Potential Discrimination in Structured Employment Interviews

This experimental study examines the effects of bias toward persons with disabilities (PWDs) upon the employment interview decision process. The design and operationalization of the study permitted examination of the effects of specific disabilities, interview performance, and the resulting interaction between disability and interview performance, using 630 undergraduate students at a major university in the southwestern United States as subjects. The results indicate that (1) interview performance has a favorable, significant main effect upon subsequent HRM decisions, (2) specific disabilities, that is, child care demands, HIV-positive status, and being wheelchair-bound, have unfavorable, significant main effects upon subsequent HRM decisions, and (3) the presence of any of the disabilities decreased the favorable impact of superior interview performance. The limitations of the structured interview to mitigate bias were demonstrated. Given the pervasive, unfavorable treatment directed toward PWDs, it appears that the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (1993) is warranted. The public policy implications of these results and recommendations for future research were discussed.