When Congress passed Equal Employment Opportunity legislation and the Americans with Disabilities Act, its goal was to assure that no one in this country was denied employment unfairly. These days, as we watch the unemployment numbers grow, most of us realize denying anyone a job because of their color, race, religion, sex, age, marital status, sexual preference, disability, or anything else not directly related to the demands of the job simply is not only wrong, it is foolish. In an effort to eliminate prejudice in hiring and firing, Congress passed legislation that left many employers unsure as to what they could and could not do.
Congress did not say that an employer could not exercise selection and management procedures that are job relevant, consistent and fairly applied.
In fact, it is inconsistent with the spirit of EEOC and ADA legislation to hire someone for whom the probability of reasonable success at work is limited.
Increasingly, courts are requiring employers to exercise job relevant selection. Recent court rulings have supported the concept of negligent hiring that employers can be held liable for the acts of employees not properly screened and selected.
The common thread running through EEOC, ADA, negligent hiring and unjustified termination is that employers must act fairly and without bias when selecting and managing employees. Documenting the steps an employer takes in his or her selection and management process helps demonstrate a pattern of fair and unbiased practices.
There are several important steps to employee selection. Some of these are required by law for larger companies but the steps make sense for all businesses:
The key to compliance with the EEOC s requirements is the ability to demonstrate job relatedness and an absence of adverse impact in each step of the selection and the management process. This means that no matter what the selection criteria or tools, there can be no evident discrimination. Omnia’s legal counsel and the Boston validation team stress the importance of the way in which a client uses our profile interpretations. A client who misuses an otherwise legal product, service or procedure may be in violation of EEOC and/or ADA.
Omnia can help clients who perceive EEOC, ADA, negligent hiring and unjustified termination legislation as an impediment or threat, to build a profitable business.
Omnia can help make compliance a benefit to our clients, their companies, employees, managers and owners.