Briefly discuss the legality of an employer rejecting a job applicant based on the contents of the ...

Employers can legally reject a job applicant based on the contents of the individuals' social networking profile as long as the company is not violating federal or state discrimination laws. For example, an employer cannot legally screen applicants based on race or ethnicity. Or, suppose that by checking a social networking Web site, a hiring manager finds out that a job candidate is pregnant and makes a decision not to hire that person based on that information. That employer would be at risk of a job employment discrimination lawsuit because refusing to hire on the basis of pregnancy is prohibited by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.