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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Law & Legal |
Is it legal to use a computer program to screen potential applicants for employment? |
I've been applying for jobs, and a manager of Walgreens told me that if you fail the computer test, the computer will not let the manager hire you, even if the manager thinks you're a good candidate. I'm wondering if face-to-face interviews aren't required anymore... face-to-face interviews are better in my opinion, but screening before hand is not illegal. as long as the questions that they are screening on have nothing to do with ethnicity, relilgion, etc. most of the time they screen on questions of work ethic, personality, focus on job completion, etc. I would think that a computer test at walgreens wouldn't be too hard, so i wouldn't worry about it too much. They can screen you any way they want. Our company performs several tests before the first interview. They can use this to screen applicants. Many companies use similar software and yes, they can do it and yes, it is legal as long as they are not asking any illegal questions to screen - how old you are, what race, religion, national origin, etc. I wouldn't think a renown company like Walgreens would be practicing illegal hiring actions. I suppose it's kind of like having a credit check done on you, and if you can't pass the credit check, places won't hire you either. Besides the background check that is so typically in today employment standards, potential employers can also use pre-screening program other employers use to input worked related felonies, Workman's compensation claims, and other types of risk assessment. It is somewhat like a person that has a NSF check, then leaving the bank with a loss. But then that same person goes to another bank to open a new account, banks have similar program that alerts them to possible financial issues that are not resolved. Hope it helps! Got a computer programming queries? 2700 it professionals are ready to help you for free Just post your programming queries at http://groups.google.com/group/forsoftwa... Of course personal interviews are still mostly required, companies do things to help reduce the team its managers spend time interviewing candidates who are probably not up to par in terms of skills and abilities. The computer test is a legitimate screening tool as long as there is job relatedness or validity. For example, say if a screening tool like the computer test could predict with a good degree accuracy the applicant's job performance in regards to customer service, counting money, and product knowledge. Then, it's valid and job-related. It would not be considered legal if it weren't job-related, valid, or caused an adverse impact. Adverse impact means that a seemingly neutral screening tool causes a protected class (e.g. women over 50, black Eskimos) to be disproportionately screened out compared to majority classes. I'm sure a corporation like Walgreens has already ensured this practice complies with law and does so periodically. In my internship with a bank, we used a computer test for teller applicants. This test simulated customer interactions and involved counting money, cross-selling services, and compliance with policies. We had the applicant complete the test after filling out the job application, but BEFORE interviewing them. After the test, we'd check the score and if they passed, we interviewed them. If they did not, we informed them they did not meet the minimum score and would not be considered any further. They could reapply in six months or apply for a non-branch job. |
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