So, in addition to my career, I am also a Mom. One of my duties as a Mom is to continually monitor the social media outlets that my teenage children are viewing and participating in. The graphic that I've included is an actual post that I came across and I copied as an example. Of course, I blurred out the names because the posters are MINORS! Yes, high school kids. The same kids that someday will be in charge of our country, running businesses, running our government, raising families and applying with YOUR company! Scary thought, huh?

Who posts something like this for all everyone to see? This particular post is viewable by the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends and any manager thinking of hiring them! Really?
I tell my kids this very simple rule “Don't put ANYTHING on the internet that you don't want the whole world to see!” Even if your profile is 'private', it's out there for people to see! For people, like me, to copy and paste, and usually, make a judgment call. You can't undo the first impression. It doesn't go away. Which brings me to the reason for this blog.....

 How does social media affect background screening, and what can be reported? Can you use what you find on social media against a potential candidate? This seems like gray area, but the FTC doesn't seem to think so. The general rules are the same. CRA (Consumer Reporting Agencies), like USBS Corp/US Background Screening and the company requesting the report are required to abide by the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) regulations the same as any other component of the background check. Which means that reasonable steps must be taken by the CRA to ensure the maximum amount of accuracy of what's reported and that it relates to the correct person. If the employer is going to take adverse action (not offer a position) because of information found, the same rules apply! The employer must notify the candidate of their intent to take action, provide a copy of the information/report and give them the opportunity to dispute the information.

 It will be interesting to see and hear some of the employee responses to the adverse action taken by employers. Policies regarding background checks will have to be tightened up and crystal clear, or I can see this being a bigger gray area than originally thought!

 The moral of the story; be careful what you post on social media! Everyone, including your potential employers, can see it. If you are lucky, they will follow the rules and you'll have a chance to defend yourself – but a lot of the time, employers do their own media searches BEFORE they offer the job; and you may never even see an offer!

 For the full article from the FTC regarding this matter: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2011/06/fair-credit-reporting-act-social-media-what-businesses