Typical job interviews involve calls to references, background checks and a Google search to determine the candidacy of an applicant. How about handing over Facebook account passwords?

More often, employers are asking applicants to turn in social media logins — including passwords — to find information that wouldn’t normally be available with a general background check or reference call.

Congressmen in Illinois, Maryland and California have introduced legislation to prevent this kind of vetting. Even two U.S. senators have asked the attorney general to investigate the legality of asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews.

Often such thorough background checks are for positions in law enforcement and security, where it is necessary to determine if individuals have gang affiliations. However, the Associated Press noted other instances from other industries as well, such as lobbying organizations and statistician jobs.

In the past week, internet law experts, employers, legislators, the ACLU and even Facebook officials have weighed in on the legality of such actions. Most of the reaction has been the same: It’s wrong.

We at the Tribune agree and believe that asking for Facebook passwords is not only legally hazy, but also downright discriminatory.

Most applicants would rather hand in login information than be unemployed. But rummaging through personal messages and private group information crosses a line when screening applicants.

ACLU attorney Catherine Crump likened the request to opening an applicant’s postal mail to “see if there was anything of interest inside.” Opening a citizen’s private postal mail is obviously a federal offense, so why is opening messages in a Facebook mailbox any different?

As Facebook officials pointed out, asking for login information can cause unwanted problems for employers as well. Giving away login information also violates Facebook’s privacy policy and not only gives an employer all of your information, but access to every one of your hundreds of friends, too.

Facebook has warned that it could sue companies for violating terms, because entering their site through a violation of terms of service is a federal offense. Moreover, individuals could sue companies for discrimination after stumbling upon group affiliations, sexual orientation, age or other things that employers aren’t allowed to ask applicants.

Obviously, there are positions out there which require background checks of applicants for security purposes. Facebook profiles that are public can come up in a basic Google search, and companies can view limited profile information without needing a login.

So why is it necessary to have applicants log in to their Facebook during an interview, or to ask for login information? There are other ways that employers can attain information from applicants.

Allowing employers to ask for Facebook passwords sets a dangerous precedent for invasion of privacy. It’s a slippery slope of how far into an applicant’s private life
employers may peek.

Applicants should still keep their responsibilities in mind to be fair and provide employers with reasonable amounts of information when requested. Staying smart when posting to Facebook and other sites is still important, because employers can access public information.

But it’s still important to stand up for your rights as an applicant as well. It’s not right to take advantage of people looking for a job and hack their social media life. We hope that employers listen to the warning of Facebook, the ACLU, applicants and legislators and stop the practice.