EEO COMPLIANT APPLICATION FORMS

• If you don't need to know, don't ask!
• Do not ask about a person's race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or age unless it is demonstrably necessary to made a hiring decision for the job in question.
• Do not ask questions that indirectly reveal a person's race, color, sex, religion, national origin, or age unless it is demonstrably necessary to made a hiring decision for the job in question.
• Limit questions to those that have a job-related justification consistent with business necessity.
• Avoid any inference that a question was asked for a discriminatory purpose. 
• Review questions to be sure they are not prohibited by the ADA or state law. 
• Review questions against the job-are they actually necessary in order to make the hiring decision. 
• Be sure that all questions can be justified. 
• Determine whether a question must be asked before the hiring decision is made. Consider delaying the question until after a conditional offer of employment is extended. 
• Include a statement of nondiscrimination, such as Applicants are considered without discrimination with regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or other protected status. If you feel that you have been unfairly treated or discriminated against, please make your concerns known to [name or position] so that they may be addressed. 
• If inquiry is made about an applicant's availability to work certain hours, include a statement that reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate religious beliefs and practices. 
• If inquiries about conviction records are made, they should be accompanied by a statement that such a record will not necessarily be a bar to employment. 
• Include a statement that misrepresentations or omissions in the application will result in termination of employment, whenever discovered (see |[nlcite] 6227|[nl/cite]). 
• Do not include an invitation for individuals with disabilities and certain veterans to self-identify. The invitation generally must be extended only after an offer of employment has been made.

Reprinted with permission. © CCH