How fair can employers be?

In this article we examine three concepts of fairness in employment decisions. Two of these concepts are widely known in the literature as “Fairness 1” and “Fairness 2. The third concept, which we refer to as “Fairness 0”, is defined and introduced here. Fairness 0 applies to the hiring stage, whereas Fairness 1 and Fairness 2 apply to the placement or promotion stages of employment. Our results have important policy implications. We show that the three concepts of fairness can only rarely be achieved simultaneously.