Promoting Diversity
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4. Proper record-keeping is vital.
To prepare a utilization analysis, the contractor must maintain sufficient records on the race/ethnicity and gender of its applicants, the positions for which they applied, who ultimately obtained the position as well as that persons race/ethnicity and gender, salary, any promotions and transfers, and the circumstances surrounding terminations.
In addition, the OFCCP requires that contractors be able to reproduce both the criteria used to fill their available positions and the results obtained from the applicant search. For example, the company should keep copies of all job postings (ideally containing the qualifications for the positions) and all resumes and demographic data for all applicants for a given job position.
5. Beware new regulations regarding the definition of applicant.
As if maintaining proper records was not difficult enough, new federal regulations have expanded the definition of applicant.
Because of the increasing use of the Internet by employers to post job openings, the OFCCP now requires federal contractors to maintain demographic data on Internet applicants.
The regulations define an Internet applicant as any individual who satisfies all of the following criteria:
- Submits an expression of interest in employment through the Internet (e.g., submits a resume to third-party resume databases, such as Monster.com);
- The contractor considers the individual for employment in a particular position;
- The individuals expression of interest indicates he or she possesses the basic qualifications for the position; and,
- The applicant does not remove himself/herself from consideration prior to the job offer.
Companies are not required to consider every expression of interest they receive over the Internet but can develop consistent policies and procedures for limiting consideration, like setting resume cut-off dates or limiting the consideration pool to a predetermined number of resumes.
Because preparing affirmative action plans is complicated and technical, it is critical that employers seek legal advice to ensure compliance with all applicable federal or state affirmative action laws.
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