Keeping Track of Race

How can you keep track of the race of your job applicants for affirmative action purposes, but abide by the law at the same time?

Employers may legitimately need information about their employees’ or applicants’ race for affirmative action purposes and/or to track applicant flow. One way to obtain racial information and simultaneously guard against discriminatory selection is for employers to use “tear-off sheets” for the identification of an applicant’s race. After the applicant completes the application and the tear-off portion, the employer separates the tear-off sheet from the application and does not use it in the selection process.

Source: U.S. EEOC, Washington, D.C., September 11, 1998.