Potential Discrimination Through Social Media Ads

In today’s internet-driven world, employers have never had more options from which to recruit new hires. Sites like Zip Recruiter, Monster.com, and Career Builder specialize in talent acquisition, serving as stand-alone classified pages of sorts. Employers also can utilize ever-present social media channels, like Facebook and LinkedIn, to find the best candidate for a position. The old rules of hiring, however, still apply even to these modern recruiting avenues.

Recently, the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon, T-Mobile, Cox Communications, and Cox Media group alleging age discrimination in their Facebook ads. Specifically, the complaint alleges these employers, and many others, have adjusted the settings on their job advertisements to target potential employees under 40. Furthermore, Facebook has a feature that allows the advertiser to see why an individual saw the specific add (i.e., did he or she meet the