Debate heats up over social networking info

A new law that takes effect this weekend sets the stage for restricting employers from using social networks against an applicant.

The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act makes it against the law for employers to get genetic information about a job candidate.

Attorney Jessica Catlett with Fennemore Craig in Phoenix said that will include finding information on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Such information could include "if you are a participant in a really interesting study for maybe a disease that's very important to you for personal reasons," she said. "I can see writing a blog about it or publishing results about it."

Employment discrimination acts are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which also writes the regulations, Catlett said, adding that the new law on genetic information opens the way for the EEOC to address social media in the workplace. She said the EEOC could make it illegal for employers to check MySpace, Facebook and blogs for any red flags that would harm a candidate's chances of getting hired.

"Will they basically condone the practice of employers looking at sites to make hiring decisions, for example, or will they prevent employers from using these sites?"

Genetic information that might be obtained from social networking, Catlett said, could be "a comment on a page, `I'm off to take my mom to be screened for breast cancer.'"

Some business owners don't want the government to prevent them from searching social media sites.

"I just think it's another government intrusion into business," said Mike Hayes, owner of Momentum Specialized Staffing in Phoenix.

Hayes said social networking sites can be a useful tool for vetting potential employees, although he said he does not use such sites to search a job applicant's medical history.

"One position I do remember is we had somebody that had a picture of them using a bong, aka like a Michael Phelps picture, on their Facebook page, which was pretty much a disqualifier when we saw that," he said.

Hayes added, "Another thing is people who badmouth employers -- their current employer, they might badmouth on Facebook or My Space, and that's a telling issue because they're putting that out there and why wouldn't they do the same thing to an employer we might be placing them with?"