Posted by Mark in 
Would you care if you had to fill out username and password to your online profiles on a job application form? I sure would. We had talked about credit check a while ago and it caused quite a controversy among our readers. I wouldn’t be very happy if I was filling out a job application form that had a section for me to enter my login credentials. That to me is beyond a simple background check. That is exactly what a city in Montana had been doing for couple years until someone brought it up, finally. If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on it, here is the piece that you should read – Montana City Asks Job Applicants To Fork Over Social Networking Passwords.
Not long after the news broke of the unethical hiring practice of the Bozeman city, a press release was issued saying that the city has stopped the practice. According to the press release,
Effective at 12:00 p.m. today, Friday June 19, 2009, the City of Bozeman permanently ceased the practice of requesting candidates selected for City positions under a provisional job offer to provide user names and passwords for the candidate’s internet sites.
You can read the press release here (PDF)
It is surprising that they got away with this for few years. According to city officials, they were doing this to make sure the candidate was appropriate for the job. Not a valid reason. Here is the job application form that contained sections for you to fill out your username and password : Background Check (PDF). I am sure there are other businesses that are using such practices which have yet to see the outlash by the community. Hopefully, this will help them change their mind.
We understand that hiring process isn’t easy. But a government office engaged in such a practice is pretty pathetic. Issuing a press release and putting a stop to this will certainly help them avoid any lawsuits that might have come their way in near future. It’s surprising they weren’t sued until now. Well, it’s all done and said, but asking for username and passwords to your online profiles just goes to show how the online space is shaping the offline world.
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