Refer Opportunities to the Career Center Including Internships and Full-time Jobs
If you obtain an internship or job opportunity that would be great for a UMBC student or alum, please be sure to update the Career Center. We welcome the opportunity to post additional positions in Handshake, which serves thousands of students and alumni each year. Please forward the position information to the Career Center (careers@umbc.edu) and we will connect the employer with Handshake. We also have helpful resources on our website for employers if they are reaching out to you for tips. If the employer would like to speak with someone personally about recruitment at UMBC, please direct them to Annie Byrd, anniebyrd@umbc.edu or 410-455-8002.
Assisting employers with their recruitment needs can also sometimes result in unintentional ethical or legal transgressions. The National Association of Colleges and Employers provides a GUIDE TO FACULTY on the legal and ethical standards in student referrals and hiring.
Can Career Center Staff or Faculty Prescreen Candidates for an Employer?
shared by Edward Easterly, Esq., Norris, McLaughlin, & Marcus
If Career Center staff or faculty prescreen candidates they are, in effect, acting as an employment agency and the relevant laws that apply to an agency would apply to the Career Center or faculty member.
Although federal anti-discrimination provisions typically apply only to “employers,” many states have adopted similar provisions that encompass individual employees and third parties. These state law provisions often make it unlawful for any individual or entity to “aid or abet” discriminatory employment practices. Additionally, educational institutions that accept federal funding may run afoul of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and/or the Equal Protection Clause by implementing or endorsing discriminatory prescreening practices.
Once Career Center staff or a faculty member participate in the selection process, they may have to justify the criteria upon which the screening was based, just like an employer or an employment agency. Problems occur when the criteria are racially discriminatory or have a discriminatory impact, such as when a career center is asked to refer only minority students or a faculty member is asked to refer just female candidates. Career center staff members or faculty members are not able to defend their action by saying the employer “told me to do it.”
The less directly involved the Career Center staff and faculty are in making choices for employers, the less likely the staff and educational institution will become embroiled in administrative claims and litigation if a student believes that he or she was discriminated against as a result of not being selected to interview.
Courtesy of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.