If your company has public-facing employees who provide and accept applications, they could discriminate unknowingly, simply in the way they hand out the application or by asking a simple question when they receive the application from the applicant. Here are some of the things that HR professionals are doing to minimize their risk in these situations.

1) Use technology to limit interaction between the front-line employee and the applicant. Some companies have installed kiosks or workstations on location, where applications can be filled out. This has the added benefit of not giving preferential treatment to those who have access to the Internet. This also ensures that the same version of your application is used at all locations, further reducing your risk.

2) Place time limits on interaction. You can post and enforce a policy that you will only accept job applications during certain times of the day, only while senior or hiring managers are on location. This information should be posted near your hours of operation so that applicants understand that these time restrictions apply to everyone who comes looking for a job. Employees can also point to this published fact as a store policy, and encourage the applicant to either come back when a hiring manager is present, or to go online to fill out the application.

3) Train staff to not ask or answer questions. Your front-line employees are attracted to their positions because they enjoy dealing with the public and helping people. But the more they interact with an applicant, the more they run the risk of asking the wrong kind of question at the wrong time. Outside of providing an application or access to a kiosk, or telling the applicant when to apply or which website to visit, the employees should not ask any questions about the applicant’s background or make any other comments about the job.

You’ll find other helpful advice on this subject, in our free downloadable guide: “5 Tips to Help Avoid Litigation During the Hiring Process.”