Long-Awaited Guidance Defines Applicant in Context of the Internet

Both Title VII and Executive Order 11246, which imposes affirmative action obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors, require employers to retain certain information regarding applicants, but what is an applicant? The question was easily answered in the pre-Internet age. However, as the number of employers filling open positions through the Internet has grown, the question has become more difficult to answer.

Last month, the Federal Register published guidance to clarify what constitutes an applicant in the context of the Internet. Comments are being accepted through May 3, 2004 after which an effective date will be announced. The guidance was developed by the EEOC, the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Office of Personnel Management.

The guidance explains that, in the context of the Internet, an individual is an applicant only if the following three criteria have been met:

1. "the employer has acted to fill a particular position;
2. the individual has followed the employer's standard operating procedures for submitting applications; and
3. the individual has indicated an interest in the particular position."

By way of example only, the following is a list of situations in which an individual would be considered an applicant:

• An employer posts a position on the Internet, and an individual complies with the employer's application requirements which may include, among other things, forwarding a resume, completing an application, or filling out a personal profile.
• An individual completes a personal profile on an employer's database. The employer has two vacancies and e-mails the individual to determine whether he or she is interested in the position. The individual responds affirmatively.

By way of further example, the following is a list of situations in which an individual would not be considered an applicant:

• An individual posts his or her resume on a third party resume bank or a personal Web site.
• An individual indicates an interest in a category of positions — for example, marketing — but not for a specific position with a particular employer.
• An individual submits a resume or personal profile repeatedly to the same employer — for example, by adding numerous online job listings to his or her "shopping cart" or by using automated online tools that identify job listings and submit resumes.

Since only those individuals who follow an employer's application procedures are considered applicants, employers who do not already have such procedures should develop them. Employers are also advised to forward a self-identification form to individuals who satisfy the definition of applicant asking for EEO-specific information. This request should be voluntary, and the information should be received by someone not involved in the hiring process and should be kept separate from the application materials.

In addition to clarifying the definition of applicant, the guidance explains that whenever an employer searches an Internet database for individuals that satisfy particular criteria, those criteria are subject to a disparate impact analysis. If there is a disparate impact, the employer must demonstrate that its criteria are job-related and consistent with business necessity for the job in question. Therefore, in deciding which criteria to use for a database search, employers should take care that there is a business reason for the criteria that they use. 

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