Video Interviews: Are They Legal?

Internet technology now makes it possible to interview an employee “in-person” anywhere in the world.  The benefit to employers is obvious.  No longer do employers need to pay expensive travel expenses to facilitate an in-person interview.  At the same time, by viewing a candidate on video, the employer can readily discern things about candidates that could make for illegal employment decisions, such as age, disability, and race.  A recent webinar addressed whether video interviews are problematic from an EEO perspective:  To Video or Not to Video: Social and Legal Considerations of Video Interviews and Video Resumes for Employers and Recruiters.  One of the presenters was Carol Miaskoff, Assistant Legal Counsel for Coordination at the EEOC.  Her guidance was less than equivocal but predictable:  “As with any recruiting technology . . . it all depends how you use it as to whether or not it would violate the federal EEO laws.
Generally speaking, however, Miaskoff and other speakers opine that video interview techniques are perfectly acceptable as long as they are not being used in a discriminatory manner.  Attorney John Chun also presents some “best practices” to stay out of trouble in conducting video interviews.