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I think the whole topic is silly. If your potential employer asked you for passwords to your bank accounts, stock managers or asked you to hand over your journ

I think the whole topic is silly. If your potential employer asked you for passwords to your bank accounts, stock managers or asked you to hand over your journals, why would you comply? I know the job market is still tough out there for people, but why would you want to work for a company that won't trust you based on your face to face interview, the documents you submit, your references and a due diligence web search? Were people compelled to give out their AOL passwords for jobs in the 90's?

ap22213 15y ago
I agree, the topic _is_ silly, because most US workers are 'at-will' and can be fired at any time, for any reason. Many people don't know this or don't believe this. Unless you re under specific contract, or live in a few states with employment rights, your boss may fire you just because they didn't like how you type on the keyboard. Recently, I was watching an episode of Mad Men with a friend, and one of the characters abruptly fired one of their employees. My fried was aghast and was glad that 'that behavior couldn't happen today.' Well - it can and does happen today. Last year I worked for a start-up owned by a friend. Before coming on-board, I had agreed verbally on an equity sharing deal. I didn't put anything in writing because I trusted the guy; I knew him for years. The red flag was that he kept waiting for a certain 'favorable legislation to be enacted' before splitting up the corporation. Well, when business started picking up, I reminded him emphatically about the equity, and then I was abruptly fired. Naively, I was shocked that it could happen like that. But, every attorney I called said I was out of luck. Anyway, the point is that employers can probably ask you to do anything they want, that isn't explicitly denied by law. So, it makes sense that they may fire you for not sharing passwords.
- goostavos 15y ago
  How serious is this Facebook business? I personally do not have one, in this day, is this an actual barrier to getting a job? Not being part of a social website? Either way, employers asking for a password to anything feels insanely slimy.
  - ssmall 15y ago
    I've got a feeling its a few marginal cases of completely terrible employers who are doing it and it makes a good news story.
adestefan 15y ago
Employers don't have to ask you for a password to your bank account because they can just go to a credit bureau and get all the financial information they need.

ap22213 15y ago

I agree, the topic _is_ silly, because most US workers are 'at-will' and can be fired at any time, for any reason. Many people don't know this or don't believe this. Unless you re under specific contract, or live in a few states with employment rights, your boss may fire you just because they didn't like how you type on the keyboard. Recently, I was watching an episode of Mad Men with a friend, and one of the characters abruptly fired one of their employees. My fried was aghast and was glad that 'that behavior couldn't happen today.' Well - it can and does happen today. Last year I worked for a start-up owned by a friend. Before coming on-board, I had agreed verbally on an equity sharing deal. I didn't put anything in writing because I trusted the guy; I knew him for years. The red flag was that he kept waiting for a certain 'favorable legislation to be enacted' before splitting up the corporation. Well, when business started picking up, I reminded him emphatically about the equity, and then I was abruptly fired. Naively, I was shocked that it could happen like that. But, every attorney I called said I was out of luck. Anyway, the point is that employers can probably ask you to do anything they want, that isn't explicitly denied by law. So, it makes sense that they may fire you for not sharing passwords.

goostavos 15y ago
How serious is this Facebook business? I personally do not have one, in this day, is this an actual barrier to getting a job? Not being part of a social website? Either way, employers asking for a password to anything feels insanely slimy.
- ssmall 15y ago
  I've got a feeling its a few marginal cases of completely terrible employers who are doing it and it makes a good news story.

adestefan 15y ago

Employers don't have to ask you for a password to your bank account because they can just go to a credit bureau and get all the financial information they need.