Business Software

2019 Recruiting Compliance Guide for Finance Leaders

A quick recruiting compliance guide for finance leaders with helpful HR software recommendation.

Published on February 17, 2019

Recruiting, especially in a tight labor market, is a fast-paced game. Your company’s recruiters help make sensitive yes/no decisions rapidly, so the pre-hire phase of the employee life cycle can be a risky time for employers.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) ensure that companies’ hiring practices are fair to everyone and, in addition, do not discriminate against protected classes of applicants.

Who does it effect?

EEOC: All employers, state agencies and labor unions with 15 or more employees who have worked in that capacity for a minimum of 20 calendar weeks are required to comply with EEOC regulations.

OFCCP: All federal contractors who conduct business with the government in excess of $10,000, fall under the jurisdiction of the OFCCP.

Potential Penalties of Recruiting Complaince

EEOC: All employers, state agencies and labor unions with 15 or more employees who have worked in that capacity for a minimum of 20 calendar weeks are required to comply with EEOC regulations.

OFCCP: All federal contractors who conduct business with the government in excess of $10,000, fall under the jurisdiction of the OFCCP.

What you should know?

Consider the following things:-

You’re the headlights of the organization

More than 60% of recruiters expect to hire more people in 2018 than they did in 2017, and 42% of employers are worried they won’t be able to find enough talent
Employer Outlook 2018 and Indeed

That’s a whole lot of recruiting in the foreseeable future and a whole lot of compliance to keep up with right at the start of the employee life cycle.

Don’t count on your in-house or outsourced recruiters to be compliance experts, especially when they’re as busy as they’re going to be in 2019. Instead, make accurate, automated record keeping a top priority.

In the event of an OFCCP audit, having applicant data on file can better tell the “story” for each applicant during the selection process (e.g., did not meet basic qualification, phone screened, interviewed, offered, etc.).

Be on the lookout for new regulations

Another new area of compliance added to recruiters’ checklists relates to salaries.

This year, some jurisdictions – Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, and San Francisco – have enacted laws either banning recruiters from asking applicants for salary histories and/or requiring companies to pay employees equally regardless of gender.

It’s important to review your recruiting practices and implement training to ensure recruiters don’t unknowingly violate these new laws.

Stay ahead of the curve so you’re not surprised

In May 2018, the European Union enacted GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). GDPR is designed to give EU citizens more protection over their personal data.

And while this is an EU directive, the European Commission has applied the principles to the rest of the world (so it applies to any company that markets or deals with EU citizens), making it the first global data protection law.

If your company hires people in Europe, you’ll be all over this. But even if you don’t, GDPR is the start of a movement that will probably be coming to U.S. legislation soon.

GDPR was designed to protect European citizens’ data from organizations looking to gather and use consumer data. It just so happens that in recruiting candidates, employers tend to have a great deal of personal data.

In the future, American employers may be required to give candidates more control, perhaps in the form of an “opt-out” button that would automatically delete their data.