Popular Culture Review 30.1
The EEOC needs to act , and quickly , to establish clear rules on how algorithmic hiring can and cannot be used to comply with Title VII . A hands-off or half-hearted approach could serve only to eviscerate the 50 years of progress . Employers and employment agencies need to be required to run , document , and maintain data analysis at every stage of the algorithmic hiring process . Variables that are found to exclude a large number of a protected class must be documented and either discarded , or individually justified as directly related to performance of the job . Attempts to conceal the true impact of certain variables should be harshly discouraged . The onus is already on both employers and employment agencies to comply with Title VII , guidance that codifies how that is to be properly done in the age of big data is vital , with delays only making the problem worse . Requiring companies to maintain specific data sets and document how their algorithms impacted the applicant pool in terms of protected classes will be vital in allowing companies to identify disparate impacts before the hiring process proceeds , and allow potential plaintiffs the evidence they need to bring forth lawsuits if companies fail to act upon this data .
NOTES
1 42 U . S . C . ยง 2000e-2 ( 2012 ).
2 El v . Se . Pennsylvania Transp . Auth . ( SEPTA ), 479 F . 3d 232 , 245 ( 3d Cir . 2007 ).
183