On March 4, 2004, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) joined the Departments of Labor and Justice and the Office of Personnel Management to publish a document in the Federal Register that clarifies recordkeeping provisions concerning the definition of "job applicants" who use the Internet and related technologies.
When online recruitment began to skyrocket during the late 1990s it became clear that existing recordkeeping guidelines on race, gender, and ethnicity under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) weren't adequate. In July 2000, the EEOC and its sister UGESP agencies began to consider providing a supplemental definition for Web-based job applicants. According to the new definition:
In order for an individual to be an applicant in the context of the Internet and related electronic data-processing technologies, the following must have occurred: (1) the employer has acted to fill a particular position; (2) the individual has followed the employer's standard procedures for submitting applications; and (3) the individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.
Says EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez: "With online transmission of hundreds of thousands of resumes, there's a critical need to provide supplemental guidance that is aimed at protecting the rights of applicants, while relieving employers of onerous recordkeeping requirements."
The Electronic Report Line (ERL) is an essential risk management tool that offers a simple, efficient, and secure method of reporting incidents, misconduct, or grievances related to fraud, harassment, discrimination, hazing, violence, alcohol, theft, embezzlement, among other matters. Utilizing ERL's technology-based initiatives, conscientious organizations can provide an open avenue of communication for reporting incidents without fear of retribution. This type of reporting procedure is not only required for all public organizations under Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but it can also help organizations establish the Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense under Federal employment discrimination statutes. No organization can afford to do without it.
The new recordkeeping guidelines would apply exclusively to the Internet and related technologies, including Internet resume banks and job boards, and employers' own Web sites, resume databases, and online job listings. Existing UGESP guidelines would continue to apply to traditional non-electronic recruitment and selection, such as the submission of hard copy resumes to employers.
View the new guidelines here:
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/3-3-04.html.