Internet Applicant Rule

vmenghaney08

 

Hi,

We do blind postings for our sales position and ask applicants to send their resumes to us through a Gmail account. We are not transferring these resumes into our applicant tracking database. After reviewing the internet applicant rule's definition on the department of labor website, I found out if the applicant meets the 4 criteria's, they fall under the internet applicant rule. We are not a federal contractor. Do we still have to follow the rules and regulations per DOL’s internet applicant definition and if yes, are we liable to track all this information through our system?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Any insight on this matter would be helpful.

Thanks. 

 

SFbay

Be sure to look at the EEOC's Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. They require employers to solicit information on race, gender, and ethnicity data from "applicants" so that selection procedures can be measured for disparate impact on those protected characteristics. http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_clarify_procedures.html

Under the guidelines "the precise definition of the term 'applicant' depends upon the user's recruitment and selection procedures. The concept of an applicant is that of a person who has indicated an interest in being considered for hiring, promotion, or other employment opportunities. This interest might be expressed by completing an application form, or might be expressed orally, depending upon the employer's practice."

Those guidelines were published 30 years ago. The EEOC proposed addiitonal guidelines addressing the definition of applicant in the age of the Internet but has since abandoned them.