5 Lesser Known Forms Of Hiring Discrimination

5 Lesser Known Forms Of Hiring Discrimination 5 Lesser Known Forms Of Hiring Discrimination 1.ObesityA recent survey showed that 52% of obese people feel they have been discriminated against when applying for a job or promotion and so weight discrimination does happen. While weight is not a protected class under federal discrimination laws, it might have indirect protection under other protected classes such as disability or sex discrimination, or direct protection even under some state laws. Also, just last year, the EEC gained settlements in its first two major cases of weight-related obesity discrimination and so obesity discrimination is now being tested in the courts.2.AccentA study by Patricia Cukor-Avila from the University of North Texas has found that job candidates with identifiable regional accents may face discrimination when interviewing for jobs because interviewers rates those with less obvious accents higher without knowing if they are better qualified.Once again, a lthough accent discrimination does occur, it is not a protected category, but it could potentially be indirectly linked to some other protected criteria such as national origin or race.3. Attractiveness discriminationA study reported in science daily from the University of Colorado Denver Business School has found that beautiful women were discriminated against for jobs considered masculine and where appearance welches not thought to be important for the job, such as manager of research, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor.For men, they found that attractive men did not experience similar discrimination and enjoyed an advantage over less attractive men. They concluded that beautiful people enjoy a significant advantage over the less attractive in the workplace and highlighted a Newsweek study of 202 hiring managers which led them to conclude that looks matter in every aspect of the workplace and ranked third above education and sense of humour in a l ist of nine desirable character attributes.One again attractiveness discrimination is not not a protected category under federal law but it could be potentially linked and protected under age or gender discrimination.4.Genetic InformationDid you know that discrimination on the basis of genetic information is no longer confined to Sci-Fi films like Gattaca? It is now illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants based on their genetic information in the US. You are also not generally allowed to try and establish genetic information about an individual unless its under strict conditions5. RetaliationIt is illegal to fire, demote, fail to hire or promote an employee or applicant because they have filed a charge of discrimination against an employer or because they complained about discrimination.

Why small businesses should always be hiringeven when they dont think they need to

Why small businesses should always be hiringeven when they dont think they need toWhy small businesses should always be hiring- even when they dont think they need toWhy small businesses should always be hiring- even when they dont think they need toSmall businesses cant afford to be caught off guard with a hiring gap or shortage. The smaller a business is, the bigger the impact when you dont have someone to do key tasks.This is particularly true in industries that are binnenseeing talent shortages, such as manufacturing and even financial and business services,according to Korn Ferry. For businesses that need skilled workers, an open sttte can mean a weeks- or even months-long vacancy while a company locates and screens candidates.What happens is that if they have turnover, or if they want to expand, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to hire talent, says Jill Johns, who runs a professional service provider consulting business outside of Savannah, GA. What they end up doing is grabbing whomever seems to fit on the surface, but they dont really have a strategy.For that kind of business, always-on hiring can help in several ways.Why its helpful to be always-on hiringYou wont be forced to make poor hiring decisionsIn a pinch, if you need a worker and you cant find a great one, you may end up plugging the spot with someone mediocre or- worse- problematic. This happened to a client of Johns, when one of their skilled technicians left with no notice. She was just, overnight, gone, Johns says. It took three rounds of interviewing, screening, hiring and firing to finally be able to find a qualified candidate to fill her shoes. And each one of those is time and money.You can be uber responsiveIf your product or service is a function of people doing something, having a backup stack of people who can step in is crucial to your ability to perform. You absolutely have to have a bench for every time you scale and to not disrupt your delivery cycle or whatever it is that your people do for you, says Antara Dutta, a SCORE mentor in Delaware and founder of healthcare startup Ayuvia Galaxy. If someone quits or is sick or unavailable, you wont be in a tight spot to find hands.You might find someone you needIf youre only placing help wanted ads when you have vacancies, you could miss out on that candidate whos exactly what you want- but theyre not actively looking when youre actively seeking. If youre accepting resumes all the time, youll be able to find the great people and flag them for the time when you really need them.You might find someone you never knew you wantedAs a small business, you might not realize you need a person that does X and Y- until you meet them. Then you might find yourself creating a position to accommodate them. You never know whos going to come across your desk, says Johns, who is also a mentee of SCORE. Small businesses in particular are extremely agile, and they can shift and change depending on whats available to them.How to make it work for youUse subscription-based job postingsPutting your postings on a subscription service, likeMonsters flexible job ad options, allow you to be an always-hiring employer, with ads that attract qualified candidates during all hiring cycles. These solutions can be flexible and reasonably priced, allowing you to turn your attention to other aspects of your business.Do whatever takes the longest- in advanceIf you have a process that requires candidates to be vetted before they can be hired, do it before you need to hire them. Lets say a position requires some kind of background check, Dutta says. I would probably have them not only interviewed but also security background check cleared. Its like pre-cooking a meal- how much can a chef do ahead of time?Find flexible candidatesIf youre constantly interviewing so youll have a bench full of talent, but you arent equipped to hire people right away, youll need to look for candidates who are content to work on your t imeline. Where I see it works is where there are a lot of independent contractors or mothers re-entering the workforce, Dutta says. Thats where youd find people who are flexible on timing and starting.Attend job eventsEven when you arent looking for hires, take advantage of local job fairs to meet people and take resumes. This is particularly true if youre near any colleges or universities, because youll have access to a fresh and enthusiastic talent pool.

