How far is too far in your employer Googling you?

[calhoun07]

I was talking to one of my managers at work and she asked me if I heard about one of the other employees pages online. (The other employee works in another department at a different bank branch.) I said no and she typed the employee's name into Google. My manager warned me it was horrific. Granted the employee involved isn't going to turn many heads, and I really had no idea what she was going to pull up.

I saw a web page with thumbnails and I didn't see anything explicit. A couple pictures showed some cleavage. (OH NO! Not-so-attractive women have cleavage!)

My manager said that it seems this employee likes to go to various hotels and dress in costumes and have pictures taken of her and posts the pictures on her personal page online. Now, this is what I am told. And that she even reportedly goes to one of the no tell hotels within view of the bank.

The next thing that the manager told me was the horrifying part: somebody in our IT department Google's employees names just to see what they are up to on their social networking sites. Anything "nefarious" (my manager's exact word) is forwarded to the higher ups.

This woman's website was forwarded on.

Curious to know exactly what was going on, I Googled the employee's name when I got home. The website in question isn't her personal website. It's a website apparently run by somebody in Boston. The pictures in question aren't her just going to hotels in strange costumes as some kind of strange fetish. The pictures in question are of her at a hotel for a Comic Con and she's dressing up as characters for the Comic Con and her boyfriend took the pictures for fun. Nothing explicit, unless you have a problem with not-so-attractive women having cleavage.

The next Google match for her name shows that she is some kind of editor or something for comic book fan fiction. All fairly innocent stuff.

From what my manager was telling me, people are laughing at her behind her back and not even looking at any of this in any kind of logical context. They have extrapolated stories about why and how the pictures were taken and the higher ups have contacted her boss in her department and it's not looking so good for the future of her employment.

Granted, it takes some pulling your head out of your ass to put these pictures in context, read the captions with them, see what else the woman is up to online (all comic book related stuff) and not jump to conclusions.

I understand potential employers Googling employees for future job references, but isn't this crossing a line? Even if she was posting some sex fetish pictures of herself online, if it wasn't affecting her job why would this even be fodder for them to get into at any job?

[naitram]

I'd sue their asses.

[calhoun07]

Originally Posted by naitram

I'd sue their asses.

I found this woman's phone number online on White Pages. I feel like calling her but the way they are going on a witch hunt all of a sudden, I want to tip her off in a more anonymous way. Perhaps I can find her email address on one of her comic book related pages.

[The Bus]

Needs less bold.

[The Bus]

If I worked somewhere and that was what management concerned themselves with, I would start looking for a new job. Obviously this company is going down the tubes.

[The Bus]

http://www.aclu.org/privacy/workplace/index.html

[movieguru]

You can create a Facebook/my space account in anyones name you want to and post any kind of false information claiming to be that person. How would an employer know if the facebook account was actually legit or someone else trying to ruin another's reputation.

[calhoun07]

Unless the employee is posting stuff on their personal pages that violates the secrecy oaths they sign with the bank (or whatever job they take) then the employer should just stay the hell out of it.

At least I don't have anything like this online. I Googled my own name just to see what they would see and there are too many people out there with my name and what pictures are out there of people out there with my name clearly show it's not me.

[uberjoe]

No one has the right to Google you in your bathing suit area.

[4KRG]

I know someone that lost a job over stuff she posted on a blog. Nothing too offensive, it was a rant about non-white people and their poor English speaking skills. Nothing violent or hateful, but a little degrading to their intelligence.

I live in a very politically correct area (aka. liberal cesspool ) and the place of employment figured the majority of people involved in the place of employment spoke English as a second language and concluded after reading the blog that the person I know was a racist time bomb waiting to explode, so they let her go and cited the blog as the primary reason.

I told her to sue, but she is too wimpy. Took her severance pay and moved on, embarrassed, and she deleted the blog.

Welcome to America, where is it now a crime to be white and be annoyed with non-English speaking people in public places.


edited to add, my place of employment has teams of people that search people out prior to employment and for many again every 5 years or so. I would actually be terrified if they DIDN'T do this I only want to work with quality normal people, now if they could only enforce an min IQ as well, it would be perfect

[Dr Mabuse]

As the separation of the working class and the unbelievable wealth concentrated in the top 1% in this country gets wider, this type of thing will get more and more invasive. This is how it's worked(if you understand what I'm saying) for millenia. Frankly I consider using google as a 'lesser' evil compared to the other invasive/humiliating things people are put through.

People's credit scores, backgrounds including all manner of things, your bodily fluids(they are so very precious) are examined. Googling people is nothing. Most people, the vast majority, quickly become socially conditioned to accept and even champion such things. As more jobs are sent offshore so the top 1% can garner even more massive amounts of wealth, this stuff will get worse and worse. Most people will accept, if not champion, that too. Just like your IT people and bosses at work.

