Choosing and Hiring Candidates

                   Casey Jendras

Tim Tedesco

Chapter 11: Choosing and Hiring Candidates

Within chapter 11, Choosing and Hiring Candidates, a variety of topics are highlighted.  These topics include: choosing candidates, job offer strategies, employment contracts, job offers, negotiating, closing the deal, and fairness perceptions and rejections. In regards to the organization that we evaluated, our topic of choice is from, Choosing Candidates, and Fairness of Perceptions and Rejections section.

                   The organization in which we will be discussing is the Boy Scouts of America and their current policies on hiring troop leaders that are gay. The topics in which we will relate to this recent news article are, “An Employer’s Preference for Diversity and Reneging”. In the article, “NY Boy Scouts Hire Gay Eagle Scout Despite National Policy”, by The Associated Press, it is explained that for the past 105 years, The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has had a long standing tradition, but also a set of strict policies against allowing gay scouts and troop leaders. It wasn’t until a recent push that forced the Boy Scouts of America to reevaluate and change their policy to allow gay youths to join. “The national organization changed its policy in 2013 to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not adults as leaders, after a bitter debate over its membership policy. The change took effect in January 2014” (The Associated Press, 2015). The Boy Scouts of America have stood their ground for over a hundred years about having gay men as the leaders of their troops, however it is stated that it was time for a change. The Boy Scouts Greater New York Councils announced the hire of Pascal Tessier, an openly gay 18 year-old Eagle Scout, as a summer camp leader. Tessier’s hire directly challenges the national policy the BSA holds on hiring openly gay leaders. Board member Richard G. Masson explains, “we received this application from this young man, and we found him highly qualified on all the merits" (The Associated Press, 2015). Tessier recently achieved his Eagle Scout Badge from the BSA, scouting’s highest rank. Masson justifies the hire by saying, "we have an anti-discrimination policy, we believe in it very firmly, and we are executing on it" (The Associated Press, 2015).

        The hire of Tessier and the lift of the anti-gay scout ban has caused immense controversy. After the ban was removed, some conservatives that have sponsored troops, such as churches, have discontinued their support and sponsorship of troops. Although many members of the BSA support the movement of openly gay leaders, there seems to be no interest in reopening discussions regarding removing the policy nationally. The BSA fears that there will be too big of a split between the two sides and the divide would essentially destroy the organization. However, it seems that currently the BSA will continue with their “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy in the hiring process.

        The debate at hand seems to be: Should different chapters go against national policy and hire openly gay candidates or follow the national policy and wait and see if the BSA makes a change anytime soon? If different chapters decide to go against national policy there would be many positives towards a new chapter in the Boy Scout organization. Going against national policy could influence a movement towards a national lift of the ban on gay leaders. In Tessier’s case, he has been a boy scout his whole life but now that he is 18 he can no longer be a member because he is openly gay. This is contradictory considering he has been a scout his whole life and now he has to disaffiliate. It is flat out discrimination towards gays. In the video “Boy Scout Troops Banned for Having Gay Leader”, troop leader Geoff McGrath was banned by the BSA for being openly gay. However, McGrath is not letting this policy define him. Instead he is “standing by his post” and continues to lead his troops. His troops, their families, and the local church, continues to support McGrath and claim the actions of the BSA are disruptive and are discriminatory. Troops and parents explain how they have grown very close with McGrath and will probably not attend anymore if he is gone. People will support the movement of chapters defining the policy and it will lead to a national change.

The examples stated above can be directly related back to a relevant topic that can be found in chapter eleven of the Strategic Staffing book. The topic that will be related to the situation at hand is “An Employer’s Preference for Diversity”. “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) encourages voluntary affirmative action and diversity efforts to improve opportunities for minorities in order to carry out the congressional intent of Title VII, which prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, and so forth” (Phillips & Gully, 2012, p. 301). The national organization for the Boy Scouts of America is in direct violation of this policy, by not hiring gay employees or troop leaders. Instead of modifying their long standing tradition on hiring policies, they are instead keeping firm stance on how there is no room for gay employees or troop leaders in the Boy Scouts. The New York chapter of the BSA realized that no matter the sexual orientation, they are willing to hire the most qualified candidate for the position. “This young man applied for a job. We judged his application on the merits. He’s highly qualified. We said yes to him irrespective of his sexual orientation”(Barron, 15). Since the Boys Scouts of America have not implemented any affirmative action or diversity plans for allowing gay men as employees, they have been susceptible to legal trouble.