| WHAT TO ASK AND NOT TO ASK ON JOB APPLICATION FORMS The application form is your first line of inquiry into a job candidate's qualifications. It provides the basis for your initial interview with the candidate, so it should gather as much information as possible, within the requirements of the law. Understanding the true job-related requirements of the vacant position is essential to an effective and legally sound interviewing process. If a qualification is necessary for successful job performance, you can safely ask candidates about it. If, on the other hand, a skill or experience is not required to perform a function successfully, questions about that skill or experience are probably illegal. Process all candidates equally through your hiring procedure. In case of a legal challenge, it's important to be able to show that you have used a consistent procedure. Have every candidate complete an application. If you use testing, test all applicants. Check everyone's references. Then put each applicant's information in a candidate pool for evaluation and selection. Increasingly, state and federal governmental bodies regulate human resources issues. Before you begin interviewing candidates, it's a good idea to review the laws regulating the hiring process. You can obtain detailed information about these laws from your local Chamber of Commerce or from your state Department of Labor. Check the government pages of the phone book to contact these departments. The Application In cases claiming hiring discrimination, emphasis has been given to statistics gathered on applications collected over time. For example, if someone charges you with not hiring divorced people, and an audit of your applications shows that a disproportionate number of divorced people were bypassed, a case for discrimination against divorced people can be made. A good application form can help overcome the problems associated with discrimination in hiring. A question on an application is safe if it is job-related and the information requested is necessary for successful completion of the job. Standard application forms that comply with federal regulations are available through office supply stores, if you choose not to create your own. What To Ask And What Not To Ask Your application form should capture information about the candidate's work experience and qualifications for the position. The basic areas to explore, in addition to name, address, and phone number, are employment history, educational background, insurance education, and job-related skills. Various federal and state laws prohibit discrimination because of age, sex, race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, sexual orientation, or military status. Avoid these topics to protect your agency from unnecessary suits. Communication is an essential skill for many agency positions. You may want to provide space for a writing sample to determine the applicant's ability to communicate. If an applicant is blind or unable to write because of a disability, you are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to supply someone to write for the disabled person. In that case, the candidate can dictate answers to the writer. Avoid asking questions about: AGE OR DATE OF BIRTH. Unless you can prove that the applicant needs to be a certain age to qualify (such as for licensing or driving a car), don't ask. GENDER. The only place this applies is for rest oom attendants. LANGUAGE SPOKEN. Use caution. You may require effective communication, but you may not eliminate a candidate due to a slight accent. PARENTS' OR MAIDEN NAME, CITIZENSHIP, PLACE OF BIRTH, AND COLOR OF EYES OR HAIR. Forget these. They could be used to reveal nationality or marital status. HOMEOWNER OR RENTER. Don't ask. You might be discriminating against protected classes. NUMBER OF CHILDREN, CHILD CARE ARRANGEMENTS, MARITAL STATUS. This is confidential information. CLUB MEMBERSHIPS. Don't ask. This can reveal religious affiliation or ethnic background. EMERGENCY INFORMATION. Wait until the person is hired to ask for this information. PHOTOGRAPHS. Avoid these. They may divulge national origin. Avoid height and weight requirements as well. PHYSICAL DISABILITY. The ADA prohibits pre-employment, pre-offer inquiries regarding disability. After you describe the position to the candidate, you may ask whether the candidate can perform the functions of the job as described, with or without reasonable accommodation. The need for reasonable accommodation should not be a factor when considering the disabled individual. You may not ask specifically about a disability, but you can make a job offer that is conditioned on satisfactory results of a post-offer medical examination or inquiry, provided that this condition is made clear to all applicants for the position. ARREST RECORDS. Don't ask. You may ask if the person is eligible to be bonded, since that might be a requirement for certain positions. EDUCATIONAL LEVEL. Since a minimum high school education or its equivalent is essential for most agency positions, the question is permissible. When hiring for a janitorial or filing position, which might not require a high school level skill, eliminate this section from the application. Disclaimer Only the employment contract or intended contract should imply a promise of employment. Be sure your agency application contains a disclaimer, such as, 'Nothing contained here shall constitute an employment contract; any contract of employment shall be executed in writing.' Reprinted with permission from the ACORD publication Managing Your Human Resources. © |