County warehouse company
Date: 20/9/2020
To: The hiring managers
From: The human resource manager
Subject: The employment law issues to consider in preparing pre-employment physical tests or assessments.
I am writing this memo to urge you to prepare for the pre-employment tests required by the law. There are various laws to consider when preparing for physical examinations and assessments. The law recognizes the right of employers to perform pre-employment tests as long as they are job-related. Ensure to avoid minority discrimination when conducting the evaluations and avoid invading the candidate's privacy as it is illegal. When contracting an expert to perform the physical tests, ensure that their credibility is verified and that their tests are strictly job-related. Collaboration with a medical consultant is required to design the procedures. During this process, the team must accommodate all types of candidates by ensuring that the tests are standard, and they do not favor a specific group as this could raise legal issues. However, the team must make exceptions for certain groups, such as persons with disabilities, and give them a chance to prove their job-related skills.
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The tests should be medically safe for the candidates. The team is prohibited from asking the candidates personal questions or questions about their medical history that are not related to the job in any way. Unless the candidate's health threatens their ability to perform at work, do not make hiring decisions based on their medical history or their families'. The tests and assessment methods chosen must be less strenuous and have a less adverse impact on the candidates, but efficient enough to demonstrate their skills and responsibilities. The tests must be validated to avoid lawsuits. The law requires the employer to validate the tests as applied in the workplace and specific jobs. This can be done using recognized test validation methods such as criterion, construction, and content measure (Maurer, 2016). To do this, a qualified industrial psychologist or a testing expert has to be consulted. Using strength tests is controversial, but it can be justified as a means to reduce job injuries.
Disparate treatment during the test might raise legal issues. The tests must be non-discriminatory. The team conducting the assessment has to apply the same standards to everyone regardless of their nationality, age, race, sexual preference, religion, genetic information, or disabilities. These measures are taken to avoid disparate treatment complaints. The EEOC advocates for equal treatment when conducting pre-employment tests. The test and assessment should be favorable to both genders to ensure equal employment opportunity (Rhodes, 2016). The EEOC also provides guidelines against disparate impact. This is where the pre-employment test procedures are not job-related or validated. Another form of discrimination is excluding a candidate from the pre-employment assessment based on gender or other preferential treatment. All candidates deserve equal chances to prove their capability.
If a verbal interview is to be conducted, the questions must be carefully picked not to sound discriminatory. The interviewer is expected to ask the questions straight to the point. The EEOC requires the employer to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities or specific religious beliefs during the interview (Kellman, 2014). When consulting with the candidate's references, only ask the relevant questions that provide information about the individual's work ethics, teamwork, performance level, and punctuality. Finally, when making the job offer, ensure that the candidate understands the company rules and regulations. The pay offer is to be made based on skill and responsibility (Kellman, 2014). We should be careful not to establish the pay offer on any discriminatory measures. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any queries, I can assist you in the best way possible.
References
Kellman, D. (2014). Avoid these 6 recruiting-related legal issues. HR Exchange Network . Retrieved from https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/employment-law/articles/avoid-these-6-recruiting-related-legal-issues.
Maurer, R. (2016). Validate employment tests to avoid lawsuits. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/validate-employment-tests-avoid-lawsuits.aspx.
Rhodes, J. (Oct. 26, 2016). Physical skills test for paramedics violated Title VII. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/physical-skills-test-paramedics.aspx.
