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If you have trouble understanding your potential liability under federal hiring laws, you aren't alone. So do the judges who interpret them. In March, another court -- the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco -- resolved a previous conflict and ruled that employers may be liable for unintentional job bias under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even if they based their hiring decisions on supposedly "objective" job criteria. This is obviously a crucial point, which the 12 federal appeals courts don't agree on. So, for now, your potential liability depends on your location.

Sooner or later, the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve the issue. Until then, employers should tread carefully. First, "look at your labor market, look at your hiring, and be aware that statistics are of the utmost importance," says Douglas M. Duncan, the Seattle lawyer who represented the company in the Ninth Circuit case. If the proportion of minority group members in your company is out of line with the available applicant pool for certain jobs, you may be vulnerable to a lawsuit. "Then look to see if your hiring practices are justifiable," says Duncan. "It's important that the qualifications you require are well matched to the job."