Moderation of selection procedure validity by employee race

Purpose – The aim of this study was to examine the effects of employee race on the validity of commonly used selection procedures over three time periods after hire. Design/methodology/approach – Data on employee race, cognitive ability, psychomotor ability, and previous work experience, as well as objective measures of performance, were collected from 932 sewing machine operators in the USA. Performance data were collected over three time periods (nine months total) after hire. Findings – Race moderated the validity of cognitive ability in predicting performance for all three time periods. Race did not significantly moderate the validity of psychomotor ability or previous work experience in predicting performance. Research limitations/implications – This research is limited by the fact that only non‐complex jobs, and only women, were included in the study. Future research should attempt to replicate these results with a wider variety of jobs, as well as with the inclusion of men in their samples. Practical implications – To ensure fairness, managers should examine effects of employee race on selection procedure validity when feasible. Social implications – Employers have a moral as well as a legal obligation to ensure the fairness of their employee selection procedures. They should ensure that all of their selection procedures are free from differential validity based upon race, as well as other demographic variables (gender, age, disability, etc.). Originality/value – This is the first study to examine effects of race on selection procedure validity over an extended period of time.