Avoiding (Un)Intentional Discrimination When Recruiting via Social Media Stephanie R. Thomas, Ph.D. Thomas Econometrics

Overview Conventional methods of job search & recruiting Why recruiters are using social media Kinds of information available via social media Legal concerns of recruiting via social media Demographic differences Implications for recruiting strategy Recommendations

Conventional Methods of Job Search According to information from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics): – Contacting an employer directly; – Contacting a public employment agency; – Contacting a private employment agency; – Contacting friends or relatives; – Contacting a school or university employment center; – Sending out resumes or filling out applications; – Placing or answering advertisements; – Checking union or other professional registers.

Conventional methods of job search According to information from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics): – Contacting an employer directly; – Contacting a public employment agency; – Contacting a private employment agency; – Contacting friends or relatives; – Contacting a school or university employment center; – Sending out resumes or filling out applications; – Placing or answering advertisements; – Checking union or other professional registers.

Conventional methods of recruiting Conventional methods of recruiting include: – Word of mouth; – Advertising in newspapers and trade journals; – Posting with local employment agencies; – Hiring a search firm / headhunter; – Contacting temp agency; – Hosting or participating in job fairs; – Posting vacancies on company website.

Recruiting via Social Media

Why are Recruiters Using Social Networking 1.ROI – the dollar value of the benefits may far exceed its cost, and the resulting ROI may be significantly higher than other recruiting programs; 2.Reduced vacancy days – because of high usage rates and short response time, positions may be filled faster than with other recruiting programs;

Why are Recruiters Using Social Networking 3.Communication responsiveness – because there is less spam, using social networks to communicate may result in higher response rates and/or in more immediate responses when you send messages to prospects and candidates; 4.“Hidden” candidates – may identify qualified candidates who cannot be found or successfully contacted using other sources.

What Kinds of Information are Available from Social Media?

What Kinds of Information are Available via Social Networking? Contact information Education Employment history Licenses and certifications Awards and honors Technical skills and abilities

What Kinds of Information are Available via Social Networking? Contact information Education Employment History Licenses and certifications Awards and honors Technical skills and abilities

What Kinds of Information are Available via Social Networking? Photos Gender Race Birthday Family members and relationship status Sexual orientation Religious views Political views

What Kinds of Information are Available via Social Networking? Photos Gender Race Birthday Family members and relationship status Sexual orientation Religious views Political views

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Using Social Media for recruiting raises a variety of legal issues: – Having access to information that discloses an applicant’s protected group status; – Creates the potential for disparate treatment claims; – Creates the potential for disparate impact claims.

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Disparate Treatment - intentionally treating members of a protected class differently than others – Checking social media for some applicants and not others – Evaluating information found on these sites in a different way for different applicants

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Disparate Treatment - intentionally treating members of a protected class differently than others – Checking social media for some applicants and not others – Evaluating information found on these sites in a different way for different applicants This risk can be mitigated with a formal policy regarding the use of social media for recruiting (i.e., all applicants are researched via social media, information found is evaluated in a consistent manner for all applicants)

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Disparate Impact - application of a facially- neutral employment practice that adversely affects members of a protected class – Giving preferences to applicants with largest number of recommendations, friends, contacts, etc. – Only considering applicants with a social media profile

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Disparate Impact - application of a facially- neutral employment practice that adversely affects members of a protected class – Giving preferences to applicants with largest number of recommendations, friends, contacts, etc. – Only considering applicants with a social media profile

Legal Concerns of Recruiting Via Social Media Disparate Impact - application of a facially- neutral employment practice that adversely affects members of a protected class – Giving preferences to applicants with largest number of recommendations, friends, contacts, etc. – Only considering applicants with a social media profile

Why Does It Matter? Recruiting exclusively from social media may create an applicant pool that is not open to some individuals The demographic characteristics of the typical social networking user differ from that of the typical person in the Civilian Labor Force

Demographic Differences: LinkedIn, Facebook and Civilian Labor Force These demographic differences can be seen when LinkedIn users* and Facebook users** are visually compared against the Civilian Labor Force***: *Data on LinkedIn as of 11/7/11 courtesy of Qu  ntcast ** Data on Facebook as of 9/30/11 courtesy of Qu  ntcast (Facebook data is estimated) ***Data on Civilian Labor Force (CLF) taken from the Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2012

Gender Characteristics

Race Characteristics

Educational Characteristics

Age Characteristics

Income Characteristics

Demographic Differences The previous demographics consider each characteristic in isolation (e.g., gender only, race only, etc.) Demographic differences may be exacerbated when characteristics are considered jointly (e.g., Hispanic females with a graduate degree, African American males over the age of 50, etc.)

What Does This Mean for Your Recruiting Strategy?

What Does This Mean For Your Recruiting Strategy? Using social media may provide you with information that discloses protected status. This may violate anti-discrimination laws; If social media is used differently for different applicants (e.g., checking social media for some and not for others) may create the potential for disparate treatment claims;

What Does This Mean For Your Recruiting Strategy? Relying exclusively on social media for recruiting may create the potential for disparate impact claims: – Eliminates from the applicant pool all individuals who may be qualified for the position but do not have access to or do not participate in social media; – May skew the applicant pool because of demographic differences between the pool generated from social media and the pool generated from conventional methods.

Recommendations

Be aware of the potential risks involved in recruiting via social media Understand what information is permitted and what information is prohibited under federal and state anti-discrimination laws Work with corporate counsel and/or outside counsel to develop a set of policies and procedures governing the use of social media for recruiting purposes

Recommendations Consider the specific requirements of the position for which you are recruiting: – If the position requires an advanced degree, using social media for recruiting may not skew applicant pool – If the position has minimal educational requirements, using social media for recruiting is likely to skew applicant pool

Recommendations Consider the characteristics of the applicant pools for similar positions you have filled in the past: – Does the voluntarily provided demographic characteristics of applicant pools for previous vacancies look similar to the demographics of the typical social media user? – If not, exclusive use of social media for recruiting may skew the applicant pool

Recommendations A balanced recruiting program, utilizing a combination of conventional techniques and social media, is preferred Consult corporate counsel and/or outside counsel prior to changing your recruiting strategy

Avoiding (Un)Intentional Discrimination When Recruiting via Social Media Stephanie R. Thomas, Ph.D. Thomas Econometrics