Posts Tagged ‘Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act’

EEOC Compliance Rules You Might Not be Aware Of

May 28th, 2013

EEOC Compliance RulesHuman resources professionals know all to well how tough it can be to keep up with rule changes via the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. For example, Quest Diagnostics, a medical testing company that has 42,000 employees, found itself having to pay a penalty and adjust its hiring practices after the New York Attorney General’s office determined that the company broke the law when it refused to hire job applicants who had criminal convictions during the previous seven years, according to a report from Lexology.

It’s simply bad business to break the laws with discriminatory hiring practices. You will find that it pays to invest time on a regular basis to keep yourself informed on EEOC rules and regulations to ensure that your organization remains in compliance.

For example, did you know that it is a violation of EEOC rules to force your employees to disclose confidential, personal medical information before you approve them to take a health leave? The EEOC settled a lawsuit against Dillards that claimed the company improperly asked employees to provide this information and fired workers with disabilities who had taken more health leave than the company’s maximum allowable time.

With advances in genetic screening technology making it easier and more affordable to get a person’s DNA scanned for the purposes of diagnostics and disease prediction, employers might be tempted to ask applicants for their genetic information during recruitment.

A prudent manager with an eye on the company’s bottom line might not see any problem in refusing to hire someone who has the potential to develop an expensive medical condition. However, the EEOC enforces the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prevents you from asking potential employees for their genetic data or their family medical history.

To minimize your organization’s potential liability for engaging in discriminatory hiring practices, take the time to visit the EEOC website on a regular basis. Repeated visits to the site will help you keep up with the latest news about rules and regulations, and to learn about companies that have violated the rules, so you can learn from their mistakes.  An even more efficient route to EEOC compliance is to utilize a hiring software package / applicant tracking system that integrates EEOC / OFCCP compliance.

Following EEOC rules should result in your organization continuing to hire the best people for the positions you are filling, while maintaining a stellar reputation in the community. If your firm is known to avoid discriminatory hiring practices, you stand a better chance to attract the best and brightest job applicants from all walks of life.