Litigation Support

No matter how carefully developed and validated a selection procedure may be, challenges to the process sometimes arise. Valtera has a staff of industrial and organizational psychologists who are experts in defending selection procedures when questioned by a governmental agency, in grievance, arbitration or other administrative hearings, or in the courts.

Preparation is often the best and most cost effective defense. Valtera can review your development and validation work and give you an assessment of your selection system's strengths and weaknesses. We can also look at the implementation procedures, including test administration and data recording, to make sure that valid tests are being used fairly and consistently. We will evaluate whether both the selection procedures and their implementation processes comply with professional and legal guidelines pertinent to employee selection procedures.

In the event of a challenge, Valtera can help organizations' legal counsel prepare to defend their practices. Our testing professionals have analyzed testing data and provided testimony in numerous situations and can assist you in defending your selection procedures.

Expert Testimony

Unfortunately, sometimes challenges will require organizations need to defend their human resource policies and practices before administrative bodies or in court. Our consultants have the expertise, knowledge, and credentails necessary to serve as experts in employment-related litigation involving selection procedures, training policies, promotional methods and outcomes, reductions in force, and other human resource functions.

Contact Valtera to find out more about how we can provide objective and unbiased expert opinions to assist your legal counsel to reach accurate judgments.

Validity Studies

Evidence of validity provides a means to defend a selection test if challenged. The intent of validation studies is to determine whether there is adequate evidence that the inferences drawn from a selection procedure are appropriate and meet the requirements of job-relatedness and business necessity.

When a test is valid, people who score high on a test will be expected to have a higher likelihood of performing well than those who score lower. Essentially, the validity evidence shows that the decisions made by an employer based on the selection procedure results in hiring the right people for the job. By increasing the proportion of competent employees in the workforce, valid selection procedures ultimately increase the performance of the organization in which these employees work.

Organizations come to Valtera for assistance in validating new and existing operational batteries. We highly recommend a proactive approach to mitigate legal concerns when possible.

Transporting Validity Evidence

Transportability refers to a process for using validity evidence collected in one setting to support use of the selection procedure in another similar setting or for a similar job. Often, transportint validity evidence is accomplished by comparing job analysis data from both settings and establishing the similarity of the job requirements. Compared to a full validation study, this approach can save significant resources (e.g., money, time, incumbent sample).

Adverse Impact Analyses

Adverse impact analyses compare the success rates of various subgroups on a selection procedure to determine if the procedure differentially impacts one group more than another group. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures require employers to examine the adverse impact of any selection procedure.

Multiple methods for evaluating adverse impact exist. A common rule of thumb suggested in the Uniform Guidelines is the "four-fifths" rule: when the pass rate for one group is less than 80% of another group, the selection procedure may be having an "adverse impact" on the other group. It is important to note that adverse impact is not in iteself illegal; rather triggers a requirement that validity evidence be available for the procedure.

Valtera consultants have the experience and statistical know-how to evaluate your selection procedure to determine whether your company is at risk.