Rejected twice for an entry-level job with a local company, a Colorado woman filed a complaint of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Before her lawsuit reached court, she was rejected by the employer a third time. Were hiring managers biased?

What happened. “Thompson” wanted a job with Public Service Co. of Colorado (PSCo) in Comanche at the level where the company typically hired new employees—that of Plant Specialist C. She applied in 2000, 2004, and 2006, proceeding through a three-step process. The first step was a pass/fail mechanical aptitude test, while the second was a résumé screening to look for relevant work experience and skills appropriate for the position applicants sought. In both 2000 and 2004, Thompson reached the third step in the process, an interview by four PSCo employees. On the basis of her two interview scores, she was rejected both times.

After receiving a “right to sue” letter from EEOC, Thompson took the company to court, charging that the interview was a pretext for sex discrimination, because it was designed to screen out women. Among other arguments, Thompson contended that statistics about PSCo’s hiring backed her up: Only 1 of 115 employees in jobs at the company that were “nontraditional” for women was female and that between 1992 and 2005, the employer had hired 20 men and no women for entry-level jobs.

However, a federal district judge heard PSCo’s side of the story and dismissed Thompson’s claims. She appealed to the 10th Circuit, which covers Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

What the court said. PSCo described to judges their interview process: All candidates were asked the same questions, which were behavior-oriented, testing how an applicant had reacted or would react to a particular situation. Questions were based on competencies the business had identified as common among successful employees, and interviewers discussed each answer and reached consensus on a particular applicant’s score. Furthermore, judges noted, another female candidate in 2004 had been offered a job, although she hadn’t taken it. And in 2006, when Thompson was rejected for the third time, PSCo hired three other women into the job she sought.

Altogether, judges felt, Thompson had failed to show that the prospective employer had exhibited any bias in its hiring process. Turner v. PSCo, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, No. 07-1396 (4/28/09).

Point to remember: With careful scoring and identical questions—and PSCo also had an Interview Guide that told interviewers how to evaluate applicant answers—an interview process will be seen as relatively objective.