When writing a job posting quite often the author writes it from their point of view. After all it is their job and their company, so why not write the job posting to reflect what they want? The problem is that the biases of the writer may become apparent in the language that is used in the job posting. Here’s how to avoid bias language in job postings.

What is Prohibited Job Ad Language?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the governmental agency that oversees Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the protections provided for “protected categories.” On their web page entitled  Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices they give some specific examples of how employers can get in trouble with language in the recruiting process. They specifically say:

“It is illegal for an employer to publish a job advertisement that shows a preference for or discourages someone from applying for a job because of his or her race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.”

For example, phrases around origin, religion, and physical condition such as “American born,” “Christian values,” and “must be in good health” can (and probably will) get employers in trouble.

Examples of Prohibited Job Posting Language

These examples from actual job ads – give examples of some prohibited job postings language, and the reason why:

*3-5 years of related experience in Human Resources and Payroll. This implies that someone with more experience, such as an older candidate with more than 5 years of experience would not be welcome. 

*Housewife. Bus Boy. Waitress. Houseman. Stay away from gender specific titles.

*Reliable transportation. Unless the transportation is needed to conduct the on the clock work. 

*If you would like to be considered for our team of entertainers, text your first name, your height and weight, your age, your city of residence, and your contact information Height, weight and age are not requirements to be stated unless they are what is known as BFOQs (Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications). The EEOC takes a very dim view of their use.

In job postings it is important to keep your language job-related. Describe the work to be done and the work habits and characteristics necessary to accomplish the work. Avoid describing characteristics, especially physical characteristics, of the potential employee.

Liability

As an employer you are not only held liable for the your actions, but also for the actions of all employees involved in the recruitment process and for those people who are acting as your agents. You need good (and compliant) job ads. This means that any recruitment agency that is working on your behalf must also comply with the EEOC standards.  If they don’t, not only can they have legal difficulties but those difficulties can be extended to you, the actual employer. So review and approve any job postings they are using on your behalf.

Mike Haberman is the HR Compliance Guy. He is a HR consultant and Partner at OmegaHRSolutions. Photo Credit PivotalMatters.

Let’s pose a scenario. An applicant whom you had some interest in walks through the door and is sitting in your lobby. You had never seen the person before. You peek out in the lobby to look at the person. They look “different” than you expected them to look. They are plainer, heavier, a different color, or even a different gender than you expected. Was it illegal for you to peek into the lobby? Of course not, and it is not illegal to look at someone’s picture in a profile today.

What you do with the information

If the candidate doesn’t look as “expected,” what would you do? Would you then make an excuse not to interview them, despite the fact that their qualifications looked appropriate to the job? Or would you spend time discovering if their ability to do the job was what you are looking for in your company?  If you chose the former then you will have many potential problems. If you do the latter you are in a much safer position. The key issue in looking at pictures is what you do with the information, just as if you were to find out in a profile that someone was a member of a particular religion or a particular age. If you make your hiring decisions based on that information and not the person’s ability to do the job then you are breaking the law, not only in the US but in many other nations as well.

Do people make decisions in hiring on the basis of someone’s appearance? They certainly have! There is a long history of discrimination on that basis. Profile pictures on sites such as LinkedIn, however, are not the first time pictures have been used. In days past, candidates would send their pictures along with the resumes or even printed into the resume. Job counselors would advise attractive candidates to submit a picture because the psychology of physical attraction would work in their favor.

Hallmark of professional managers

One of the hallmarks of professional managers and recruiters is understanding that biases may exist and realizing that these biases must be overcome in order to find the best candidate for a job. With few exceptions a person’s physical appearance is not relevant to the performance of their job. Yes, there are standards of appearance, such as how someone dresses on the job, that you can adhere to, but you don’t know if the person can abide by those until you have interviewed them. Professional managers will use a picture in order to recognize a candidate to welcome them at the first greeting.

Be honest with yourself. Take a look at all the people working around you or in your circle of friends or even your family. Would you hire them today if they were qualified for the job? Or would your reject them based on having seen a picture? It is not illegal to look at a picture. It is illegal to make your hiring decision solely on the basis of that picture.

Mike Haberman is the HR Compliance Guy. He is a HR consultant and Partner at OmegaHRSolutions.

The goal of the recruitment process is to find the best person for the job. It is doubtful that anyone will disagree with this statement. The disagreement comes in the definition of “the best person.” Is this the best man? Or the best woman? Or the best young person? Or the best ethnic minority or… well you get the idea. Most larger organizations have someone in the human resources function that understands that there is a legal foundation in the hiring process that must be paid heed. This legal foundation is almost global in its application. Unfortunately many businesses don’t have an understanding of this foundation.

U.S. legal foundation

In the United States there are a number of laws that govern the recruitment and hiring process. Foremost among these is the Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law laid the foundation of antidiscrimination law that has been expanded on in the following half-century. It says you cannot discriminate against a candidate or employee on the basis of their race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, or genetic make-up.

Additionally, if you are a contractor with the U.S. government you must also pay attention to veteran status. Under Federal law, sexual orientation is not a protected class but many states do define sexual orientation as a protected class in employment discrimination. That is an important distinction to understand. When hiring an individual in the U.S. it is important to not only know the federal laws but also the laws of the particular states in which you are hiring and in some cases even smaller jurisdictions, such as cities. California is well known for having employment laws that are more restrictive than other states.

Other U.S. laws

It is not just Equal Employment Opportunity laws that govern the employment process. There are several other laws or regulations wrapped around the hiring process. These include:

• The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 that makes it illegal to hire workers that do not have the legal right to work in the U.S. This law requires that an employee produce the proper documentation no later than the end of the third day of their employment. If they do not the employer is required to terminate them.

• The Fair Credit Reporting Act covers the employment background checking process. If an employer uses a third party to check an applicant’s background the applicant has to be informed, provide consent and made aware of the results if those results form the basis for an adverse decision.

• The National Labor Relations Act makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of the involvement with a labor union.

• The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures defines process for uncovering adverse discrimination that is generally unintentional and may be unknown until applying the “four-fifths” analysis.

As you can see the process of hiring someone in the U.S. is not just a simple matter saying, “Wow, they fit what we need, lets hire them.”

The  Compliance Lesson

The lesson to be learned here is that hiring is not just a simple matter. Some study is important in the process before you begin. Understand the laws in the country or state in which you are doing your hiring. It may take you a bit longer to get started but the time spend will be well worth the effort in the avoidance of problems.

Mike Haberman is the HR Compliance Guy. He is a HR consultant and Partner at OmegaHRSolutions. Photo Credit WearyWorker.

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