Companies receive very many applications because many people are looking for jobs. Unfortunately, these companies do not have the vacancies to satisfy this high demand for jobs. Consequently, human resource managers and other hiring officers are compelled to select a suitable candidate from the many applications they receive anytime they have a vacancy.
However, the selection process is not easy and there is the risk of going against the law if care is not taken. Therefore, human resource managers and industrial organizational practitioners should take into consideration the legal and ethical issues related to employee hiring.
It is important to follow these legal and ethical issues to avoid the sanctions that may be issued for not following them. On the same note, the ethical and legal frameworks outline the best processes to follow hence alleviating the difficulties that are encountered when selecting candidates. Moreover, legal and ethical frameworks are all aimed at ensuring fairness in the employment process.
The law requires firms to ensure that proper steps are taken to avoid bias in the hiring process (Losey, Meisinger & Ulrich, 2005). Therefore, by following the legal and ethical requirements, the hiring officials will be able to avoid biasness and thus avoid the risk of being sued for discrimination.
Similarly, the legal framework usually gives standardized applications and interview questions to be used when hiring. Though this might seem very mechanical, it is highly beneficial because it helps in avoiding questions that would otherwise be illegal and discriminatory (Cascio & Aguinis, 2005).
On the same note, hiring officers are expected to apply due diligence in their duties and this is ensured by conforming to the legal and ethical guidelines when designing and implementing hiring programs. In conjunction, it is quite vital to note that there are several Acts that deal with the employee hiring issues. To begin with, the Americans with Disabilities Act outline the need to include people with disabilities in the job market.
According to this Act, it is illegal for any employer to discriminate any candidate who has applied for a job on grounds of disability if the person is able to perform the essential duties of the job. The Act has given the disabled people ground to fight for their position in the society (Edwards, Scott & Raju, 2003).
On the same note, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 requires that every member of the society shall be treated equally despite their racial origin. Similarly, there is the Civil Rights Act of 1871 which was amended in 1983 to illegalize the deprivation of the rights of any person on any grounds.
There is also the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which prohibits employers from discriminating employees on the basis of gender during hiring (Brannick, Levine & Morgeson, 2007). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act spells out that anybody who is at least 40 years of age should not be discriminated on grounds of age.
All these Acts require the hiring managers to be very careful not to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Therefore, hiring managers are expected to treat each applicant fairly and equally regardless of their color, gender, race or disability. On the same note, hiring managers are expected to have read and understood the hiring rules as well as the repercussions of acting in the contrary.
References
Brannick, M. T., Levine, E. L. & Morgeson, F. P. (2007). Job and Work Analysis: Methods, Research, and Applications for Human Resources Management. Thousand Oaks. Sage Publications.
Cascio, W. F. & Aguinis, H. (2005). Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Edwards, J. E., Scott, J. C. & Raju, N. S. (2003). The Human Resources Program-Evaluation Handbook. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Losey, M.,Meisinger, S. & Ulrich, D. (2005). The Future of Human Resource Management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.