[BC] Engineers

[RichardBJohnson at comcast.net]

Federal law states in part that neither race, gender, age, religion, or
a multiplicity of other things can be used in selecting a candidate
for employment. Then federal law states that you have to keep records
of the number of people of different races, etc., that you employ
to satisfy the law about giving preferential treatment to veterans,
minorities, and disabled persons.

Obviously the workplace can't have it both ways, but the
law doesn't discriminate about facts and fantasy.

The facts are that workplace discrimination exists. You can't
even apply for a job at the FBI if you are over the age of 30.
Recently, the FAA revised its rules about ATP pilots so they
now work to the "old" age of 65. They used to be forced out
by statute at the age of 60. Air traffic controllers will not be
hired beyond the age of 27 the last  I checked. It may have
been changed after Reagan fired the strikers. They must
retire at the age of 55.

I have a list of questions provided by the EOC, that I am not
allowed to ask an employee during an employment interview.
Amongst them are, in the case of women candidates, "Are
you planning to start a family soon?" In the interest of
"protecting" female candidates, I can't ask an obvious
question of some "obviously pregnant" woman while
it certainly is in the best interest of the company to know
when the potential employee may no longer be available
for work!

I once interviewed an engineering candidate who had
Tourette's syndrome. During the interview, he kept sliding
off his chair while encountering various tics and emitting
various inappropriate sounds. We wanted his first job
as a software engineer. Quite obviously, he couldn't work
in a lab with high voltage or other potential hazards.

When I asked about his "problem," he stated that I didn't
have a right to ask that question.  I explained that I did
indeed have a right to ask about these things, that even
people confined to wheel-chairs need special consideration
and, in fact, accommodation. That settled him down a bit.

It was my determination that he had an excellent grasp
of the basics, was well versed in the use of current software
methods and tools, and even lacking experience in a
commercial environment, we was an excellent candidate.

He didn't get the job. There were other considerations --
as well there should be. We need to work in a social
environment when writing software, often interfacing with
customers. If this candidate had set up a home office
and became a software engineering consultant, the
quality and cost of his work would have been the only
considerations. However, if you want to work in a social
environment, one needs to look, feel, talk, communicate,
and interface with others, in the same general way as
the other employees because the other employees have
rights as well. Hiring "different" people has always been
a balancing act.

In the case of women, the first record of hiring a woman
for factory work in the new world was at Batcheller Shoe
company in North Brookfield, MA. This woman was Lucy
Stone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Stone

She knew her stuff.


--
Cheers,
Richard B. Johnson
Read about my book
http://www.LymanSchool.org


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Ronald Johnson" <w2wu at verizon.net>
> Ladies & Gentlemen:
> 
> Gender, age, nor avocation must not influence your human resource decisions. 
> Ability, and performance are paramount. Be an EOE!
>