Sources for finding candidates include:

• Posting the job to your current workforce;
• Networking;
• Internet/Social Media;
• Recruiting and placement agencies;
• Educational institutions;
• CalJobs provides a system for linking employer job listings and job seeker resumes;
• Newspaper and magazine ads;
• Professional associations; and
• Community resources.

Federal and state laws prohibit discrimination in the hiring process. For more information, see Discrimination.

• Consider using a variety of recruitment methods to ensure you aren’t excluding potential applicants on the basis of any protected class.

• Be careful your current workforce appears to exclude individuals of protected classes. In these cases, relying entirely on the current workforce for new positions can create the appearance of discrimination.

Although employees of other organizations, including competitors, often present attractive targets for recruiting, recruiting an employee who’s under contract with another employer presents some dangers. The other employer could win a lawsuit against you for interfering with a valid contractual relationship if you knew of the contract and engaged in intentional acts designed to induce a breach or disrupt the contractual relationship. If those acts caused an actual breach or disruption of the contractual relationship, you can face liability for any resulting damage.

Recruiting the at-will employee of another employer by offering a better job, higher pay or more favorable employment conditions doesn’t make you liable to the other employer unless you engage in conduct that violates constitutional, statutory, regulatory or other legal standards.

Some employers find it necessary to go beyond U.S. borders to find certain skills because of a shortage of trained personnel in certain industries and jobs. Recruiting foreign workers is a complex process. Employers looking to do so should consult with legal counsel or a skilled HR expert.

Automated Decision Making and Finding a Candidate

• Effective October 1, 2025, the California Civil Rights Council, which created regulations implementing California's civil rights laws, revised the FEHA regulations to address the use of automated decision systems (ADS), including artificial intelligence (AI), in employment practices such as recruiting and hiring. The revised regulations clarify that it's unlawful for an employer or other covered entity to use ADS that discriminates against an applicant or employee on the basis of any FEHA protected characteristic.

The regulations define ADS broadly and note potential uses include, but are not limited to:

• Using computer-based assessments or tests such as questions, puzzles, games or other challenges to:
• Make predictive assessments about an applicant or employee;
• Measure an applicant's or employee's skills, dexterity, reaction time and/or other abilities and characteristics;
• Measure an applicant's or employee's personality traits, aptitude, attitude and/or cultural fit; and/or
• Screen, evaluate, categorize and/or recommend applicants or employees.
• Directing job advertisements or other recruiting materials to targeted groups.
• Screening resumes for specific terms and patterns.
• Analyzing facial expression, word choice and/or voice in online interviews.
• Analyzing employee or applicant data from third parties.

Employers should use caution if using any of these or similar tools at any stage of the recruiting and hiring process. For more information, see Automated Decision Systems and Artificial Intelligence in FEHA - California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.

1. 2 CCR sec. 11008.1