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Permalink Reply by Nelson Webster on March 31, 2008 at 1:56pm

Hi Ann,

Here are some things to consider when assessing an ATS legal compliance.

Assessing Basic Qualifications – Tools for automating and standardizing the assessment of basic qualifications can support legal compliance and improve recruiting process efficiency. Related functionality to look for in recruiting software:
o Approvals and “locking down” of basic qualifications to prevent future editing
o Use of non-comparative screening questions
o Auto-rejection of candidates not meeting basic qualification criteria

Tracking Race/Ethnicity, and Gender Information – Tracking Race/Ethnicity/Gender data for applicants is a central aspect of legal compliance. Best-of–breed recruiting software allows for the collection of the data via multiple methods including:
o Web-based applications
o Direct entry by recruiters or other users
o Applicant send-out as an emailed request
o Continued tracking of dates completed & updated

Applicant Processing – Actions related to applicant processing should be documented for legal compliance/legal defensibility. Automated tracking of these actions reduces the need for manual actions by recruiters and users, reduces the possibility of human error, and helps make data management/reporting easier. Some of the applicant processing steps that technology can make easier include:
o Tracking rejection reasons
o Choosing candidate disposition Codes from a pre-defined list
o Tracking notes associated with individual candidates
o Automatic logging of data associated with database searches conducted by system users

Record Retention – Flexible recruiting software allows for multiple user access levels to be created with specific data access/data management privileges. This feature helps ensure data integrity and security. Useful features to look for in recruiting software includes:
o Full control over which users can add, edit and delete information
o Preventing deletions of applicant records and activities
o Preventing edits of applicant records and activities
o Preventing edits of job information after applicants have applied (e.g., basic qualifications)

Reporting – The ability to produce reports based on data collected in various stages of the recruiting process supports internal compliance tracking and allows organizations to quickly and efficiently produce required data in the event of audit or legal challenge. Preferred reporting functionality in recruiting software includes:
o Race/Ethnicity/Gender Reporting

Summary of which applicants did/didn’t disclose Race/Ethnicity/Gender
Summary of the Race/Ethnicity/Gender breakdown of those who did apply
Summary of applicants in various hiring process stages by Race/Ethnicity/Gender


Basic Qualifications Screening Reporting
Summary of which applicants did/didn’t complete basic qualifications screening
Summary of which basic qualifications were/were not met


o Ad-Hoc Reporting

Ability to create custom reports based on data collected throughout the hiring process
Ability to include calculations in custom reports

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