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Utah staff describes ASAP hiring pathway for people with disabilities
Summary
A State of Utah staff member explained the Alternative State Application Program (ASAP), which lets hiring managers place applicants with disabilities into a separate interview pool or bypass competitive hiring; the staffer said applicant disability information remains confidential.
An unidentified staff member for the State of Utah described the Alternative State Application Program, or ASAP, as a hiring pathway the state uses to help people with disabilities enter state employment. The staff member said ASAP allows hiring managers to either move a candidate into a separate interview pool or remove the competitive process so the ASAP candidate interviews alone.
"The alternative state application program or oftentimes known as ASAP is a program that's utilized by the state of Utah as a hiring pathway to help people with disabilities to enter the workforce with ease," the staff member said. The staff member said positions posted under ASAP in the past year have included roles "like environmental scientists, administrative roles," among others.
The staff member explained two options available to hiring managers who accept an ASAP candidate: "to bump that individual who has a disability to the interview pool, which automatically gives them additional opportunity," or to "remove the competitive process from hiring, meaning that the ASAP candidate would not need to interview in competition with other candidates." The staff member added that a hiring manager may interview an ASAP candidate while the job posting remains open to other applicants.
On confidentiality, the staff member said applicants who request ASAP consideration are kept anonymous to hiring managers: "they're kept completely confidential." The staff member said disability documentation is not shared with hiring managers and that the program helps the state "serve people with disabilities and be a model employer while also allowing us to fill the jobs that we need."
This explanation was presented as information about the program; no formal legislative action, vote, or policy change was recorded during the remarks. The presentation focused on how hiring managers may use ASAP as an alternative hiring pathway and on program features including candidate confidentiality and potential benefits such as reduced turnover when hiring managers make an effort to employ people with disabilities.
For employers and applicants, the staff member's remarks emphasize two operational points: (1) ASAP can place an applicant into a separate interview pool or permit a noncompetitive interview, and (2) disability details are not disclosed to hiring managers under the process described.
