Chapter 7 Flashcards
Bias in personnel decisions can include…
age, gender, even attractiveness!
Roth et al.
2019 study, facebook posts were evaluated.
Results: job applicant was evaluated more positively when the rater’s political affiliation “matched” the applicant (e.g., D rater and D applicant) compared to when the rater’s political affiliation did not match (e.g., D rater and R applicant)
What works for VA whistleblowers?
Office of Special Counsel
Social media screening is becoming…
more common!
What was surprising about Roth et al. results?
even when the applicant was better qualified, if there was a mismatch in political affiliation the applicant was rated more negatively.
Implications of Roth et al.
Political affiliation matters and the positive and negative feelings an evaluator has toward an applicant matter even more.
4 Unethical uses of AI
- Cyber-snooping
- Withholding feedback
- Predicting biased outcomes
- Black-box selection
selection battery
a set of predictors, or tests, that are used to make employee hiring decisions
recruitment
The process of encouraging potentially qualified applicants to seek employment with a particular company.
person–environment (PE) fit
The agreement or match between an individual’s KSAOs and values and the demands of a job and characteristics of an organization.
Eye tracking provides
an objective indicator of attention—where do participants focus their attention when looking at and navigating a website?
Students focus on…
text, particularly text with hyperlinks, more than they fixated on graphics or navigation instructions.
Most attracts readers
hyperlinked text
cybervetting
The use of social media as part of background investigations used to make employee selection decisions.
racioethnicity
racial or ethnic differences across people
racioethnic identity
the extent to which an individual’s self-concept is defined by membership in a particular racioethnic group
a company will be more likely to attract job seekers who value diversity if…
that company can demonstrate that it has similar values around diversity
Predictive validation
studies investigate how effective our predictors are at forecasting the on-the-job performance of applicants
Predictive Validity Steps
- Gather predictor data on all of the applicants.
- Hire some of the applicants to fill the open positions.
- After several months, gather performance data that can serve as the criteria for our validation study.
- Compute a validity coefficient between the predictor score and the criterion score that indicates the strength of the relationship between our predictor and our criterion.
criterion-related validity
the extent to which a test is a good predictor of criteria such as job performance.
criterion-related Validity Steps
- Collect data on both predictors and criteria from incumbent employees at the same time
- Compute a validity coefficient between the predictor score and the criterion score
validity shrinkage
A statistical phenomenon reflecting the likelihood that a given selection battery will demonstrate lower validity when employed with a different sample
validity generalization (VG)
A statistical approach used to demonstrate that test validities do not vary across situations.
situational specificity
The belief that test validities are specific to particular situations.
synthetic validity
Validity that is inferred based on the links between job components and knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs)
multiple cutoff approach
A noncompensatory model of employee selection in which “passing scores,” or cutoffs, are set on each predictor.
multiple hurdle approach
A rendition of the multiple cutoff approach in which the predictors are administered in a predetermined order and applicants are measured on the next predictor only if they scored above the cutoff on the previous predictor.
multiple regression
A statistical technique that, when used in the selection context, allows us to estimate how well a series of predictors forecasts a performance criterion.
utility
The degree to which a selection battery is useful and cost efficient.
i.e. Is it worth it??
base rate
The percentage of current employees who are successful on the job.
selection ratio
The number of job openings divided by the number of applicants.
Typically, the smaller the selection ratio, the greater…
the potential utility of the selection battery.
employment at-will
A common law doctrine stating that employers and employees have the right to initiate and terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all.
“80% rule of thumb”
adverse impact
adverse impact
The most accepted operationalization of discrimination, defined in the EEOC Guidelines as the “80% rule of thumb.” A selection battery exhibits adverse impact (i.e., discriminates) against a group if the selection rate for that group is less than 80% of the selection rate for the group with the highest selection rate.
affirmative action (AA)
A practice employed in many organizations to increase the number of minorities or protected class members in targeted jobs.
such programs aim to address the discrimination that has existed in many companies and industries
Equal Pay Act (EPA)
ohibits discrimination in pay and benefits on the basis of sex for jobs in the same establishment that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and that are performed under similar working conditions.
Civil Rights Act (Title VII)
Makes it unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate against individuals with respect to hiring, compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
Executive Order 11246
Prohibits job discrimination by employers holding federal contracts or subcontracts on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, or religion and requires affirmative action to ensure equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Makes it unlawful for an employer with 20 or more employees to discriminate against individuals who are 40 years or older with respect to hiring, compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment on the basis of age.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Makes it unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities with respect to hiring, compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
Civil Rights Act (1991 updated)
Amends the 1964 act and the ADA to allow compensatory and punitive damages but places caps on the amounts that can be awarded. Also provides for jury trials in suits brought under these laws.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Allows eligible employees to take job-protected, unpaid leave for up to a total of 12 weeks in any 12 months because of (1) the birth of a child and the need to care for a newborn, (2) the placement of a child with the employee for adoption, (3) the need to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or (4) the employee’s own serious health condition.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Stipulates that a discriminatory practice occurs every time one is affected by the decision (i.e., each paycheck), effectively extending the statute of limitations beyond the first occurrence.
disparate impact cases
Cases involving employment procedures that apparently unintentionally discriminate against or unfairly affect a minority group.
disparate treatment cases
Cases involving discrimination that results from intentional differential treatment or behavior.
bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
A characteristic, such as one’s gender, religion, or national origin, that is required or necessary to effectively do the job.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1979
which stipulates that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination. The bottom line is that pregnant women cannot be treated differently from other applicants or employees with similar abilities
sexual harassment
Behaviors such as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other conduct of a sexual nature, submission to or rejection of which affects one’s job or creates an offensive work environment.
quid pro quo harassment
which refers to situations in which advancement or continuation in a company is contingent on sexual favors.
hostile work environment harassment
verbal or physical behavior that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment or an environment that interferes with one’s job performance.
essential functions
Tasks that are significant and meaningful aspects of the job.
reasonable accommodations
Changes or exceptions made by an employer that allow qualified disabled individuals to successfully do a job.
undue hardship
An accommodation for the disabled that would result in significant difficulty or expense given the employer’s size and financial resources.
diversity-validity dilemma
the possible trade-off between having diversity within an organization and maximizing performance.
if a selection battery is not viewed as useful for an organization…
the organization is unlikely to be interested in it!
Important factors affecting the utility of a new selection battery are:
Validity, base rate, selection ratio, and cost
FAMILY Act
Current state of FMLA – 82% of registered voters support a national paid family and medical leave policy, such as that proposed by the FAMILY Act by Kristen Gillibrand
