Target has reached a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $2.8 million regarding Target’s use of personality tests in hiring. It no longer uses the tests. But, it formerly used the tests for executive and professional level hiring. Target dropped the tests when the EEOC started its investigation in 2006. The EEOC’s investigation resulted in a cause finding that use of the tests resulted in discrimination against women and minorities. The tests were not sufficiently related to the jobs for which the applicants were being tested, said the EEOC. One of the three tests was performed by psychologists. The ADA prohibits medical exams before a job offer.See Fortune news report.
The EEOC also found that Target did not maintain adequate records with which to assess the impact of those tests. The EEOC believes the personality tests affected the non-hiring of thousands of applicants.