‘Want a job? What’s your Facebook password?’

July 6, 2009 by Staff (found on HR Morning.com and edited down)

This employer’s taken the concept of online background checks to a new level.
Candidates applying for jobs with the city of Bozeman, Montana, are asked to list “any and all” Web sites, chat rooms and social networking groups they use (”including but not limited to Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.”) — along with their usernames and passwords.

Many hiring managers Google applicants’ names or look for them on Facebook, but actually logging in to their personal profiles is something new entirely.

Why does Bozeman want that access? According to city attorney Greg Sullivan, it’s “to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the city,” The Consumerist reports.

Sullivan also said the city doesn’t look at “the things that the federal Constitution lists as protected things” (whatever that means)................ In a recent press release, Bozeman announced it will “suspend its practice of reviewing candidates’ password protected internet information until the City conducts a more comprehensive evaluation of the practice.”

Of all the stupid insane HR practices -- what is the City of Bozeman thinking? Protected information such as Age, familial status, sexual orientation, religion, medical information -- are all available on facebook. How in the world could they defend this practice in court.

Hey -- why stop there -- why not ask for my Eharmony password --

idiots.