Chapter 7 Taking it to the field

I/O psychologists, while not lawyers, are sometimes asked to provide information about the legality of a

hiring process. While this text is not intended to teach you the details of employment la

w, it is helpful for

you to recognize the key problems to watch out for in a selection system. You have been speaking with

Mr. Marshall recently regarding some questions he has about his selection system. You have just received

the following e

-

mail from hi

m:

Hello again

—

Per our discussion on the phone, I think I would like to get some input from you about whether I need to

make any changes to my selection system. Of course, I will also be consulting with a lawyer, but input

from you would be very helpful.

Here’s the background of my problem:

I own several pork

-

processing plants. We have roughly 10,000 employees nationally, primarily based in

the Midwest. One of the positions that we need to hire for regularly is in the slaughterhouse. Processing

the carcass

es is physically demanding work, and many people we hire cannot perform the work

effectively for very long. Thus, we end up having to fire quite a large number of employees because of

low job performance.

Last year, we had 500 Latino American applicants, 2

00 Anglo American applicants, and 400 African

American applicants. Out of these applicants, we hired 400 Latino Americans, 300 African Americans,

and 120 Anglo Americans. We did not have any Asian American applicants this year.

To be hired, an applicant mu

st pass three selection tests:

·

The applicant must be low on neuroticism. This is because the job can be quite stressful; we

find that people with moderate to high levels of neuroticism typically quit within one week.

In fact, we completed a validation stud

y, which indicated that neuroticism and job

performance were correlated at

-

.35.

·

The applicant must be able to pass a physical test by being able to squeeze a rod with a

certain amount of pressure for two minutes straight. This is because the workers must move

sides of pork all day; unless workers have a basic level of strength in thei

r hands, they will

not be able to complete the job over an eight

-

hour shift. We also find that our physical test

correlates .25 with job performance. We have found that Anglo Americans tend to have less

hand strength than our African American and Latino Am

erican applicants.

·

The applicant must have at least one year of experience in either manufacturing or

meatpacking. It seems that workers who have done this work before are likely to remain in

the organization longer. We find that Latino American applicants

are much more likely to

have experience than any other racial group.

So here are my questions. First, do we have adverse impact? Second, are all three of our selection

requirements legally defensible? If any of the processes are not legal, what should I d

o to make them

legal? Finally, what additional information would you like in order to help us ensure we are hiring

legally?

Thanks for your help on this!

Regards,

John Marshall

Respond to Mr. Marshall’s e

-

mail. Note that the important part of this assignme

nt is not whether you

believe Mr. Marshall’s system is illegal; rather, it is your reasons for thinking it is (or is not) legal.

I/O psychologists, while not lawyers, are sometimes asked to provide information about the legality of a

hiring process. While this text is not intended to teach you the details of employment law, it is helpful for

you to recognize the key problems to watch out for in a selection system. You have been speaking with

Mr. Marshall recently regarding some questions he has about his selection system. You have just received

the following e-mail from him:

Hello again—

Per our discussion on the phone, I think I would like to get some input from you about whether I need to

make any changes to my selection system. Of course, I will also be consulting with a lawyer, but input

from you would be very helpful.

Here’s the background of my problem:

I own several pork-processing plants. We have roughly 10,000 employees nationally, primarily based in

the Midwest. One of the positions that we need to hire for regularly is in the slaughterhouse. Processing

the carcasses is physically demanding work, and many people we hire cannot perform the work

effectively for very long. Thus, we end up having to fire quite a large number of employees because of

low job performance.

Last year, we had 500 Latino American applicants, 200 Anglo American applicants, and 400 African

American applicants. Out of these applicants, we hired 400 Latino Americans, 300 African Americans,

and 120 Anglo Americans. We did not have any Asian American applicants this year.

To be hired, an applicant must pass three selection tests:

 The applicant must be low on neuroticism. This is because the job can be quite stressful; we

find that people with moderate to high levels of neuroticism typically quit within one week.

In fact, we completed a validation study, which indicated that neuroticism and job

performance were correlated at -.35.

 The applicant must be able to pass a physical test by being able to squeeze a rod with a

certain amount of pressure for two minutes straight. This is because the workers must move

sides of pork all day; unless workers have a basic level of strength in their hands, they will

not be able to complete the job over an eight-hour shift. We also find that our physical test

correlates .25 with job performance. We have found that Anglo Americans tend to have less

hand strength than our African American and Latino American applicants.

 The applicant must have at least one year of experience in either manufacturing or

meatpacking. It seems that workers who have done this work before are likely to remain in

the organization longer. We find that Latino American applicants are much more likely to

have experience than any other racial group.

So here are my questions. First, do we have adverse impact? Second, are all three of our selection

requirements legally defensible? If any of the processes are not legal, what should I do to make them

legal? Finally, what additional information would you like in order to help us ensure we are hiring

legally?

Thanks for your help on this!

Regards,

John Marshall

Respond to Mr. Marshall’s e-mail. Note that the important part of this assignment is not whether you

believe Mr. Marshall’s system is illegal; rather, it is your reasons for thinking it is (or is not) legal.