those who can't teach gym My old boss had a saying: "Those who can -- do. Those who can't -- teach. Those who can't teach -- teach gym. And those who can't teach gym -- work in HR." Between struggles over inane anti-Joel compensation policies and mandatory "diversity training" (which was so ludicrous that I told off the instructor in the middle of the class), I quickly came to agree. But perhaps it's not all their fault. The Chicago Tribune describes the EEOC's responsibility:

When employers were first asked to track applicants by race and gender, people generally applied for jobs in person--and employers would simply note who walked through the door. Adopted in the early 1970s, the Uniform Guidelines on Employment Selection Procedures asks employers to use the data they collect about applicants to determine annually whether their employee selection procedures are fair. Federal contractors must keep each applicant on file for up to two years, and private employers must provide the information if asked as part of a federal probe or to defend against litigation.

But faced with an onslaught of emailed resumes from unwanted applicants, businesses are getting a little uneasy:

Employers don't object to the reasoning behind the tracking guidelines, but they say asking people to reveal their race and gender is embarrassing, especially if they aren't considering them for a job. "It was those requirements that drove employers absolutely nuts," said Jeff Norris, who heads up the Equal Employment Advisory Council, which represents about 350 major U.S. companies. "We don't want to set ourselves up for a lawsuit by asking people their race, gender and ethnicity. If they don't get hired, what will they assume?"

The best part of the article, however, comes at the end, discussing attempts to make the guidelines more practical:

Norris said an issue holding up the task force is a recommendation by employer advocacy groups that the pool of applicants be limited to those who are qualified. [EEOC Commissioner Cari] Dominguez said doing that poses the risk of excluding some members of protected groups.

This gives me an idea, which perhaps I should pitch to Jesse Jackson: bombard companies with e-resumes of unqualified minority applicants, establish a pattern of "discrimination", and sue, sue, sue!