Anyone using LinkedIn knows that one of the steps to a complete profile is to ask people for recommendations.  These recommendations can be very valuable in a job hunt because about 75% of hiring managers check LinkedIn to research the credentials of job applicants, according to a recent Jump Start Media poll. 

It can be risky, however, for employers or supervisors to recommend employees on LinkedIn or other social media sites.

As employment attorneys, we advise our employer clients to provide only confirmation of dates of employment, positions with the company and salary, rather than giving a traditional or more informative reference on behalf of former employees. 

Providing negative information can lead to defamation suits, although North Carolina is one of 30 states that shields employers from such suits for providing truthful information about employees to prospective new employers.

Providing positive references, including a recommendation on LinkedIn, can lead to discrimination suits, where the employee uses the glowing reference as proof that his/her performance was not a problem, so the real reason for termination must have been discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, age or gender. 

This advice goes against the culture of openness and sharing in social media, but I think it’s important for employers to know the risks.  What do you think?

Tags: defamation, discrimination, employers, immunity, libel, LinkedIn, recommendations, slander

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 1:29 pm and is filed under employment law, small business, social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.