An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 3 – Hiring

For example, schools must recruit individuals of both sexes for all jobs unless they do so pursuant to a permissible defense 82 such as the assertion that the selective recruitment is based upon necessity or bona fide occupational qualification. 83 Likewise, schools engaged in recruiting activities shall consider individuals with disabilities equally with individuals without disabilities for all jobs unless there is a permissible defense. 84 C. U PDATE J OB D ESCRIPTIONS A ND V ALIDATE J OB R EQUIREMENTS Ensuring that job descriptions and job announcements accurately describe the job requirements and the terms and conditions of employment will help schools choose the best candidate and defend against employment discrimination claims. The job description and job announcement should outline the nature of the position and the basic qualifications required. Minimally, a job description should contain the following information:

 Educational requirements;  Necessary vocational skills;  Required work experience;  Examples of duties;  Unusual physical requirements;

 Work hours; and  Compensation.

1. A CCURATE J OB D ESCRIPTIONS A RE C RITICALLY I MPORTANT Out of date, inaccurate, overly-general, or overly-specific job announcements or descriptions can discourage qualified applicants from applying, encourage unqualified applicants to apply, and create a basis for legal challenges to employment decisions even after the hiring process is long over. For example, a common point of contention is the school’s identification of the “essential functions of the job” during the interactive process to accommodate a disability. Under both federal and state law, a job description that the employer prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job is considered evidence of the essential functions of the job. 85 2. H IRING C RITERIA M UST C ORRELATE T O A CTUAL J OB D UTIES In order to establish that hiring criteria are non-discriminatory, a school must be able to demonstrate that the criteria are sufficiently related to actual job duties. The key to validating hiring criteria is demonstrating that the requirement is predictive of or significantly related to the job duties that are important. Undertaking a job analysis provides valuable guidance in this respect. Where possible, job requirements should be validated by experts using professionally accepted validation methods.

An Administrator’s Guide to California Private School Law ©2019 Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 48