It ends in the death of a republic, often a violent death.

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics." - Plutarch

[D.Pham00]

lucky you they don't enforce the min IQ, otherwise you'd be out of a job.

[mikehunt]

start googling upper management
or at least the manager that showed you that stuff

granted the higher ups are likely too computer illiterate to have anything good on line but you might get lucky

[Talkin2Phil]

I think they should stop at the tenth o in Goooooooooooooooooogle anything in the following pages will be about the talkin2phil in Uruguay that is married to a mule.

[4KRG]

Originally Posted by D.Pham00

lucky you they don't enforce the min IQ, otherwise you'd be out of a job.

Thanks!


I guess I should qualify how far an employee is investigated is 100% dependent on the job they do.

If you are taking orders at the Mcdonald's drive through, whatever, no investigation beyond having a valid US social security number should be pursued.

If you work at my bank and handle all my financial information on a daily basis, I want a little more investigation to be performed on your background and character.

There is a reason some people need to go through years of investigative work before they can be trusted to hold certain jobs. Some are understandable, some are not.

for ex. http://www.fbi.gov/clearance/securityclearance.htm

[kvrdave]

Originally Posted by naitram

I'd sue their asses.

For looking you up on Google? Yeah, there's a good strong case. If she is harassed, fired without cause, etc. then a suit might be a consideration, but otherwise, putting things on the internet is no different than writing a book, a pamphlet, writing to the newspaper, or anything else. It is out there for the public. If you want to be private, set up some website that is member only where you control everything and keep people out. Otherwise, don't get pissed when people see your stuff that is out in public.

I don't think this crosses the line because there is no indication that they are doing anything wrong with the information.

[imperator505]

Originally Posted by kvrdave

For looking you up on Google? Yeah, there's a good strong case. If she is harassed, fired without cause, etc. then a suit might be a consideration, but otherwise, putting things on the internet is no different than writing a book, a pamphlet, writing to the newspaper, or anything else. It is out there for the public. If you want to be private, set up some website that is member only where you control everything and keep people out. Otherwise, don't get pissed when people see your stuff that is out in public.

I don't think this crosses the line because there is no indication that they are doing anything wrong with the information.

Other than passing it around and laughing at her behind her back. Not very professional in my view, and might be construed as bullying behaviour. Surely, in America of all places, she could sue for bullying?

[Giantrobo]

Originally Posted by kvrdave

For looking you up on Google? Yeah, there's a good strong case. If she is harassed, fired without cause, etc. then a suit might be a consideration, but otherwise, putting things on the internet is no different than writing a book, a pamphlet, writing to the newspaper, or anything else. It is out there for the public. If you want to be private, set up some website that is member only where you control everything and keep people out. Otherwise, don't get pissed when people see your stuff that is out in public.

I don't think this crosses the line because there is no indication that they are doing anything wrong with the information.

I give my Job -at least- 8 to 10 hours every weekday. Hell, on Friday I did 12 hours in preparation for the DST change. I have a Blackberry so I'm basically On Call 24/7. The point is, they already play a HUGE role in my life.

SO WHY THE FUCK, does my job need to know what I'm doing in my personal life? Can't I have anything to myself? Yeah I get that if I post it online it's 'Fair Game'; but isn't there a better way to use company resources than SPYING on an employee's personal life?

Tell you what, if you want to Google me every couple years then PAY ME 400,000 more a year and I'll e-mail you pics first thing every Monday.

[Dr Mabuse]

The monied aristocracy/masters of information declared war on the unions a ways back. A massive campaign painting unions as corrupt arms of the mafia and the like. This was a powerful attack. Much like the demon in 'The Exorcist', propaganda often mixes the truth with lies as an attack. As Father Merrin warned it's a powerful attack. People were rather easily conditioned into believing unions were bad over time, as they are easily conditioned to believe most anything they are told to believe basically.

Amazing that the only thing/reason working people ever got even a reasonably fair shake(the unions), was willingly abandoned by the people who benefited from it. What a fucking trick that was/is, the mind boggles. Though working people in every job/role in America have suffered in every aspect of their lives due to the loss of unions, social conditioning is so powerful on the majority that people today still believe unions are/were bad.

There was a reason the moneyed interests did that of course, an obvious reason. Now... just like in the times before unions, they begin to encroach on and own the lives of their workers. Workers aren't a vital part of the company that leads to success for all. They're a lower class of people who are just lucky they were given the chance to work at all. And they better keep their ass in line even in their own home, their own website, every corner of their life or they'll be shitcanned. Your whole life is owned by them for your ever declining(and negated by inflation) wage(declining since the 70's, coincidentally when the war on unions was won? ). Much like the dock foremen in 'On The Waterfront', they want to know what you think, say, and do. And they won't give you the 'privilege' of working if they don't like what you do, even if you work hard and put in a solid day's work. They want more and more reasons to exclude people from the workforce to concentrate power and to maintain control.

