LinkedIn employment history lawsuit

LinkedIn have been issued with a class-action lawsuit in California, the professional social network is being accused of violating federal consumer protection laws to do with employment history.

The lawsuit suggests LinkedIn have violated users rights by selling employment history information to potential employers without the users consent.

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It is LinkedIn’s job reference tool that is in question here, this tool is available to employers’ that subscribe to LinkedIn’s premium features. Many social networking sites can generate reports, and LinkedIn generates reference reports, which contain locations, names, employment history etc. But, the problem is these reference reports could be inaccurate and this is what the lawsuit discusses.

No applicant is notified when a future employer runs these reference reports according to The Recorder.

The lawsuit states that any potential employer can delve into the employment history of any LinkedIn member. This can then lead to hiring and firing decisions based on the information they collect, and this is all without letting these members know about it.

There are four plaintiffs within the lawsuit, and they are suing LinkedIn for statutory and actual damages.

What are your views on the LinkedIn employment history lawsuit?

LinkedIn employment history lawsuit