In recent weeks, several U.S. job candidates reported that prospective employers had requested their Facebook passwords in order to secure personal details about them. Shortly thereafter, there was an outpouring of candidates relaying anecdotes to the media of employers asking them to log onto their social networks on computers at the job site or hiring managers requesting to become “friends” on Facebook during the interview process. In Canada, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has concluded that this hiring practice is not permissible because it may be violating Ontario’s Human Rights Code. The Commission stated that any employer requesting this information could be open to a claim of discrimination under the Code. In fact, the Commission highlighted 15 prohibited grounds, including: race, color, religion, etc. that could be found directly or indirectly on a Facebook profile and used in a discriminatory manner against prospective employees.
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