This technical assistance document was issued upon approval of the Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
OLC Control Number EEOC-NVTA-1979-1 Concise Display NameQuestions and Answers to Clarify and Provide a Common Interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
Issue Date General Topics Charge Processing, Disparate Impact, Race, Color, Sex, National Origin, ReligionThis joint EEOC-DOJ-OPM-DOL-Treasury document explains the 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), and provides additional guidance to employers and other users, psychologists, and investigators, compliance officers and other Fed
Title VII, 29 CFR Part 1607 Document Applicant Employees, Employers, Applicants, HR Practitioners Previous Revision DisclaimerThe contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
FEDERAL REGISTER, / VOL. 44, NO. 43 / FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 1979
[6570-06-M]
Title 29—Labor
CHAPTER XIV—EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
PART 1607—UNIFORM GUIDELINES
ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION PROCE¬DURES (1978)
Title 5—Administrative Personnel
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT PART
300—EMPLOYMENT
(GENERAL)
Title 28—Judicial Administration
CHAPTER I—DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
PART 50—STATEMENTS OF POLICY
Title 31—Money and Finance:
Treasury
CHAPTER 1—MONETARY OFFICES:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
PART 51—FISCAL ASSISTANCE TO
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Title 41—Public Contracts and
Property Management
CHAPTER 60—OFFICE OF FEDERAL
CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS,
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
PART 60-3—UNIFORM GUIDELINES
ON EMPLOYEE SELECTION
PROCEDURES (1978)
AGENCIES: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Department of Treasury.
ACTION: Adoption of questions and answers designedto clarify and provide a common interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.
SUMMARY: The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures were issued by the five Federal agencies having primary responsibility for the enforcement of Federal equal employment opportunity laws, to establish a uniform Federal government position. See 43 FR 38290, et seq. (Aug. 25, 1978) and 43 FR 40223 (Sept. 11, 1978). They became effective on September 25, 1978, The issuing agencies recognize the need for a common interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines, as well as the desirability of providing additional guidance to employers and other users, psychologists, and investigators, compliance officers and other Federal enforcement personnel. These Questions and Answers are intended to address that need and to provide such guidance.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 2, 1979.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
A. Diane Graham, Assistant Director, Affirmative Employment Programs, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20415, 202/632-4420.
James Hellings, Special Assistant to the Assistant Director, Intergovernmental Personnel Programs, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20415, 202/632-6248.
Kenneth A. Millard, Chief, State and Local Section, Personnel Research and Development Center, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E St., NW., Washington, D.C. 20415,202-632-6238.
Peter C. Robertson, Director, Office of Policy Implementation, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2401 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20506, 202/634-7060.
David L. Rose, Chief, Employment Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20530, 202/633-3831.
Donald J. Schwartz, Psychologist, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Room C-3324, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20210, 202/523-9426.
Herman Schwartz, Chief Counsel, Office of Revenue Sharing, Department of the Treasury, 2401 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20220, 202/ 634-5182.
James O. Taylor. Jr. Research Psychologist. Office of Systemic Programs, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission., 2401 E St., NW., Washington, D.C. 20506. 202/2543036.
The problems addressed by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (43 FR 38290 et seq. August 25, 1978) are numerous and important, and some of them are complex. The history of the development of those Guidelines is set forth in the introduction to them (43 FR 38290-95). The experience of the agencies has been that a seriesof answers to commonly asked questions is helpful in providing guidance not only to employers and other users, but also to psychologists and others who are called upon to conduct validity studies, and to investigators, compliance officers and other Federal personnel who have enforcement responsibilities.
The Federal agencies which issued the Uniform Guidelines—the Departments of Justice and Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Civil Service Commission (which has been succeeded in relevant part by the Office of Personnel Management), and the Office of Revenue Sharing, Treasury Department—recognize that the goal of a uniform position on these issues can best be achieved through a common interpretation of the same guidelines. The following Questions and Answers are part of such a common interpretation. The material included is intended to interpret and clarify, but not to modify, the provisions of the Uniform Guidelines. The questions selected are commonly asked questions in the field and those suggested by the Uniform Guidelines themselves and by the extensive comments received on the various sets of proposed guidelines prior to their adoption. Terms are used in the questions and answers as they are defined in the Uniform Guidelines.
The agencies recognize that additional questions may be appropriate for similar treatment ata later date and contemplate working together to provide additional guidance in interpreting the Uniform Guidelines. Users and other interested persons are invited to submit additional questions.
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON,
Chair, Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
ALAN K. CAMPBELL,
Director, Office of
Personnel Management.
DREW S. DAYS III,
Assistant Attorney General,
Civil Rights Division,
Department of Justice.
WELDEN ROUGEAU,
Director, Office of Federal
Contract Compliance,
Department of Labor.
