Texas launches investigation into so-called ‘ghost jobs’ on LinkedIn – and promises to hold company ‘accountable’
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The state of Texas is looking to crack down on so-called so-“ghost job” listings on LinkedIn, according to a new report.
A “ghost job” is a position that is advertised as open, but in reality either does not exist or is a role that the recruiting company has little or no intention of filling.
On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that his office is investigating LinkedIn’s over the alleged “ghost jobs,” and whether or not the job hunting site is promoting the misleading postings while also pushing users to pay for its premium offering, Chron reports.
“LinkedIn is a platform millions of Texans trust to grow their careers,” Paxton said in a statement, the outlet reports. “If LinkedIn is deceiving users into paying for Premium services by promoting fake job opportunities, we will hold the company accountable.”
Texas officials said LinkedIn Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions costs approximately $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively, Fox Business reports.
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“I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities,” Paxton added. “LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings.”
LinkedIn has published guidance on its website intended to help job seekers spot the false or misleading job listings.
A representative for LinkedIn told Chron that its policies prohibit “ghost job” postings.
“LinkedIn’s goal is to help jobseekers find their next role, and our policies require that jobs posted be authentic and accurately represented,” the spokesperson reportedly said. “For many jobs posted on LinkedIn, we also display the company’s response time and whether they’re currently reviewing candidates, which helps jobseekers know if it is a current, active job opportunity.”
The spokesperson said that LinkedIn actively enforces its policies and invests in features like “verification for jobs, recruiters, and company pages to help LinkedIn members identify more trusted opportunities.”
Paxton’s probe will focus on whether or not LinkedIn violated the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by promoting misleading job postings while trying to sell subscriptions to its higher-tier services, Chron reports.
The Independent has requested comment from LinkedIn.
