A fascinating story appeared in the Wall Street Journal today about bias in hiring when social media is used by employers.

The article reports a study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University which found that job candidates “whose public Facebook profiles indicated they were Muslim were less likely to be called for interviews than Christian applicants.”   Regional areas of the US also reflected such differences.

The study seems to suggest that online profiles may be used to discriminate and that this may be “an example of unintended consequences of information sharing online.”

One employment lawyer was quoted as saying that for employers “it’s not a good idea to use social media as a screening tool.  You need to control the information you receive so you’re only getting information that is legal for you to take into account.”

We agree with that assessment.  It’s good advice – and this is a good article.