Hiring Practices Abroad Scrutinized

• Posted by Geoffrey G. Gussis on November 22nd, 2006


• Filed in Employment Law

If you are an in-house counsel in the United States, you are probably up to your ears in domestic legal matters.  When the workload lightens (does it ever?) you may want to take a look at your company’s international hiring practices, as a recent article in the National Law Journal points out:

"Employment and labor attorneys say they are increasingly warning U.S. companies about engaging in discriminatory hiring practices in other countries that are considered illegal here. Their warnings follow a series of questionable and embarrassing "help wanted" ads placed by several American companies over the last year.

In Mexico, Michigan-based automotive supplier Lear Corp. recently ran a classified ad for a secretary in Mexico seeking a female, aged 20-28, preferably single, with excellent presentation. A photo was also requested.

The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. ran an online ad in Mexico seeking a human resources assistant who is male, single and between the ages of 21 and 25.

Coca-Cola Femsa, a Mexican bottler partly owned by Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., also ran an online ad for a male route driver, aged 25 to 30, at least 5 feet 9 inches tall, between 154 and 176 pounds, with a good presentation.

Even a law firm, Baker & McKenzie, recently ran an online ad seeking a male real estate attorney for an office in Mexico, where a company recruiter said that Mexican clients feel more comfortable getting legal counsel from men."

Link: U.S. Hiring Practices Abroad Scrutinized.