The Uniform Guidelines and Subjective Selection Criteria and Procedures

Abstract

I would like to talk about one aspect of public policy surrounding the use of testing. Before I get into it, let me just say that I am neither a lawyer nor a psychologist; I am more like a cop on the beat. I come from an agency that is responsible for measuring adverse impact, and if there is adverse impact, we then place some obligations on employers. What I would like to do is talk about our agency and how we go about doing our business, and in order to do that I want to make an appeal. As you look at the question of testing, you should broaden the concept of testing to include subjective measures such as evaluations and interviews. Robert Adams (see Adams, this volume) has discussed the need to go beyond entry level jobs, to consider adverse impact in promotions and higher level jobs; if you are going to do that, you will have to begin to talk about subjective measures like evaluations and interviews.

Robert Gelerter is chief of the Special Studies and ADP Section, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labor. These remarks were contributed by the author in his private capacity. No official support or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Labor any other agency ofthe United States government is intened of should be inferred.