if you are here in america employers can not deny someone because of their mental illness per ADA (american Disabilities Act laws)

that said I do know some employers that do use facebook to look into their possible employees and then not give a reason for their not getting the job, short version employers can not.......ask.... about mental illness during interviews and on the applications but if they for example see on face book someone has a serious mental illness they can just say at the interview, during a phone call....we will go over your interview and application and get back to you. and then just not get back to you. and when you call to follow up they can legally say sorry the position is filled.

when someone decides to take them to court for discrimination all they have to show is why they chose the other person over the mentally ill one based on work history, credentials, references, ...work related information they were able to obtain about why the other person is better qualified to do the job.

example...

john doe may have depression and DID and place it on his facebook, and John doe's work history shows he worked in sales.

Dan doe doesnt have a mental disorder listed on his facebook page.

it may seem like they are choosing dan over John so John takes them to court for discrimination. what John doesnt know is that Dan besides working in sales has a background in computer programming,

yea the employer may have seen that John has a serious mental illness that demographics show impacts a persons life and work performance and say heck no not hiring this person. But in court all he needs to do is show how Dan is better qualified to do the sales job that entails computer programming knowledge. to do this an employer can now print off posts from facebook, references,work history reports from social security, schooling reports (all of which are public domain for employers.

my suggestion maybe instead of going the facebook route, talk to your friends and family in person and on the phone. this way the information isnt out there to affect your getting a job. the law is that employers can not ask you about your mental illness and can not discriminate because of it ...but.... there are many ways to get around this for employers, all they need to do is show proof how you are not qualified for the job and how the person they chose was.