Can an employer legally demand access to a private internet account as an interview employment condition?

My daughter and others were asked to open their private MYSPACE pages as an interview employment condition. The interviewer deleted comments with words he did not deem appropriate and chastised her for some of the content of the private messages sent to her from others. Is this legal?

Can an employer legally demand access to a private internet account as an interview employment condition?
I don't think so... that would be your daughters personal space. I think that you should seek some legal advice about that one.
Reply:Exactly how would they know your daughter had a myspace account ?





It's not like everyone does.





You didn't say what job she was applying for.





You didn't tell us the relevance of myspace to the job she was interviewing for.





If she listed her myspace page as part of her application ( ie: this is what I can do ) then it would be appropiate for them to see her page before hiring her.
Reply:if you signed the contract saying you will let them, yes it is legal.





if not, no
Reply:I wouldn't think so. To me that's like asking to look in their purses. It is private and personal.
Reply:Never heard of such a thing, but a lot of people seem to be using Myspace in the process of getting employment, which would open the door to something like that.
Reply:Generally not. I would NEVER allow anyone access of a demand basis like that. He is messing with your privacy (obviously successfully).


If you allow it then it is legal. YOU gave him access! I would consider it a bluff.


Interviewer for what? I would kick his ars out the door (and not show him anything).
Reply:Personally, I don't understand why anyone would admit to having a myspace account to their boss/teacher.





I have a myspace account, as well as accounts at other "community" websites, but I do not mention my name or any other identifiable information. With millions of accounts, it would take a miracle or a lot of patience for someone to stumble across my picture.





I think it is a VERY good idea for anyone that uses public forums such as yahoo questions, myspace or whatever, to keep them separate from their real life.





As for the legality, you would have to check with a lawyer. If the employer viewed the public pages, then there is nothing illegal or unethical. If they were made to open them via password in which it sounds like they did, there may be reason for a lawsuit if that is the path you wish to take.
Reply:As your question came up when I limited these to Australian questions only, I will assume you live in Australia. If so, this is definitely not allowed as it is against our recent privacy laws.
Reply:I doubt it, ask a lawyer
Reply:This is only acceptable for certain kinds of jobs, for instance in national security, where personal vetting takes priority over privacy. For normal run-of-the-mill jobs it's certainly not legal.
Reply:nope life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. now if the myspace was accessed at work then the boss can fire them. but if it was all done on personal time then he can do nothing and you might want to call the aclu.
Reply:Unless they gave their permission, it sounds illegal to me and they should talk to the HR rep about it.
Reply:Huh?
Reply:There's no way that's legal. It's her private space - hence the name. I'd be calling the employer to complain. She's not going to want to work there anyway, if the interviewer is that much of a power tripper at an interview, imagine what they'd be like to work for!
Reply:Sure. Your daughter didn't have to give the employer access to her MYSPACE page; then again, the employer didn't have to interview her or hire her.
Reply:yes...inappropriate but legal....it is up to your daughter to decide to work elsewhere.





An employer has pretty borad rights in terms of hiring and continued employement in non contract situations...the only thing they can't do is discriminate.
Reply:I'm not aware of any law against it. There is nothing in US federal labor laws that would prevent it.





But I think it is stupid from the employer's perspective. If your daughter has a negative outcome (not getting hired, being disciplined, etc.) the employer is now presumed to know anything that was contained in any of those pages. Then the employer would have the burden of proving that the negative action was not caused by information found there that put your daughter in a protected class. As someone who has sued employers, I can tell you it is hard to do this.





The employer should talk to his or her attorney who will insist that such stupidity stops.
Reply:you bet! it is for public display and more employers are looking at them to determine your credibility.
Reply:It can be legal if the terms of the employment contract say so, and if the employer is subject to goverment or SRO regulations (SEC, MSRB, etc.) with security concerns.
Reply:If the employees want to keep their jobs.
Reply:wow, since when is personal life a factor for employment? i wouldn't work anywhere that did that...

perfect teeth