Gayle Eskridge Law

EMPLOYMENT LAW BULLETIN
Vol. 4, No. 7
Courtesy of Eskridge Law, Attorneys at Law

Federal law requires employers with 15 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees, to keep employment applications, resumes and related information and documents for two years. Specifically, employers must, for at least two years:

1) Maintain information on the number of applicants by sex, race and national origin.

2) Maintain all application and resume materials. (This applies even if the person wasn’t actively considered for an open position because they didn’t meet the minimum qualifications or because they didn’t comply with all the application requirements.)

3) Maintain copies of any tests and test results used to evaluate applicants, including tests which were done online.

Besides being required by law, having this information on file can also be helpful to employers in defending against “failure to hire” cases. The problem, however, is due to the ease with which applicants can now e-mail their resumes to employers. Because of e-mail, this record keeping requirement has become onerous for employers – particularly those with web sites. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently looked into this problem and, together with some other federal agencies, arrived at some guidelines which define who, among all those who contact employers over the Internet, by mail or by fax, are true job applicants for purposes of complying with the federal record keeping requirements. Under these guidelines, a person becomes an applicant when:

1) The employer has acted to fill a particular position;

2) The individual has followed the employer’s standard procedures for submitting an application for the position; and

3) The individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.

This is good news for employers, as it means you can now throw away all those unsolicited resumes. To make sure you are in compliance with this federal requirement, though, it is advisable that employers have a written policy on the subject which specifies when applications and resumes will be accepted. Employers who do not want unsolicited resumes and applications would be wise to so state on their web sites. When an unsolicited resume is received, it is a good idea to notify the individual who sent it that unsolicited resumes are not kept on file, and that he/she will need to resubmit the resume for a specific job opening should one arise.

When a position is advertised, it is a good idea to include in the advertisement or job posting a deadline for receipt of applications.

Eskridge Law, Attorneys at Law, may be contacted by phone (310/792-7021), by fax (310/792-7022) or by e-mail (geskridge@ealaw.net ). Please visit our website at ealaw.net or employmentattorneys.net.