I am unaware of company housing and company stores coming back yet, but I know a good portion of America would champion that too with a 'go work somewhere else or make your own job' attitude if they were told to think that with their thoroughly conditioned minds. Today people - workers, unquestioning participate in the idea that the people who work at a company are not a vital and necessary role there, they are people who are just damned lucky they have a chance to work at all, and they should take whatever scraps they are given from the table of the powerful/wealthy and shut up.

This type of return to pre-labor movement days has been growing since the 70's, it amazes me how fast and how far reaching the stuff has become in a relatively short time. Much like the 'trustees' in the death camps, workers eagerly assist the powerful in their own subjugation though. This is what the bosses are doing in the OP's story. They are too stupid to consider that 'gun' they are so eager in aiming around could just as easily be pointing at them next week/month/year. So it will get worse and worse for workers in the US.

For the rich to continue to get even richer at precedent setting paces the offshoring will continue, though in truth there isn't a whole lot left comparatively. So they will have a continuing need to thin down the work force, to invent reasons to exclude workers from a chance to have a little slice of the American dream. Just like they did before.

I happen to be... in a good situation in my life. But this stuff irks the shit out of me. I see it as plain as day, how fast it's gotten worse over the last 25 years. My jaw drops most every time I see the people who are victims of this stuff championing their own victimization.

Edward Bernays(remember you sending me some quotes by him Bus?) was right about the power of the wealthy, the masters of information:

"Those who manipulate the unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. In almost every act of our lives whether in the sphere of politics, or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind." - Edward Bernays

"If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it." - Edward Bernays

Truer words have never been spoken.

[FiveO]

Originally Posted by kvrdave

For looking you up on Google? Yeah, there's a good strong case. If she is harassed, fired without cause, etc. then a suit might be a consideration, but otherwise, putting things on the internet is no different than writing a book, a pamphlet, writing to the newspaper, or anything else. It is out there for the public. If you want to be private, set up some website that is member only where you control everything and keep people out. Otherwise, don't get pissed when people see your stuff that is out in public.

I don't think this crosses the line because there is no indication that they are doing anything wrong with the information.

Agreed. If you don't want it out there for everyone to see...don't put it on a publically viewed internet site.

As part of background investigations that I do every few months on incoming deputies I always check social networking sites.

Its no different than going to the bar, getting drunk and making a complete fool of yourself in public. Employers are asking themselves "do we really want this person working for us".

Anything publically available on the net is fair game.

[Brian Shannon]

Originally Posted by naitram

I'd sue their asses.

For what? Looking at public information

Good luck!

And to answer the question, I say good for the employer!

[arminius]

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

For what? Looking at public information

Good luck!

And to answer the question, I say good for the employer!

Did you not read the initial post? She did not do anything other than go to a comic con. I guess for mundanes that is just too much. And Giant Robo.

[Brian Shannon]

Originally Posted by arminius

Did you not read the initial post? She did not do anything other than go to a comic con. I guess for mundanes that is just too much. And Giant Robo.

Exactly, info that is on a public website.

[calhoun07]

Originally Posted by 4KRG

If you work at my bank and handle all my financial information on a daily basis, I want a little more investigation to be performed on your background and character.

http://www.fbi.gov/clearance/securityclearance.htm

I get that. And expect it to a degree. But I expect some comprehension skills on the user's end that is collecting the information. I would hope the person holding the job in the IT department who makes more than me and the higher ups this all filtered through who certainly make more than me are also more educated than me. If they are, why is it I can look at the website in question and see in an instant that it's a comic book con website and put the pictures in context?

My manager asked the question what if somebody saw that employee's name on loan documents and went home and Googled it and saw that. So then they would see she is a comic book fan outside of work? Is that really so terrible? The only thing is these higher paid/apparently better educated people are incapable of putting this all into context. Maybe I just have an advantage because I know the comic book/comic con culture and can see what it is in an instant. But when managers and supervisors and higher ups are emailing and calling back and forth and laughing about her behind her back, they all need to be reprimanded.

I think this employee's only real mistake is posting something online that had her real name attached to it. Better to create a screen name, even if you are posting something innocent. I don't even post pictures of my Golden Retriever on grweekly.com under my real name. I don't even have my real name on amazon.com. There's only a couple websites that match when my real name is Googled. And for email address, I have a separate email address I use just for work, so they never know my other personal email addresses.

[arminius]

Originally Posted by Brian Shannon

Exactly, info that is on a public website.

But the info is harmless. She went to an entertainment event, like a concert or movie premiere. She dressed in a costume as is normal for this. It was on her own time and had nothing to do with her employer. I am not saying to sue for the info being there, she should sue for the way it is being used and how her supervisors are using it to ridicule her in the workplace. Totally unprofessional.