Legislation ensuring that workers without college degrees receive fair consideration when hiring is gaining cosponsors.
The bipartisan proposal was introduced by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and John James, R-Mich. Opportunity to Compete Act in October 2023. Since then, a total of four co-sponsors—two Democrats and two Republicans—have signed on, demonstrating bipartisan interest in skills-based hiring.
The legislation would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to ensure that job applicants who do not possess a bachelor’s degree are not preemptively rejected by automated selection systems without considering alternative experience such as military service, community college or training programs.
The bill would require large employers with more than 500 employees that use automated degree requirement settings in hiring systems to disclose the expected years of experience needed by applicants and allow the candidate to substitute years of experience in lieu of a four-year degree.
Covered recruitment systems are defined as “a recruitment management system, a recruitment marketing system, an applicant tracking system, or any other computer system that receives, manages, tracks, evaluates, or responds to applications for employment,” according to the legislation.
“At a time when American workers and employers are seeking to meet the rapidly changing needs of the 21st century, it is imperative that we eliminate discrimination against workers who meet all of the requirements for the jobs for which they are applying, except for having a college degree,” Krishnamoorthi said. “The Opportunity to Competitive Act will address this problem by ensuring that prospective employees are evaluated based on whether they have the relevant skills and experience to perform the job, rather than whether they have a four-year college degree.”
(From the SHRM Foundation: Qualified Credentials in Action)
Experts have said automation and other advances in recruiting technology have made it significantly easier for job seekers to apply for jobs and for employers to screen resumes, leading to an increase in requirements such as educational criteria as a way to filter out applicants.
According to a 2021 StudyMore than 90 percent of employers reported using an automated recruiting system to screen job applicants, and half reported using education level as a filter.
On the other hand, approximately two-thirds of American workers do not have a college degree.
“Default degree filters can introduce unintentional (and intentional) bias against talented individuals who have acquired skills through alternative pathways, even if they do not have a four-year degree,” said Michelle Sims, CEO of YUPRO Placement, a skills-first placement firm based in Boston. “This legislation will diversify evaluation criteria at the initial stage of hiring, even before a recruiter first evaluates candidates, leading to fairer consideration in the hiring process.”
Sims said the proposal addresses the false assumption that college degrees are an indicator of skills. “That is a dangerous and harmful practice that reduces the quantity and quality of job openings,” she said. “The bill supports equal access to employment opportunities and also supports diversity and inclusion efforts.”
Blair Corcoran de Castillo, vice president of policy at Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit workforce development organization in Washington, D.C., said the bill “is especially important for the more than 70 million workers in this country who… bring valuable skills to our economy from their experience in community colleges, internships, boot camps, and most commonly through skills acquired on the job, rather than through a bachelor’s degree.”
Sims said these alternative educational routes provide accessible and affordable means for people outside traditional talent pools to develop skills for many unskilled roles in early and mid-career stages.
“These programs can also offer training and support focused on specific in-demand jobs, potentially giving them an advantage over candidates with four-year college degrees because they have honed specific skills for specific jobs,” she said. “Positions like digital marketing, app development and customer service may not require a more extensive academic degree.”
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