In this highly practical CLE, Employment Law Litigation attorney Mila Arutunian shares her experience & guidance on how companies can avoid unconscious bias in hiring and recruiting potential employees. Mila will mainly discuss the following topics: how implicit bias affects hiring and employment decisions, types of biases and how they diminish the workplace and strategies for employers to reduce bias in hiring. Types of biases discussed: categorization, stereotyping, halo/horn effect, affinity bias and confirmation bias.
Unconscious bias can lead to bad decisions that violate an attorneys’ ethical duties of Competence, Communication & Diligence. It can also lead to bad press for law firms, malpractice lawsuits and possibly disbarment.
For California MCLE Compliance Group 3 (N-Z) for the period ending on January 31, 2023, California attorneys must complete at least two hours dealing with elimination of bias. Of the two hours, at least one hour must focus on implicit bias and the promotion of bias-reducing strategies.