There are a few risks that are involved when using social media in hiring. Everyone
should be treated equally and have the same opportunity of employment regardless of their sex,
race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, color, religion and pregnancy. Human resource
managers who use social media as part of a hiring process must familiarize the themselves with
background check laws.
The federal government has regulations set for human resource managers. The federal
government gives tremendous effort to regulate human resource managers to achieve Equal
Employment Opportunity which is “the condition in which individuals have equal chance to
employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin”
(Noe, Hollenbeck, and Gerhart, 2015, p. 64). Human resource managers can face discrimination
complaints that can be sent to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a review
and investigation within 60 days. If the EEOC does not find any wrong doing or “fails to
complete the investigation within 60 days,” then the individual who filed the complaint can then
sue in court (Noe, Hollenbeck, and Gerhart, 2015, p. 73). Punitive damages can be awarded to
the plaintiff if the defendant is found guilty of discrimination. Under the Civil Rights Act of
1991, individuals can receive anywhere from $50,000 to $300,000, depending on the number of
employees the company has employed, as “back pay, lost benefits, front pay in some cases, and
attorney’s fees and costs,” (Noe, Hollenbeck, and Gerhart, 2015, p. 70). Congress has also
passed a Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 that “defines discrimination on the basis of
pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions to be a form of illegal sex discrimination”
and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 that prohibits discrimination
because of genetic information for employers with 15 or more employees (Noe, Hollenbeck, and
Gerhart, 2015, p. 69 & 71).
