Practices that appear unbiased on the surface may also be illegal if they have adverse impact, that is, if they yield discriminatory results unrelated to future job performance. For instance, requiring a high school diploma for tractor drivers might unreasonably eliminate more nonwhite applicants from job consideration. Bruce knows, however, that he is not required to hire unqualified workers. Clearly, it is wise to refuse employment to unqualified, or less qualified, applicants regardless of their age, sex, national origin, disability, or the like. A systematic selection process can help in legally discriminating among poor, average, and superior applicants.
Necessity can often be the catalyst for haphazard selection processes.
When your milker leaves, you may have a choice between hiring the applicant who just drove up to the barn or taking the shift yourself. Such a casual approach sometimes yields excellent results. This person worked out so well that I thought it would always be this easy. But as Bruce found out some time later, good luck runs out eventually under a chance approach to hiring. And what is worse, the milker sold his home and moved up here to work for us.