OFCCP’s Internet Applicant Rule: How To Comply

Do you receive job applications over the Internet? Learn how to comply with the Internet Applicant Rule.

As the Department of Labor has shifted to a new government administration this year, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has become active than ever. One area of particular scrutiny is workforce diversity.

A significant tool in the watchdog agency’s kit is the Internet Applicant Rule, designed to detect adverse impact in hiring processes. Today’s hot employment market, large volume of open positions, and resurgence of unqualified applicants are causing employers to confront more adverse-impact outcomes.

To make the Internet Applicant Rule your friend instead of a foe and avoid the ire of regulators, you must understand its intricacies and apply it correctly in your organization.

• Who is an Internet applicant?
• What are the “basic qualifications” that a candidate must have?
• Must you consider every Internet applicant who claims the basic qualifications?
• What methods may you use to narrow the online application pool?
• When is an applicant considered to have withdrawn from the applicant pool?
• What records must you maintain?
• When and how are you allowed to ask for demographic data from applicants?
• How does your applicant tracking system (ATS) figure into the process?
• How does the Internet Applicant Rule relate to your Affirmative Action Plan?
• What your record-keeping requirements if you use a third-party recruiter?