KENT A, PETERSON,
Acting Deputy Director,
Office of Revenue Sharing.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION 29 CFR Part 1607 OFFICE OF PERSONNEL
MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 300 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 28 CFR Part 50 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 31 CFR Part 51 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs 41 CFR Part 60-3
AGENCIES: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury. ACTION: Adoption of additional questions and answers designed to clarify and provide a common interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. SUMMARY: The agencies which issued the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (43 FR 38290 et seq., August 25, 1978 and 43 FR 40223, Sept. 11, 1978, 29 CFR Part 1607, 41 CFR Part 60-3, 28 CFR 50.14, 5 CFR 300.103(c), and 31 CFR 51.53) have previously recognized the need for a common interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines, as well as the desirability of providing additional guidance to users, psychologists and enforcement personnel, by publishing Questions and Answer (44 FR 11996, March 2, 1979). These Additional Questions and Answers are intended to provide additional guidance in interpreting the Uniform Guidelines. EFFECTIVE DATE: May 2, 1980 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Dillon, Chief, Branch of Special Analyses, Room N5718, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. 20210, 202-633-6924. Frederick Dorsey, Director, Office of Policy Implementation, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2401 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506, 202-634-7060. A. Diane Graham, Assistant Director, Affirmative Employment Programs, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20415, 202-632-4420. James Hellings, Special Assistant to the Assistant Director, Intergovernmental Personnel Programs, Office of Personnel Management. 1900 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20415, 202-632-6248. Arnold Intrater, Chief Counsel, Office of Revenue Sharing, Department of the Treasury, 2401 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20220, 202-634-5182. Kenneth A. Millard, Chief, State and Local Branch, Personnel Research and Development Center, Office of Personnel Management. 1900 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20414, 202-632-6238. David L. Rose, Chief, Federal Enforcement Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, 10th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530, 202-633-3831. Donald J. Schwartz, Personnel Research Psychologist. Office of Systemic Programs, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2401 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506, 202-634-6960.
Because of the number and importance of the issues addressed in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (43 FR 38290), and the dual needs of providing a common interpretation and providing guidance to employers and other users, psychologists and others who are called upon to conduct validity studies, and Federal personnel who have enforcement responsibilities, the five issuing Federal agencies adopted and issued Questions and Answers (44 FR 11996, Mar. 2, 1979) to clarify and interpret the Uniform Guidelines. The issuing agencies recognized that it might be appropriate to address additional questions at a later date. By letter dated October 22, 1979, the American Psychological Association, acting through its Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, brought to the attention of the government concerns as to the consistency of the Uniform Guidelines with the "Standards for Educational, and Psychological Tests," referred to in the guidelines as the "A.P.A. Standards". The Committee noted in its letter of October 22, 1979, that it had found a high degree of consistency between the proposed Uniform Guidelines and the A.P.A. Standards on February 17, 1978, and that an attempt to resolve remaining inconsistencies was made in the published Uniform Guidelines. Stressing the view that the real impact of the Guidelines can only be fully assessed after agency instructions have been issued and applied, and after court rulings, however the Committee raised areas of possible inconsistency between the Uniform Guidelines, as applied, and the A.P.A. Standards. In particular, the letter raises (among others) three specific concerns: (1) that the Guidelines might call for "a more rigid demand for a search for alternatives than we would deem consistent with acceptable professional practices"; (2) that, with respect to criteria for criterion related validity studies, the Guidelines failed adequately to recognize that "a total absence of bias can never be assured" and that the standards of the profession required only that "there has been a competent professional handling of this problem"; and (3) for criterion related validity studies "in some circumstances there may exist just one or two critical job duties, and that in such cases sole reliance on such a single selection procedure relevant to the critical duties would be entirely appropriate". Staff of the Federal agencies responded, by letter of January 17, 1980, that "some of the problems discussed in your letter may be due to a lack of a clearly articulated position of the Federal agencies on these matters, rather than to actual differences between the Uniform Guidelines and professional standards." The letter of January 17, 1980, enclosed a draft of three additional Questions and Answers designed to clarify the agencies' interpretation of those three issues, and requested comments on the additional Questions and Answers, and on the consistency of the Uniform Guidelines so interpreted with professional standards. By letter of February 11, 1980, the American Psychological Association, acting through it Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, found each of the Questions and Answers to be helpful and has judged "given the accuracy of our interpretation of these Q's and A's, that these guidelines have attained consistency with the Standards in those areas in which comparisons can now be meaningfully made." The validation provisions of the Uniform Guidelines are intended to reflect the standards of the psychological profession (Section 5C, Uniform Guidelines). The issuing agencies are of the view that the three additional Questions and Answers accurately reflect the proper interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines with respect to the three areas of concern raised by the A.P.A. Accordingly, the agencies hereby adopt the three Questions and Answers set forth below to clarify and provide a common interpretation of the Uniform Guidelines. These three additional Questions and Answers supplement the original Questions and Answers published on March 2, 1979. (44 FR 11996). As with the originals, these Questions and Answers use terms as they are defined in the Uniform Guidelines, and are intended to interpret and clarify, but not to modify, the provisions of the Uniform Guidelines. Questions and Answers 91 and 92 are published exactly as written and attached to the letter of January 17, 1980. As the letter from the A.P.A. correctly noted, the Answer to Question 91 implies that the obligation of a user to study unpublished, professionally available research reports is dependent not only on the degree of adverse impact, but also upon the absolute number of persons who might be adversely affected. Where the number of persons affected is likely to be large, a thorough inquiry into unpublished sources is likely to be appropriate, but where the number is small, a cursory review may be sufficient. The answer to Question 93 has been modified by the addition of an example, as suggested by the letter from A.P.A., and by clarifying language at the end of the last sentence. The agencies recognize that additional questions may arise at a later date that warrant a formal, uniform response, and contemplate working together to provide additional guidance interpreting the Uniform Guidelines.
* Section references throughout these, questions and answers are to the sections of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (herein referred to as "Guidelines") that were published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Justice on Aug 25, 1978. 43 FR 38290. The Uniform Guidelines were adopted by the Office of Revenue Sharing of the Department of Treasury, on September 11, 1978. 43 FR 40223