Interviewing and Hiring Lawfully

• Why Train on This Topic?
• Who Should Take This Course?
• Instructional Design
  • Interview Critique
  • Interview Simulation
  • Note Taking
• Customization
• Supporting Resources
• Print a Flyer
  

The 1999 Supreme Court case, Kolstad v. American Dental Association, and subsequent cases have made clear that employers should train their employees how to avoid discrimination in the hiring and promotion processes. Indeed, in the 2001 case, Mathis v. Phillips Chevrolet, Inc., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employer's failure to train supervisors how to avoid discrimination in the hiring process amounts to "reckless indifference" such that damages to punish the employer should be awarded. Employers' exposure to hiring lawsuits continues to rise. In fact, the number of complaints filed with the EEOC alleging discrimination in the hiring process increased between fiscal year 2000 and fiscal year 2003 by 69%. Brightline's online course, Interviewing and Hiring Lawfully, teaches practical skills for lawfully and effectively interviewing applicants for hire or promotion. In particular, users learn how to:

• Effectively interview applicants to determine their qualifications for the job using behavior-based interviewing techniques
• Avoid unlawful or poorly phrased questions and comments during the interview
• Select the best candidate and properly document the selection

All human resource professionals, hiring managers, supervisors, and non-supervisory employees who interview applicants or otherwise participate in the hiring process should take this course.

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The best way to learn is by doing. Through a series of scenarios and interactive exercises, users learn practical skills for conducting effective and lawful interviews and for properly documenting their interviews and hiring decisions. Here are examples of three of the interactive exercises from the course.

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One of your colleagues, Joanne, recently interviewed an applicant for an open administrative assistant position. You are asked to watch the interview and decide if any of Joanne's questions or comments were potentially unlawful, or lawful but poorly phrased. For example, a few of Joanne's questions are listed below. Can you identify which ones are inappropriate and why?

• Can I ask you how to pronounce your last name?
• Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?
• I went to Springfield High School also. What year did you graduate?
• Are you a US Citizen?
• Would you describe yourself as an organized person?
• Have you ever been arrested or convicted?
• Will your spouse be able to look after your children when you travel?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Have you ever used drugs?

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In the simulation section, you will gain hands-on experience interviewing an applicant for an open administrative assistant position.

You are told that the ideal applicant would present a professional appearance, be very organized, be able to attend an out-of-town conference in two months, speak Spanish, and be likely to become a long-term employee with your organization. The candidate that you are asked to interview is a Pakistani woman who is pregnant and who wears a scarf around her head for religious reasons.

You choose which questions to ask and the applicant answers your questions. You must gather enough information to decide whether the applicant meets each of the job's requirements. At the same time, you must avoid asking any unlawful or poorly phrased question.

After you conclude your interview, you get to see whether you obtained all of the relevant information that you needed to gather. You also are allowed to review each question you asked and are given feedback on whether the question was potentially unlawful, or lawful but poorly phrased.

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Well-taken interview notes allow you to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. They also can help support your decision to not hire a particular applicant if you are ever sued. However, inappropriate or poorly written notes can be used against your organization in a subsequent lawsuit. In this section, you are asked to critique Joanne's interview notes.

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The course can easily be customized to include an audio-visual message from an official in your organization and instruction on your organization's specific policies relating to the hiring and promotion processes.

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After completing the course, users may return to the course at any time to review the material they learned. In addition, users are allowed to view and print out the following hiring resources:

1. Table identifying lawful and unlawful questions on several topics
2. Sample behavior-based interview questions on several topics
3. Information on discrimination laws in each state

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To view or print a flyer describing the content, features, and benefits of Brightline Compliance's online course, Interviewing and Hiring Lawfully, click on the image below.(PDF)

To view sample user survey results for this online course, click here.

To Learn More
To view a demo or learn more about this course, contact Brightline Compliance at (800) 331-7965 or contact us.

 

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