Hiring

Lesson from the court: Never disclose former employees’ medical info

08/20/2010

“Hi, this is Mike from XYZ Company. I’d like to ask you a few questions about a former employee whom you used to manage.” At some point in managers’ careers, they’ll receive such a phone call from an ex-employee’s prospective employer. Be careful: One simple mistake in your response could trigger an expensive lawsuit. Remember: Never disclose medical information about former employees.

TSA’s new recruiting strategy: pepperoni, mushrooms

08/19/2010

Transportation Security Administration job ads let potential hires know the federal agency offers “a career where X-ray vision and federal benefits come standard.” Lately, it’s letting them know it on pizza boxes. The agency has started paying to post want ads on pizza boxes all around the D.C. metropolitan area in an effort to reach more applicants.

Do we have new public works hiring rules?

08/18/2010

Q. What are the new hiring preference requirements on Illinois public works projects?

Hiring MS Word experts? Look ‘inside’ the résumé

08/18/2010

When hiring people who tout themselves as Microsoft Word “experts,” here’s a way to see if they really know how to use the software: Ask them to send the résumé in Word format, then simply click the Show/Hide button. It can reveal telltale signs of rookie moves.

Race bias: Do the math … or the EEOC will do it for you

08/16/2010

I keep warning readers about the “new” EEOC and how it’s getting much more aggressive. The agency is keeping more cases, rather than issuing “right to sue” letters. It’s securing smaller settlements, but in greater volume. Now, a new court ruling just gave the EEOC even more powerful ammunition to use against your company if it’s accused of discrimination …

Ensure your hiring process is rational, clear

08/12/2010

If you can’t explain how you select candidates or why you hired one applicant instead of another, get ready for court! However, there’s a simple, two-step way to keep from being sued: 1. Create a hiring process that makes sense. 2. Follow it rigorously.

6 ways to engage workers as outlook brightens

08/11/2010

In a Robert Half International survey, employees rated “working for a stable company” and “having a strong sense of job security” as the two most important factors about their work situation. Robert Half District President Brett Good suggests that organizations should leverage that new desire for stability during the hiring process. Here are six ideas from the survey that might work for you:

Cooler ICE: Feds take different approach to verification

08/10/2010

Every employee needs a Form I-9 on file to establish his or her identity and legal work status. Now the Obama administration is pushing hard to get employers to adopt the online E-Verify employment eligibility verification system. Learn what this shift means for your HR shop.

Give hiring managers a ‘cheat sheet’ on benefits

08/10/2010

“Communications don’t have to come from benefits people to raise concerns about company benefit liability,” says Pamela Perdue, a benefits attorney with Summers Compton & Wells in St. Louis. For that reason, Perdue suggests employers give their hiring managers a “cheat sheet” to reference when talking about company benefits.

Supreme Court expands time to sue over policies with disparate impact

08/06/2010

There may be a ticking time bomb lurking in your employment policies and practices. It may go off at any time, when you least expect it. During its most recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers can be held liable upon the use of employment practices that have a disparate impact on employees, no matter how long ago the challenged practice was adopted.