Employers, more than ever before, need to protect themselves against accidents and crimes committed by their employees. With negligent hiring, lawsuits, training costs, workplace violence and theft on the rise, pre-employment screening as well as taking the correct pre-employment screening steps are no longer an option, but rather a necessity for businesses.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this month issued a helpful fact sheet on federal anti-discrimination laws, and other selection procedures to help screen applicants for hire and screen employees for promotion.

The new document is available on the agency’s web site.
The fact sheet describes common types of employer administered tests and selection procedures used in the workplace, including cognitive tests, personality tests, medical examinations, credit checks, and criminal background checks.

The document is also full of what it calls “best practices” or tips that can be used to help guide employers through the minefield of hiring a new employee.

Of course, discriminatory employment tests and selection procedures are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act — which are all enforced by the EEOC.

“This fact sheet will help employers voluntarily comply with EEOC-enforced statutes, as companies seek lawful and efficient ways to screen large numbers of applicants,” said Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Tests and other selection tools can be an effective means of making employment decisions, as long as they are not used to screen out individuals in a discriminatory way.”

According to the site, charges of job discrimination filed with the EEOC raising issues of employment testing and exclusions based on criminal background checks, credit reports, and other screening tools have trended upward from 26 in Fiscal Year 2003 to 141 in FY 2006.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.