sites, examined closely, can provide information to a prospective employer on the applicant's race, color, national origin, disability, religion, and other protected characteristics. The EEOC has reminded employers that such information-whether it comes from social media postings or other sources-may not legally be used to make employment decisions on prohibited bases, such as race, gender, and religion.
Critical Thinking
Can you think of a way a company could use information from an applicant's social media posts without running the risk of being accused of hiring discrimination