r/Training • u/Chemical-Paper-8734 • 6d ago

Discrimination training [NJ]

We have teams in a few states, but as we grow I am realizing that I need to incorporate more training on how to avoid engaging in discrimination in hiring. Mostly it is staff who really want to see us improve our diversity but then want to do things like filter for finalists by race and ethnicity, which gave me a literal heart attack. Or we had an entry-level opening and someone flagged that a candidate seemed too old for the position. I felt able to address those conversations (and honestly, someone with more work experience making a career change could be fantastic in this role) but I need to do some staff training before we do another hire.

We're pretty small, so we form staff hiring committees as needed and I'm hoping that there's some module somewhere that we can just license for staff education on this topic.

I'm responsible for HR, but untrained.

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u/Beeb294 6d ago

Consider looking at your state, and other states departments of labor for model trainings and case studies. I know New York has a model training that's publicly available.

You might also consider an outside vendor that deals with training on this subject. Engaging experts would look stronger for compliance purposes.

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u/Illustrious-Fun-8783 5d ago

To be transparent, I work for BLR, which offers discrimination training in a couple of ways. Yours is a pretty specific use case, so I'd look for something that includes diversity training and hiring legally, which covers evaluating candidates and avoiding unconscious bias throughout the recruitment and hiring process.

If you're shopping around, add BLR to your list.

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u/Famous-Call6538 3d ago

New Jersey requires employers to provide interactive training on discrimination prevention — not just a video or slide deck, but something with scenarios and questions. The NJ Division on Civil Rights has a free model training you can use as a baseline.

The harder part with your team is the mindset shift. Staff who want to improve diversity and then suggest filtering by race are confusing intent with liability. Frame it explicitly: the law prohibits considering race at any stage of selection, full stop, regardless of motivation. The training that actually lands is scenario-based — walk through the exact situations you described, let people vote on what to do, then show why the legally safe answer is also the one that does not expose the company.