Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : U.S. to Use ‘Testers’ in Hiring Bias Cases

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in Washington that federal attorneys will begin prosecuting cases in which civil rights “testers” claim they were illegally denied jobs. The practice--long used to expose housing discrimination--has not previously been applied to hiring. “It’s used in housing cases and used by other state agencies, and I couldn’t see why it couldn’t be used by the commission,” said Evan J. Kemp Jr., commission chairman. Stephen Bokat of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, however, that proving illegal bias against such an applicant would be “infinitely more difficult” because too many factors affect hiring decisions.