Two very different recruitment strategies could lead to similar allegations of hiring discrimination.
Many employers rely on word-of-mouth to find new applicants. But doing so exclusively could cause legal problems. For example, a Maryland based environmental remediation services contractor recently settled a class action alleging that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of race and sex discrimination in hiring and recruiting field laborers. The EEOC alleged that the employer relied exclusively on work of mouth recruitment practices with the intent and effect of limiting female and black applicants. In this regard, the EEOC takes the position that reliance on word-of-mouth recruitment by an employer’s mostly Hispanic workforce may violate the law if the result is that almost all new hires are Hispanic.
In addition to paying $415,000, the company agreed to set numerical hiring goals based on race and sex for filling open jobs. It also agreed to expand its recruiting methods to work with employment agencies and use print and internet advertisements to attract a more diverse applicant pool. Commitment to the new recruiting practices and the achievement of the hiring goals will be monitored by the EEOC. It is unclear how the company’s hiring practices came under scrutiny, but it appears from the complaint that the EEOC initiated its investigation after two female employees filed charges alleging that they were subject to harassment and hostile work environment based on their race and sex. The company denied any wrongdoing.
A similar problem may arise when employers recruit through social media. At a panel discussion held on November 12, 2014, EEOC Commissioner Chai R. Feldblum said that the ability of social media sites, like Facebook, to target advertisements to distinct subsets of users may open up an employer to accusations of discriminatory hiring practices. Employers need to make sure that job advertisements are not targeted to exclude potential applicants based on protected characteristics such as age, sex, or race. This concept is not new. It is illegal for an employer to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age disability, or genetic information. But the ability of social media to focus ads on specific users, and screen out potential applicants based on online activity, creates another layer of complexity.
The bottom line is that to avoid accusations of discrimination, an employer’s recruiting and hiring practices should be broad based enough to create a diverse applicant pool.