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Hiring

New state program attracting business to New Jersey

09/28/2011
When Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno set out to create the state’s Business Action Center, the aim was to attract as many quality employers to New Jersey as possible. That strategy seems to be bearing fruit.

Internships aren’t ‘free labor’ if they violate the FLSA

09/27/2011
Hard times have forced older workers to try the intern option. Fearing that employers shun applicants with long, unexplained career gaps, ambitious but unemployed people are opting for unpaid internships. But before you get carried away by the prospect of marvelous production for virtually no cost, let’s have a reality check.

Perks persist in high-tech markets

09/27/2011
It’s 1999 all over again for at least some in-demand job candidates and employees: those with IT expertise. Companies looking to lure candidates are offering unusually generous inducements and perks. Who’s benefiting from the largesse? Cloud computing engineers, data security experts, mobile app developers and tech sales people.

Interview questions: What’s legal, what’s not?

09/26/2011

Conducting job interviews is one of the most legally dangerous tasks performed by managers. One misguided question could cause an applicant to think he or she was re­­­­jected due to one of the federally pr­o­­tected categories. Take this hiring quiz to see if you know which questions are legal and which are not:  

Failure to offer drug test option prompts ADA lawsuit

09/23/2011
The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against G2 Secure Staff, a staffing company with offices in Raleigh, for failure to accommodate a disabled applicant.

P&G facility to be staffed with disabled employees

09/22/2011
Procter & Gamble has opened a new packaging customization facility at its Auburn, Maine, plant, which is hiring 60 employees with physical and developmental challenges, as well as disabled veterans.

Can we refuse to hire the long-term unemployed?

09/20/2011
Q. We are inundated with applications for the few open positions we have. Many are from applicants who’ve been out of work for over a year. Can we exclude them automatically or do we have to come up with a specific reason—such as stale skills—for each one we reject?

Does the FCRA cover private eyes looking into workers’ comp fraud?

09/16/2011
Q. We suspect that one of our employees has filed a fraudulent workers’ compensation claim. We would like to hire a private investigator to gather information on his activities. By doing so, are we subject to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

Immigrant status counts in failure-to-hire cases

09/16/2011
It’s illegal for employers to use em­­ployees’ undocumented status as an excuse to avoid paying the minimum wage and overtime. But that’s not true in failure-to-hire cases—because if an applicant isn’t authorized to work, the em­­ployer couldn’t hire the worker at all.

Reducing workers’ comp costs: A pre-hire test

09/16/2011
When hiring, you’re always looking for clues to identify high-quality candidates. What if you could predict the person’s future workers’ comp costs?