Candidate Privacy

ACS Candidate Privacy Statement

Last Updated: June 20, 2024

The American Chemical Society is committed to the responsible management, use, and protection of personal information. This ACS Candidate Privacy Statement (the “Privacy Statement”) describes our practices in connection with the information that the American Chemical Society, located in the United States of America, or other affiliated divisions and organizations of the American Chemical Society (collectively referred to in this Privacy Statement as “ACS”, “we”, or “us”), collect about you both online and offline in connection with your job application and future career opportunities at ACS. Related website pages from which you may be accessing this Privacy Statement are collectively referred to in this Privacy Statement as “Jobs at ACS site.”  Your use of the information on this Jobs at ACS site is subject to the terms of our Terms of Use. Personal information submitted elsewhere on ACS’s and its affiliated divisions and organizations’ web sites will be used in accordance with our general online Privacy Policy.

Personal Information We Collect

Information You Provide

We collect personal information from you in connection with your job application, communication, and future opportunities at ACS.

Information we collect includes:

• Contact Information: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and other contact information.
• Application Materials: CV, resumé, and cover letter.
• Experience: previous work, practical and other relevant experience.
• Education: education, including level, type, subject-matter, degrees, diplomas and certificates, and institutions.
• Position of Interest: positions, roles and opportunities of interest, and if applicable, position offered.
• Skills: skills, languages, and other competencies.
• Certifications: professional and other work-related licenses, permits and certifications held.
• Reference Details: information you provide relating to references.
• Online Account Information: username and password to access the Jobs at ACS site, application identifiers, and IP address and device identifiers that may be automatically collected.
• Communication Preferences: preferred communication method and language.
• Event Information: dietary restrictions, travel and accommodation details, government-issued identification to access one of our physical premises, and other details specific to a particular recruiting interview, meeting or other event.
• Work Authorization: work authorization status and relevant visa or other immigration information.
• Conflict Check Information: information on personal relationships and external board memberships to non-ACS companies, appointments, roles and other information that may present a potential conflict of interest with ACS, only when requested.
• Other Information: any other information you otherwise elect to provide to use (e.g., employment preferences, willingness to relocate, current salary, desired salary, awards or professional memberships).

As allowed by applicable law, we may ask questions about your race/ethnic origin, gender, and disability (“Diversity Information”), for the monitoring of equal employment opportunity. We may also inquire about criminal records (“Criminal Records”) following a conditional offer of employment, where permitted by applicable law. We will do so only where permitted by applicable law. Otherwise, we ask that you avoid submitting information which may qualify as sensitive information under applicable law, except where such information is legally required. Sensitive information includes race, religion, ethnicity, nationality or national origin, age, gender identity, sex life or practices or sexual orientation, marital status, medical or health information (including disability status), genetic or biometric information, biometric templates, political or philosophical beliefs, political party or trade union membership, veteran status, background check information, judicial data such as criminal records or information on other judicial or administrative proceedings.

Any information you submit through the Jobs at ACS site or which you otherwise share with ACS must be true, complete, and not misleading. Purposely submitting inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information may lead to rejection of your application during the application process or, if identified after employed with ACS, disciplinary action including immediate termination of employment. In addition, it is your responsibility to ensure that information you submit does not violate any other person’s rights.

If you provide us with personal information of a reference or any other individual as part of your application, it is your responsibility to obtain consent from that individual prior to providing the information to us. By providing personal information of another individual, you are affirming that you have obtained such consent.

Information from Other Sources

For the purpose of background check reports in connection with your application, and as permitted by applicable law and/or with your consent, ACS will obtain information about you from other sources.

These sources may include:

• References: details about work experience, education, skills, character and other information or otherwise from identified references and prior employers (may be in writing or through a phone call).
• Educational Records: transcripts, diplomas, degrees or certifications received, and letters of attendance or verification from educational or vocational institutions attended.
• Credentials: credentialing, licensing and debarment status.

Reasons We Collect This Information

We collect and process information about you for one or more of these reasons:

• Because you voluntarily provide this information and consent for us to process it.
• Because this information is necessary to take steps with respect to your candidacy at your request prior to your employment.
• Because this information is of particular importance to us, and we have a specific legitimate interest under law to process it.
• To comply with a legal obligation; or
• Where necessary to protect the vital interests of you or any person.

