EEOC Takes Aim On 4 Hiring Areas

Bias complaints from rejected job applicants are on the rise, and the EEOC is cracking down on unintentional discrimination in employers’ hiring practices. Here’s how HR pros can keep their companies safe.

This year, the EEOC has several new laws to enforce and a mission to ramp up enforcement in existing areas, says Peggy Mastroianni, associate legal counsel for the commission, who spoke at a recent Society for Human Resources Management conference in Washington, DC.

Here are the four EEOC priorities for this year that will have the biggest impact on hiring processes, according to Mastroianni:

1. Background checks – According to the EEOC, policies against hiring convicted criminals can be discriminatory, because minority applicants are more likely to have criminal records. The commission is continuing to crack down on the unnecessary use of criminal background checks.
   
   How to prepare: Review all of your company’s selection procedures, making sure they’re necessary and related to the positions they’re being used for. Courts have held that criminal records can be used if there’s some connection between the type of conviction and the position being filled.
   
2. Ledbetter Fair Pay Act – The EEOC is expecting a big increase in pay discrimination claims because of the recently passed Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gives employees more opportunities to sue if they feel their paycheck’s taken a hit because of illegal bias.
   
   How to prepare: Review policies on how salaries are set (and make sure managers follow them), identify and correct unexplained pay discrepancies, and make sure documents related to pay are retained.
   
3. Religious discrimination – The EEOC has been active in pursuing complaints of religious bias and failure to accommodate religious beliefs. These types of suits are especially tricky for employers because courts almost always side with employees if there’s a question of whether their beliefs are genuine.
   
   How to prepare: Religion bias claims often arise when applicants or new hires tell a manager about a scheduling conflict due to religious services or holidays. Hiring managers need an idea of what’s a reasonable way to accommodate one of those requests.
   
4. The new ADA – One of the biggest employment law developments of 2008 was the passage of the ADA Amendments Act, a law that significantly expands the definition of “disability” and offers protection to more employees and job applicants.
   
   How to prepare: The new law doesn’t change employers’ obligations to accommodate disabled employees. But since the coverage is greatly expanded, it’s more important for hiring managers to be trained on following the law. They need to understand the difference between essential and nonessential job functions and avoid making assumptions about a candidate’s ability to perform.

Quoted article from March 19, 2009

Sam Narisi, HR Morning

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