As the economy picks up steam and hiring activity increases, it’s particularly important for employers to take the time to update their organizations’ job descriptions. “I’ve never run into anyone who likes writing job descriptions,” says Martin Simon, legal editor at HR.BLR.com (which is run by ERI’s parent company). “But these tools, sometimes called position descriptions, are critical to effective and legal human resource administration.”
Employers typically use job descriptions for a variety of reasons, including to:
- Drive recruitment campaigns
- Set expectations for new workers
- Establish salary grade levels for groups of jobs
- Align individual goals and activities with an organization’s strategic objectives.
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A good job description follows a simple but consistent format that describes key roles played by that job, as well as the “essential functions”—which allows a disabled individual’s qualifications for the job to be evaluated against these essential functions, as required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its California counterpart, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Well-written, current job descriptions are also vital for wage/hour purposes. “If written correctly,” says Simon, “the duties and skills listed in the job description, along with salary data, help employers substantiate that a job should be considered either exempt or nonexempt from overtime.”
Additionally, job descriptions can be key evidence of legal compliance (or noncompliance) in equal pay lawsuits, as well as lawsuits brought by employees or former employees who claim that bias rather than poor performance was responsible for an adverse employment action.
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Tomorrow, we’ll explain the 3 rules you should never break when you’re writing job descriptions. We’ll also explain an extraordinary online tool that will make one of your most dreaded tasks a piece of cake.