Yep, that'd be just fine for me. If that's the benchmark that they believe that they need for their business to be successful then so be it as long as they are consistent in their hiring policies with it. They just can't say that so-and-so would require a PhD but the average white-guy with a high school diploma is ok. Good luck for them finding people with a BA, MA, or PhD that will accept the position. There's a reason why low income jobs usually only require a high school diploma if anything at all and it's not because of worrying about discrimination.

 

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I think your analogy shows you may be misunderstanding the issue, Shim. The EEOC didn't say you can't consider a high school diploma a plus in a hiring decision (assuming there is some reasonable basis for considering it a plus - probably not hard to do for any reasonably long-term job on the basis that it shows commitment and reliability). It just said you can't make it an absolute bar unless there is a defensible business nececssity for doing so.


The correct analogy would be a job posting which read "only those with an Ivy League degree will be considered."

I am still not hiring someone who doesn't have a HS diploma.

 

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You're right, I only glanced at the piece and this thread as I am working. I missed the "defensible business necessity" part. If that's the case then this is really a complete and total non-issue. The letter has no teeth in the first place. Commitment and reliability alone would be a directly relate to pretty much any position a company would be hiring for so I don't see how this would get enforced even if it were implemented as an actual law unless it was a situation such as the one that I described before where only some people are required to have a high school degree. I'd love to see a committee try and determine which positions "legitimately" require a high school diploma instead of ones that don't.

I maintain my position that if a company decides to set an education level benchmark based upon their business needs (perceived or actual) that is something that shouldn't be taken away from them from the graduate level down to the high school/GED level as long as they are consistent. If a fast food restaurant believes as part as their strategy they will only be successful if they hire MBAs and they set that as their standard then they're entitled to do so. It doesn't sound like you completely disagree.

As a side note, there's a real problem in this country with people discriminating against those with a GED instead of a high school diploma as though it's a lesser achievement. That's an example of a truly equivalent diploma that employers will often unfairly overlook in favor of a high school diploma.

 

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So should I bring the box cutter or the bomb vest?

 

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You have yet to prove that. And if you can't prove it, there sure as hell needn't be a law for it.

 

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What is there to prove? And how would you expect someone to prove the negative?

The law is set up the way it is for a reason. It's the employer's job to justify why he thinks something is business necessity, not the employee's job to somehow disprove all possibilities.

An average janitor's job duties don't involve anything remotely requiring a diploma. You don't need a diploma to brush junk into a garbage can. They don't teach you anything in high school about that.

If the point is a high school diploma could be considered a plus - sure, it might be. But a REQUIREMENT? Of course not.

We'll have to hire a lawyer to look over our job wanted ads.

 

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Only if you really want to support the lawyer.

Just look at your want ads and see if the requirements you are posting really have a connection to the job. Go down the list of the requirements and spell out a justification for each. If you can't come up with something that passes a basic sniff test that's a clue you might want to get a lawyer but otherwise I wouldn't waste your money.

WHERE did you study law and logic? Bloat? Figures.

The DEFAULT position of any sane employer is to ask about qualifications, work ethic and education. You are the one who needs to prove the positive... that it is necessary and valid to expend time, effort, and money to PREVENT that default action for certain jobs as regards (specifically) a high school diploma.

 

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