Problem: A high-tech Company wants to have the smartest, hip, and energized employees work for the Company because they need this type of talent to help develop technological programming and applications to maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace. In an effort to recruit this type of talent, the Company has revised the hiring criteria wherein the candidate must meet all of the following conditions: (1) completion of high school within the last 5 years; (2) must have attended and graduated from an Ivy League college; and (3) on either Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook, must have at least 5,000 followers.
1. What problems, if any, do you see with these mandatory hiring requirements?
2. Does an applicant who is not hired because they do not meet these requirements have a potential claim for employment discrimination under a systemic disparate impact discrimination theory?
3. If so, what arguments could an applicant make to establish these hiring requirements are illegal under a systemic disparate impact discrimination theory?