Re:Why you're having trouble hiring developers
by dragonwriter on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @01:30PM
(#15962583)
> Wait, aren't IQ tests during hiring illegal in the US?
No. Any filter in hiring that adversely impacts a protected class and is not closely adapted to the work being done is illegal as a violation of the law prohibiting discrimination against the protected class.
The case in which this legal principle was established involved an IQ test being adopted as a direct replacement for an overt policy of racial discrimination, but IQ tests as such are not illegal (indeed, a much more recent case has upheld a police department using such a test and treating a too-high score as a negative factor in hiring.)
Of course, the pervasive mythology that IQ tests are prohibited itself makes them riskier, because an applicant who is turned down is likely to have encountered the myth or talk to someone who has, and seek legal help to challenge an IQ test, where they would be less likely to do so for other tests.
No. Any filter in hiring that adversely impacts a protected class and is not closely adapted to the work being done is illegal as a violation of the law prohibiting discrimination against the protected class.
The case in which this legal principle was established involved an IQ test being adopted as a direct replacement for an overt policy of racial discrimination, but IQ tests as such are not illegal (indeed, a much more recent case has upheld a police department using such a test and treating a too-high score as a negative factor in hiring.)
Of course, the pervasive mythology that IQ tests are prohibited itself makes them riskier, because an applicant who is turned down is likely to have encountered the myth or talk to someone who has, and seek legal help to challenge an IQ test, where they would be less likely to do so for other tests.