Where the collection or processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time, to the extent permitted by applicable law, by contacting us as indicated on the “Contact Us” section as provided below.

The following chart contains more detailed information about how we use your personal information and the legal bases for such use.

With your consent, the information about you will be added to our jobs system(s) or database(s) and may be retained, as specified below, and used to consider you for opportunities at ACS other than the one(s) for which you apply. We may contact you by email or by phone about other opportunities that may be aligned with our needs and your interests. We may also send you general talent acquisition communications that may be of interest to you.

If we hire you, personal information we collect in connection with your application may be incorporated into our human resources system and used to manage the new-hire process. Any such information can become part of your employee file and used for other employment-related purposes.

Providing personal information to us is voluntary, but necessary for the recruiting process. Consistent with applicable law, if you do not provide sufficient information, the ACS division or affiliate considering you for the hiring process may be unable to consider your employment application or, if you are hired, your subsequent promotion, transfer or relocation.

Disclosure and Transfer of Information

ACS shares personal information with our affiliated divisions and organizations in other jurisdictions that are involved in evaluating candidates for a given position. ACS will remain responsible for personal information that is jointly used with affiliates.

We will limit access to personal information to personnel with a business need to know the information for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement, including personnel in the recruiting, human resources, and information technology departments, and in the group or department responsible for the position for which you are applying.

ACS also shares personal information with our third-party service providers to facilitate services they provide to us, including hosting and operating the Jobs at ACS site, recruiting assistance (e.g., search firms, contract recruiters, etc.), background check processing, and other software providers.

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information, including sensitive personal information, to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen. Please be aware that you can manage the content of your job profile or job application at any time by logging in and making changes.

Your personal information may be transferred to any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, including the United States, which may have data protection rules that are different from those of your country. In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies, or security authorities in those other countries may be entitled to access your personal information.

For example, if you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom (UK), your personal information may be transferred to countries outside the EEA or the UK. Some of the non-EEA and non-UK countries are recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of protection according to EEA standards (the full list of these countries is available here and here). For transfers to other countries, we have put in place adequate measures to protect your personal information.

You may contact us at privacy@acs.org if you have questions about the interpretation or operation of this notice. You may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority for your country  or region, if appliable.

Other Uses and Disclosure of Information

We also use and disclose your personal information as necessary or appropriate, especially when we have a legal obligation or legitimate interest to do so:

• To comply with applicable law. This can include laws outside your country of residence.
• To respond to requests from public and government authorities. These can include authorities outside your country of residence.
• To cooperate with law enforcement. For example, when we receive law enforcement requests and orders.
• For other legal reasons. To enforce our terms and conditions; and
  To protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you or others.
• In connection with a sale or business transaction. We have a legitimate interest in disclosing or transferring your personal information to a third party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of our business or assets (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
  

Data Retention

We will retain personal information for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods are: (i) the duration of the application process; (ii) the period of time that we have an ongoing relationship with you; (iii) as required by a legal obligation to which we are subject; and (iv) as advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard of applicable statutes of limitations, litigation, or regulatory investigations).

We may remove personal information from our database, subject to any applicable legal or regulatory obligations. Furthermore, ACS can delete personal information about you (including your CV/résumé) from our database at any time and without providing any reason. Therefore, please retain your own copy of the personal information provided to us.

Passive Information Collection: Cookies and Similar Technology

We are our service providers use “cookies” and similar technologies on the Jobs at ACS site. Please see our Cookies Policy and/or our Privacy Policy for more information.

Choices and Access

If you register on the Jobs at ACS site, you may access, review, and change your personal information stored therein by logging into the site and updating your account information. The updated profile will be used as the default the next time you apply for a job using your account online. To change personal information that you have already submitted for consideration for a specific position, please update your profile and resubmit your application for that position. We encourage you to promptly update your personal information if it changes or is inaccurate.

If you would like to request to review, correct, update, suppress, restrict or delete your personal information, object to the processing of your personal information, or if you would like to request to receive an electronic copy of your personal information for purposes of transmitting it to another company (to the extent this right to data portability is provided to you by applicable law), you may contact us as indicated below in the “Contact Us” section. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law.

