EEOC Guidelines

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission has guidelines for the hiring process with which you should not only be familiar, but follow as well.

It is most important that your process have no adverse impact on any protected minorities. These groups include all women, all non-Caucasians and all people who are forty years of age or older. In addition, the Americans with Disabilities Act states that you can’t ask any questions that might intentionally or unintentionally uncover any physical or mental disability.

The EEOC suggests that you should have a pool of candidates from which to choose rather than just one or two people.

The guidelines suggest that your interview process must be objective rather than subjective. They point out that you can accomplish this by having more than one interviewer. Two interviewers can be present in the same interview or they can conduct two separate interviews. The criteria must be clear and the interviews must be consistent.

The use of a pre-employment "test" is one way to assure objectivity in the interview process. The test, or tests that you choose must be reliable (you can depend upon the results to be accurate) and consistent in their findings, while showing no adverse impact on the protected minorities. The guidelines further suggest that if you use a test, the same test must be administered to all of the applicants. The test you choose should be both EEOC Compliant and Validated. Here is the actual text:

Section 703(h) of the Act provides that "notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, it shall not be an unlawful practice for an employer . . . to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test provided that such test, its administration or action upon the results is not designed, intended or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin."

In order for an individual to be an applicant in the context of the Internet and related electronic data processing technologies, the following must have occurred: (1) The employer has acted to fill a particular position; (2) The individual has followed the employer's standard procedures for submitting applications; and (3) The individual has indicated an interest in the particular position. Here is more actual test:

Online tests, including tests of specific or general skills, are selection procedures rather than recruitment under UGESP because the test results are used as "a basis for making employment decisions." \24\ Employers and recruiters who use such tests should maintain records or other information "which will disclose the impact which its tests ... have upon employment opportunities of persons by identifiable race, sex or ethnic group." 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(i).

Remember that there are certain questions that you may not ask – those pertaining to disabilities, marital status, sexual preference and age, to mention just a few.