• The UGESP guidelines have been adopted by the EEOC, DOL, DOJ, and CSC.

The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978):

• Provides a framework for determining the proper use of tests and other selection procedures during the hiring process; and
• Incorporates a single set of principles designed to assist employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, and licensing and certification boards to comply with federal law requirements regarding prohibited discriminatory employment practices based on:
  • Race
  • Color
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • National origin

They are issued pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The guidelines have been adopted by the:

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
• Department of Labor,
• Department of Justice, and
• Civil Service Commission.

Elements used in a selection process should be job-related. A selection procedure is any measure, combination of measures, or procedures used as a basis for an employment decision. The guidelines do not require a user to conduct validity studies of selection procedures where no adverse impact results. The guidelines indicate that if a company has a selection rate for a protected class that is less than 80 percent of the rate for the highest selection rate, adverse impact has occurred. Employers must look at the ratio of the number of marginalized hires to the number of marginalized applicants compared to the ratio of the number of white or male hires to the number of white or male applicants.

Adverse impact is not necessarily discrimination but, at the very least, requires further examination of the selection procedures to confirm their appropriateness. All users are encouraged to use selection procedures which are valid, especially users operating under merit principles. The guidelines describe various methods of validation.