For your protection, we only implement requests with respect to the information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. Please note that certain personal information may be exempt from such requests pursuant to applicable data protection laws or other laws and regulations. We will not unlawfully retaliate against you for making these types of requests.

Security

ACS will implement appropriate administrative, physical, and technical measures to protect personal information consistent with applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations. When ACS retains a third-party service provider to store or process personal information, that provider will be assessed for their ability to meet industry standard security measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the personal information.

Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us in accordance with the “Contact Us” section below.

ACS hereby disclaims, as far as permitted by local laws, any liability for itself and its affiliates and contractors for any personal information we collect in connection with your application that is lost, misused, illegally accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed or not timely delivered to Jobs at ACS site.

Links to Third-Party Websites

The Jobs at ACS site may contain links to other sites. This Privacy Statement does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any website or service to which the Jobs at ACS site links. The inclusion of a link on the Jobs at ACS site does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by ACS or our affiliates. Candidates are encouraged to read the privacy policies or terms of use of those sites when accessing those sites.

Diversity

ACS is an equal opportunity employer, which means we offer equal treatment to all applicants. ACS does not discriminate, either directly or indirectly, on protected grounds: race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs or creed, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or genetic information in any area of recruitment.

Automated Processing

For certain roles, we may use automated tools to assist us in processing and evaluating job applications. These tools leverage complex algorithms and machine-learning technology to assist with the following operations.

These tools compare the information collected in connection with your application with the specific requirements and qualifications of the target role(s) in order to flag any missing qualifications and assign a ranking to your application. These rankings are then used to prioritize the review of applications and are visible to members of the recruiting team as one of several factors to consider in making decisions about whether to advance a candidate in the recruitment process.

• Minimum requirements: We use automated tools to determine whether, based on the information you have provided to us, you meet the minimum requirements for a position. For example, if the job requires three years of experience as a software developer, these tools will analyze the selections you make in forms you submit through the Jobs at ACS site and/or the words and textual patterns collected in connection with your application to determine whether this type of experience is present or not. In some cases, these automated tools may lead to the rejection of your application without any additional review by a member of our recruitment team.
• Job match ranking: We use automated tools to assign a percentage value to your application that assesses how strong the fit is between your application and the requirements of the target role. Our tools may rely on several factors in assigning these percentages, which may vary per job. For example, for certain jobs specific practical experience may be of more relevance than certifications, for others it may be the other way around. Based on the analysis, our automated tools can provide an ACS representative with an overview of candidates that are potentially qualified for the relevant position. The ACS representative will then assess these recommendations and, based on our standard processes, move the candidate forward in the recruitment process.
  

Law Applicable to Job Application

The Jobs at ACS site will allow you to apply for jobs world-wide, as a benefit of ACS’s centralized global recruitment function. The Jobs at ACS site is operated from the United States. Accordingly, any personal information you submit to the Jobs at ACS site or to ACS representatives will be processed and stored in the United States and will also be subject to U.S. laws. If we share your personal information with an affiliate located in another country in its capacity as a potential employer, the affiliate will handle your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Statement. Any hiring or other employment-related decisions will be made by the hiring affiliate in accordance with the laws of the country where the job will be located.

About Children

The Jobs at ACS site is not intended for minors in any jurisdiction. Please know that you will be required to prove you are over the age of majority in your country to continue in the talent selection process.

Current Personnel of ACS

If you currently work for ACS or one of its affiliates, you must be eligible to apply for a different position within ACS to use the Jobs at ACS site. If you accept such a position, your benefits programs and Human Resources policies may change. Please consult with HR for the new position concerning application eligibility, benefit programs, and HR policies applicable to that position.

The Jobs at ACS site is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

Changes to the Privacy Statement

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Statement at any time in order to address future developments of ACS, the Jobs at ACS site, or changes in industry or legal trends. The “Last Updated” legend at the top of this Privacy Statement indicates when this Privacy Statement was last revised. Any changes will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Statement on the Jobs at ACS site.

Contact Us

If you have questions or requests, please feel free to contact us at by mail at ACS Legal Department, 1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 or by email at privacy@acs.org.

Because email communications are not always secure, please do not include sensitive information in your emails to us.