Candidate selection ethics and laws.

[lesleyd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Washington
Is it unethical or illegal for my boss to prohibit me from interviewing or hiring a qualified candidate because he personally dislikes that person? She worked for him in the past and he was angry that she took another job when she felt her position was not secure. They had been friends prior to that. After 4 years, she tried to seek employment with me (I am now in my boss's previous position). She will work for me, not for him, and I believe she is the best qualified candidate. Following interviews (with a panel of 7 interviewers), my boss blocked the possible hire and asked me to re-post the position and re-interview finding a way to "screen that one candidate out" prior to interviews. The candidate in question was the top choice of all 7 interviewers (including myself). References from her most recent employer were stellar. My boss claimed I didn't follow "procedures" by not letting him know I was planning to interview her. That is not a written procedure and has never been a pre-screening or pre-interviewing practice in the 10 years I have been employed by this organization.

Thanks!

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

Ethical is a value judgement, the opinion that counts being the one held by those running the company.

It's not a legal matter.

 

[justalayman]

If your boss has the authority to require you to comply with his directive, failing to do so would be insubordination. Unless his basis to reject her fall under EEOC protections there is nothing illegal about denying her the position.

 

[commentator]

Yes, from some of your comments, I wonder if you are in a city state or local government entity. Most of the time in private industry, you would not even be wondering about this question. Not only can your boss put the nix on anyone he doesn't like, but he could also quite legally fire you for refusing to comply with his request not to hire a particular candidate.

Fairness or qualifications or who you think would make the best candidate aren't addressed legally, just the EEOC issues. In state government, where I worked, with civil service in play, we were sometimes forced to give a "courtesy interview" to people that we knew we could not hire because it would NOT be acceptable to those above us for various reasons including just plain old, "I don't like him!"

But if we didn't know we didn't outguess our supervisor and hire the person anyway, we soon learned better. Not only could the person above us make it difficult for this person to succeed in the position, they would now dislike YOU the same way and could make your life exceptionally difficult.

 

[cbg]

It is not illegal. It may or may not be unethical, depending on facts unavailable to us. Unethical is often in the eye of the beholder.

But even if it is unethical, that does not give you legal protection if you hire the person anyway. Unfortunate, but true.

 

[Silverplum]

I've never been interviewed by SEVEN people for one job: how odd and excessive!

 

[lesleyd]

Candidate selection for interview

Yes, from some of your comments, I wonder if you are in a city state or local government entity. Most of the time in private industry, you would not even be wondering about this question. Not only can your boss put the nix on anyone he doesn't like, but he could also quite legally fire you for refusing to comply with his request not to hire a particular candidate.

Fairness or qualifications or who you think would make the best candidate aren't addressed legally, just the EEOC issues. In state government, where I worked, with civil service in play, we were sometimes forced to give a "courtesy interview" to people that we knew we could not hire because it would NOT be acceptable to those above us for various reasons including just plain old, "I don't like him!"

But if we didn't know we didn't outguess our supervisor and hire the person anyway, we soon learned better. Not only could the person above us make it difficult for this person to succeed in the position, they would now dislike YOU the same way and could make your life exceptionally difficult.

[Thanks so much for this reply. My main concern is this: was I required to check with my boss BEFORE scheduling an interview? I stopped the process once he asked me to and asked HR to re-post, so I did what he wanted. However, I'm afraid of any backlash from the process. I was not aware that I had an obligation to check with my boss prior to interviewing as that has never been the process before. And I was not aware of the extent of his dislike for this person. During her prior employment, they had been on friendly terms until she resigned.]

 

[Silverplum]

[Thanks so much for this reply. My main concern is this: was I required to check with my boss BEFORE scheduling an interview? I stopped the process once he asked me to and asked HR to re-post, so I did what he wanted. However, I'm afraid of any backlash from the process. I was not aware that I had an obligation to check with my boss prior to interviewing as that has never been the process before. And I was not aware of the extent of his dislike for this person. During her prior employment, they had been on friendly terms until she resigned.]

That's a matter of individual policy, not law.