MEASUREMENT: DEVELOPING A LAWFUL APPLICATION BLANK 1
Measurement: Developing a Lawful Application Blank
School of Business, Liberty University
MEASUREMENT 2
Measurement: Developing a Lawful Application Blank
Consolidated Trucking Corporation, Inc. (CTCI) is a trucking company in Columbus,
Ohio that has a fleet of 150 trucks and 250 full-time drivers. For many years, CTCI has been
recruiting truckers from local family-owned trucking companies and expanding from within. A
former truck driver, Terry Tailgater, who was promoted to truck maintenance supervisor, was
tasked to develop a new staffing system for the company’s truck drivers in his new position as
staffing manager. One of his projects as staffing manager was to develop a new application blank
for the truck driver position. He gathered various application blanks that the current drivers had
completed from their former employers which showed a list of common questions asked. Terry
evaluated each question and their validity in terms of lawfulness under the federal law and Ohio
state laws. The objective is to identify questions that are lawful and use those questions on the
new form.
Employment law prohibits employers from discrimination based on the protected
characteristics. There are several protections that employers should abide by to prevent breaking
the law when it comes to hiring. Because of these laws, Terry must be careful when selecting
questions for the application blank. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission oversees laws and regulations on discrimination. The different types of
discrimination include age, disability, equal pay/compensation, genetic information, harassment,
national origin, pregnancy, race/color, religion, retaliation, sex, sexual harassment, sexual
orientation, and gender identity (EEOC, n.d.). These characteristics are protected under federal
laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to name a few. Certain questions
relating to the protected characteristics may not be asked as part of the application process. Judge
MEASUREMENT 3
and Kammeyer-Mueller (2022) noted an organization “may ask disability-related questions and
conduct medical examination so long as this is done for all entering employees in the job
category” (pg. 412). Any examination revealing an individual who may present harm to
themselves, or others may be rejected.
The blank lists questions Terry is considering for the application blank that may be lawful
or unlawful according to federal and state laws. Asking for someone’s birthplace is probably
unlawful as it correlates with a person’s nationality and origin. Employers must be careful when
asking such questions as they may be prohibited by law although they may be a good ice breaker.
Depending on the type of job, previous arrests, and previous felony convictions may be
necessary to determine if applicants are qualified. For instance, if someone was arrested or
convicted for traffic related offenses such as Driving Under the Influence, hiring them at a
trucking company may not be a good idea. The distance between work and residence is a
question that probably is not necessary to be on an application unless the trucking company
requires truckers to report to work within a certain time frame. Questions about domestic
responsibilities, age, sex, medical or mental problems, native language, recommendation from
pastor and being able to work on Christmas/Easter are asked about protected characteristics that
are prohibited by law; therefore, Terry should not include these questions on the application
blank. There are several topics in the application blank that are not unlawful to ask, however, it
does not benefit CTCI to ask of the applicant as they do not add any value to the KSAOs they are
searching for. These questions include educational attainments, grade point average, home
ownership, and favorite high school subjects. Asking questions about height and weight may be
lawful to determine a person’s ability to perform any given task on the job. Most of the questions
on the application blank are viewed as probably unlawful according to federal and state laws.
MEASUREMENT 4
CTCI would have to carefully take out the questionable or unlawful questions and consistently
use Ohio status and EEOC guidelines to ensure they are complying.
Table 1
Questions About Probably
Lawful
Probably
Unlawful
Birthplace x
Previous Arrests x
Previous Felony Convictions x
Distance between work and residence x
Domestic responsibilities x
Height x
Weight x
Previous work experience x
Educational Attainments x
Favorite High School Subjects x
Grade Point Average x
Received workers’ compensation in past x
Currently receiving workers’
compensation
x
Childcare Arrangements x
Length of Time on Previous Job x
Reason for Leaving Previous Job x
Age x
Sex x
Home Ownership x
Any Current Medical Problems x
History of Mental Illness x
OK to seek references from previous
employers?
x
Have you provided complete/truthful
information?
x
Native Language x
Willing to work on Easter and
Christmas
x
Get recommendation from pastor/priest x
