Tell Me More
If your company already has or needs to develop an affirmative
action plan, chances are that you’ll retain the services of a law firm
or qualified consulting firm. One of the most common challenges
you’ll face on a day-to-day basis, however, will lie in your applicant
flow log. Under federal equal opportunity and affirmative action
laws as well as the laws of many states, companies are obligated to
maintain personnel activity data, including data on the race and sex
of applicants.

The reason for this is that government audits and discrimination
investigations partially focus on gathering information on all
applicants who have applied for positions and comparing those
flow statistics to current workforce demographics. In addition, employers must also analyze these applicant flow statistics for adverse impact. Adverse impact occurs when the selection rate for any protected group is less than 80 percent of the rate of selection for the group with the highest selection rate (for example, white males). A protected group or class is any group of people who are protected by the law against discrimination (for example, women and minorities).

Defining what is an ‘‘applicant,’’ therefore, takes on critical importance in cases of audits and investigations. The EEOC doesn’t
help much here. Historically, federal enforcement agencies like the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Office of
Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) have looked to the
EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures for a
definition:

The concept of an applicant is that of a person who has indicated
an interest in being considered for hiring, promotion, or other employment opportunities. This interest might be expressed by completing an application form or might be expressed orally, depending on the employer’s practice.

Furthermore, in September 1997, the OFCCP stated that
‘‘whether an individual will be considered an applicant turns on the
employee selection procedures designed and utilized by the contractor.’’ This definition serves employers well because the newer
interpretation has generally said, Look to the employer’s definition
of an applicant when determining applicant flow statistics.

Taken From : The Hiring and Firing Quention and Answer Book