One of the first questions asked by a client
or company when they recognize the value of using handwriting
profiles in their recruiting and evaluation process is: “Is
it legal?” or “Are we violating an individual’s
right to privacy?”
These are legitimate concerns for an employer
in any size business or industry. Those in the human resource
departments need to be sensitive to the rights of individual
privacy and protect employees from all forms of discrimination.
Employers are concerned about potential
damages and the validity requirements of any test found within
the 1964 Civil Rights Act which is interpreted and enforced
by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This act
prohibits discrimination based on age, sex, religion, handicap,
race, color or national origin.
The advantage of professional handwriting
evaluation is that it does not infringe on the criteria listed
above since the examiner never meets the writer in the screening
process. The handwriting examiner is also free from the cultural
implications of most psychological tests.
Handwriting evaluation is ideally suited
to eliminate all categories of discrimination. Far more prejudice
may be evoked in a face to face meeting with the job applicant
and the prospective employer.
All employment positions require a certain
degree of competence, reliability, determination, ambition,
integrity and other qualifications which can be detected
through scientific handwriting evaluation.
E.E.O.C.
The Constitution guarantees the right to
privacy of all individuals. To this point in time, the U.S.
Supreme Court in court decisions has ruled that writing and
signatures are a form of public behavior much like one’s
voice, gestures or facial characteristics which are constantly
shown to the public. The contents, thoughts, and ideas remain
the writer’s possession.
How To Use Handwriting
Handwriting is a product of the applicant,
not the tester. The employment application and writing pass
to the employer’s possession. The job applicant implicitly
agrees to the employer’s investigation of his background,
references and other requirements such as interviews and
psychological or other forms of testing. A personality profile
from writing is only one of many tools in the evaluation
process for hiring, promoting or motivating.
As personnel consultants, the handwriting
examiner requests that the company ask job applicants to
respond to the following request on a blank sheet of 81/2
x 11’ paper using a ballpoint pen:
“Please write (do not print) why you
feel you are qualified for a position with our company. If
you normally print, you may print the last paragraph.
Please sign this statement two times with your legal signature. The form and
content of this essay will be considered a part of your application.”
After thorough examination of the handwriting,
the traits based on uniform standards can be rated on a pertinent
scale to evaluate the personality and the performance potential
of each job applicant.
Right Person For The Right Job
The purpose of the personality profile
is not to eliminate qualifiedcandidates, but to find the
right person for the job. A person well suited to a particular
position is far more productive and satisfied than one who
is not. Personnel turnover can be reduced.
The validity of handwriting evaluation has been established empirically and
research continues. Furthermore, the utilization of this tool and the actual
hiring, promoting or terminating of any individual is left to the full discretion
of the employer. The handwriting evaluation, whether written, presented in
person or via the telephone, is only one option considered in the screening
process.
Numerous companies have also found it advantageous
to have writing samples on file in the event of incidents
involving forgeries, anonymous letters or other questioned
documents.
Supreme Court Decisions Concerning
Handwriting
In United States v. Mara, 410 U.S. 19,
41 LW 4185 (1973), the Supreme Court held that the Fourth
Amendment is not violated by a “compelled production
of physical characteristics” that are constantly exposed
to the public. The court stated: “Handwriting, like
speech, is repeatedly shown to the public and there is no
more expectation of privacy in the physical characteristics
of a person’s script than there is in the tone of his
voice.”
In Gilbert v. California, 388 U.S. 263
(1967), the Supreme Court held that the compelled production
of handwriting exemplars, does not violate the Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination. Moreover, the court
stated: “A mere handwriting exemplar, in contrast to
the content of what is written, like the words or body itself,
is an identifying characteristic outside (Fifth Amendment)
protection.”
In United States v. Sydney W. Rosinsky,
FR P249, F2d No. 2, March 7, 1977, the court held that “ handwriting
is behavior in public – no intrusion into privacy.”