Wisconsin established its fair employment law to ensure job applicants are treated fairly. Companies should set objective and unbiased hiring practices that ensure legal standards are met in hiring practices.
Your recruitment practices, interviewing policies and access must be free of barriers. Those standards must be followed throughout the process.
If you are a hiring manager, you can take steps to ensure your company meets legal requirements. Your hiring practices cannot violate applicants’ rights. There are practices that can ensure you meet legal standards.
Reviewing your policies can help you avoid problems
Whenever you hire for a job, you should ensure you are reviewing:
- Are you providing reasonable access? Your hiring practices to be fair, you must make the process accessible for everyone, including people with hearing or vision issues and disabilities.
- Advertising and recruitment practices. Are you reaching every community? Your workforce should represent your community.
- Determine if your application form asks discriminatory, irrelevant or nonessential questions.
- Ask the same questions to all applicants. Your questions should help you determine if the applicant can perform the job.
- You cannot ask questions related to an applicant’s membership in a protected class or irrelevant questions about their history with the criminal justice system.
- Job posting. The posting requirements should not discourage applicants based on their being a member of a protected class.
Intentional discrimination is not necessary for your policies to be illegal
Many companies unintentionally discriminate against job applicants. A few simple steps can help you avoid illegal hiring practices. You should review your practices and ensure they meet requirements and legal standards.
Your hiring process should avoid unlawful practices. Focus your applicant search on people’s ability to do the job, not on unnecessary information.