ONLY DISHONEST PEOPLE NEED APPLY

I have been following news stories of employers requiring both prospective and current employees to provide their Facebook login credentials.

And I am shocked by what I am reading.

Stories abound of people carelessly posting stuff on Facebook that they later wished they hadn’t. And apparently employers want to snoop and dig through all that dirty laundry.

Certainly employers should be concerned about the character of the people they hire. But they are going about it the wrong way.

The EULA for Facebook is very clear: "You will not share your password…, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.”

So when an employer insists that a current or prospective employee provide their Facebook login credentials, they are insisting that that person violate terms of a reasonable prior agreement they have made in good faith. There is no way to sugar coat it; they are insisting that the person be dishonest. They are insisting that their employees are people who do not keep their word, and disregard commitments they have made.

The situation becomes even more absurd when you read between the lines. According to one news story I read, an employee was given a letter stating that if they did not provide their employer with their password, that the employer “would assume the worst.” In other words, if that employee stood by the agreement they had made [with Facebook], the employer would view them as an awful person. And the direct implication was that no such negative assumptions would be made if the person disregarded the agreements they had entered into [and disclosed their password].

Clearly, these employers are viewing dishonest people as normal everyday citizens, and people who stand by their word as scum. What I find disheartening is that many people have no problem with said employer actions since the employer allegedly wants to verify whether or not their employees are inclined to exhibit bad judgment.

There is no way that I would condone people posting things on Facebook that are embarrassing, in poor taste, or illegal. But that is not a rational for expecting people to turn their backs on the commitments they have made. The fact many people are not alarmed that some employers are insisting that people disregard their commitments (even if supposedly for good reason) is disturbing. It’s no wonder marriage commitments are also viewed superficially.