The White House Celebrates STEM

The White House Celebrates STEM The White House Celebrates STEM Could cool apps, custom-built robots, LEGO constructions, and after-school science experiments and competitions earn you a trip to the White House? They did for over 100 students who showcased their inventions to President Obama at the White House Science ritterlich on May 27, 2014.I love this event and its my favorite all year long, said President Obama in his remarks, confessing that when he grew up, his science experiments werent as successful as the ones displayed at the fair and didnt take him to the White House. One year I accidently killed some plants that were parte of my experiment. Another time a bunch of mice escaped in my grandmothers apartment, he chuckled.Now in its fourth year, the White House Science Fair celebrates the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The fairs focus this year welches girls and women who are excell ing in STEM.Referring to the tradition of recognizing the winners of sports championships like the NFL and NCAA at the White House, sports-fan President Obama said, As a society we have to celebrate outstanding work being done by young people in science at least as much as we do Super Bowl winners. Because superstar biologists, engineers, rocket scientists, and robot builders, they dont always get the attention they deserve but they are the ones who are going to transform our society.Girl Scouts from Tulsa, OK, with their Lego flood-proof bridge design. Image White House Office of Science and Technology PolicySolving Global ProblemsAmong the students exhibiting at the fair were 12-year old Peyton Robertson of Florida, who built a sandless sandbag for better floor protection Olivia Van Amsterdam and Katelyn Sweeney, two Massachusetts high school students who built an ice rescue robot a team of 11- to 14-year-old girls from Texas who designed an app to help one of their visually impai red classmates 18-year old Eric Chen, who identified new drug candidates for the treatment of influenza and also second-grade Girl Scouts from Oklahoma with their Lego flood-proof bridge design, and several other young innovators.A lot of young people that I met, said the President, tried to start by solving problems in their neighborhood or schools, but the solutions they are coming up with have the potential to solve the problems of the world. Citing Franklin Roosevelt, he also highlighted the obligation grownups have to help them reach their full potential. We cannot always build the future for our youth but we can build our youth for future.The future of science is here today, tweeted Bill Nye the Science Guy, who was a major presence at the event, interviewing participants along with Kari Byron of the Discovery Channel program MythBusters.Also present in the audience were many prominent science proponents including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, NASA Administrator Cha rlie F. Bolden, NIH Director Francis S. Collins, and Founder of FIRST Robotics Dean Kamen.Olivia Van Amsterdam and Katelyn Sweeney of the Lemelson-MIT Program display their ice rescue robot. Image The Lemelson-MIT ProgramEncouraging Women in STEMAt the fair, the President announced new steps supporting STEM education, including a $35 million Department of Education competition to train math and science teachers and an expansion of AmeriCorps to provide STEM learning opportunities for low-income students this summer.As part of his Educate to Innovate initiative, he also announced a national STEM mentoring effort kicking off in seven cities, as well as new steps by technology and media companies, non-profits, and others to connect more students with mentors in science and technology.President Obama also highlighted the need for more women in science, the focus of this years fair. Fewer than 3 in 10 workers in science and engineering are women. That means we arent putting half our team on the field. Weve got to change those numbers, he said.Olivia Van Amsterdam of the Lemelson-MIT Program, who displayed her teams ice rescue robot along with teammate Katelyn Sweeney, was excited to attend the event. Coming here and seeing the emphasis on STEM education at the White House, meeting the President, and seeing that he requires such focus on this as well is very inspiring, she said. For Further DiscussionAs a society we have to celebrate outstanding work being done by young people in science at least as much as we do Super Bowl winners.President Obama