HR: Internet Passwords

According to a widely distributed story (6/21/09), the city of Helena, Montana has a statement in its application process stating "Please list any and all current personal or business Web sites, web pages or memberships on any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs or forums, to include, but not limited to Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc."

To state that this has caused an uproar is putting in mildly. While the city states that nothing happens if someone refuses to answer the questions and they further state the question is not "scored" as part of the selection process, this is an amazing example of either bureaucractic or human resource stupidity. From the story and the challenges already raised to this statement being included on the application form, it appears extremely doubtful this statement will last more than the next week or so. That's good -- but does anyone believe this is the end of such nonsense?

What I would be very comfortable predicting at this point is that "someday" an employee, with an above average performance rating, will be discovered to have not included their Facebook ID and Password for their "private" site which just happens to contain some great pictures of their membership in the "Thursday-Bar-Nite" group from their college days. They will fired, unfotunately in a situation that has already happened too often, not for performance but for "lying on their application form."

Comment: Again, for now I think this disappears quickly from the "Wild Montana Skys" (a free book to the first couple people who know why I made that reference). But it still reeks of something HR should not have done or should never have allowed if it was proposed by others.