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EEOC Statements on Pre-Employment Inquiries

EEOC Statements on Pre-Employment Inquiries.

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EEOC Statements on Pre-Employment Inquiries

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  1. EEOC Statements on Pre-Employment Inquiries “Although Title VII does not make pre-employment inquiries concerning race, color, religion or national origin per se violations of the law, the Commission’s responsibility to equal employment opportunity compels it to regard such inquiries with extreme disfavor.” “ … in the investigation of charges alleging the commission of unlawful employment practices, the Commission will pay particular attention to the use by the party against whom charges have been made of pre-employment inquiries concerning race, religion, color, or national origin, or other inquiries which tend directly or indirectly to disclose such information. The fact that such questions are asked may, unless otherwise explained, constitute evidence of discrimination, and will weigh significantly in the Commission’s decision as to whether or not Title VII has been violated”

  2. Previous research studies examining employment applications by date of study Note: Adapted from Wallace, Tye, and Vodanovich, 2000.

  3. Frequency of Common Inappropriate Application Blank Questions

  4. Percentage of most commonly identified inadvisable application blank items by sample [from Wallace & Vodanovich (2004) Public Personnel Management] Customer Service Fortune 500

  5. Application Blanks • Content of items (use of job analysis) • Number of application blanks (one for each position or job category) • Legal issues • Image of organization (e.g., format, recruitment issue, perceived fairness of questions) • Accuracy of data • Education (e.g., 21%), salary (22%), job title (24%), years worked (29%) • College students willing to include one lie on AB (95%); 45% had done so

  6. Reference Checks (Exceptionally common technique; e.g., 95% usage by organizations) • Basic Purposes: • Verify information provided by the applicant (check for inconsistencies) • Uncover unreported or additional information (over ½) • Predict job performance (pass or fail decisions made (52%)

  7. Types of Information Collected • Employment dates • Rehire? • Salary history • Absenteeism, tardiness • Qualifications for a certain type of job or work

  8. Reference Check Methods • In-Person (e.g., interview) • Costly, time consuming • Used in jobs that involve the concern for risks (e.g., security, $) • Can elicit different types of information (differences • between in-person and written reference information) • Mail (or e-mail) • Low return rate (e.g., 56 – 64%) • Standardized questions, format • Written record of responses • Ensure confidentiality of responses (signed statement by applicant)

  9. Telephone Checks (More frequently used than written references) • Allows follow-up or clarification of answers given • Less resistance to giving certain types of information can be collected • Quick process • Important data can be gleaned from various verbal cues (e.g., pauses, • hesitations, voice inflections, voice level, intonations) • Relatively high return rate • Better responsiveness, more interactive nature of the method • More confidence in the identity of responder

  10. Sources of Reference Data • Supervisor (most common and most useful) • Personal reference • Agencies (e.g., credit ratings) • Public Records (criminal background, driving • records, court records, workers compensation) • Educational background (verification)

  11. Reference Check Recommendations • Use of job-related questions (e.g., KSAs from a job analysis) • Use of multiple reference check forms (job specificity) • Follow provisions contained in the Uniform Guidelines • (e.g., regarding fairness, validity) • Behaviorally-focusedand objective set of questions • Get written permission for applicants • Training of interviewers (phone, interview) and Recordkeeping • Ask for additional references if one’s submitted not available • Verify information that is collected!

  12. Letters of Recommendation (Mainly used in highly skilled or professional jobs) • Some Indicators: • Meaning of certain adjectives (e.g., mental ability – performance; • cooperativenss/personality – not related to performance) • Number of words used or length of letter (longer letter is better) • Concerns: • Pre-selection of referees (often only positive information included) • Verbal and organizational skill of writer • Unstructured content • Omissions • Time availability • Subjective scoring (e.g., focus on irrelevant information, status of • writer)

  13. Usefulness of Reference Information • Relatively low validity; relationship to performance measures (e.g., • .14, .16) • Relatively low interrater reliability (e.g., .40, but sometimes from • different sources) • Most useful if: • Data collected from immediate supervisor • Referee knows applicant well (chance to observe job behavior) and have • similar demographic characteristics • Similarity between the prior job and the one being applied for

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