Employer Advertising and Recruiting Lawyers

To hire employees, employers can use a variety of resources to advertise open positions and recruit qualified applicants. All hiring procedures, including advertising and recruitment efforts must comply with federal and state regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin or disability.

What Must a Job Advertisement Include?

A job posting or advertisement should include:

• Information on the essential functions of the position
• Objective criteria sought in an ideal candidate
• Statement of Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance

It is unlawful to publish an advertisement indicating a preference for any protected class unless a bona fide occupational qualification exists.

Can An Employer Use ¿Word of Mouth¿ Recruiting?

Employers can often benefit from using current employees to find new hires. Word of Mouth recruiting is not considered discriminatory per se but employers should be careful not to let the use of referrals lead to discriminatory hiring practices. Often, referrals can result in discriminatory hiring patterns because the pool of applicants is not as large or diverse as it could be with more open hiring procedures.

Hiring Employees With an Employment Agency

Employers can also use employment agencies to find new employees. However, an employer can be held liable if the agency is discriminatory in its recruiting efforts.

Filling Out the Job Application

Employers often require an applicant to complete a general application form. As long as the application is required of all applicants, its use is not discriminatory per se. However, the American Disabilities Act mandates that an application cannot require information about an applicant¿s potential disabilities. Information about an applicant¿s age, including date of birth, can be requested; however employers cannot use the information to select an employee according to predetermined age limits and employers should be careful to prevent the suggestion that this is the case.

Do I Need an Employment Attorney?

Following the federal and state requirements for non-discriminatory hiring practices can be difficult. If you are an employer facing a hiring discrimination challenge, you should consult an employment attorney immediately. If you are an applicant who has been discriminated against in a hiring process, you should consult a labor law attorney to determine how to file an appropriate claim.