Hiring

Post all open positions to avoid litigation

07/13/2010

Here’s an easy way to prevent a failure-to-hire lawsuit: Routinely advertise all open positions and let employees and applicants know how to look for opportunities. Otherwise, you could be sued by an employee or potential applicant, alleging that she would have applied if she had only known about the opening.

Are we eligible for new state job tax credits?

07/09/2010

Q. Our company wants to apply for tax credits under Illinois Senate Bill 1578. How do we know if we’re eligible?

Don’t ask for unlimited medical exam consent

07/08/2010

Under the ADA, medical exams are allowed only if needed to determine whether an employee requires a reasonable accommodation or if the employer believes the employee will be unable to safely perform the job. But can employers require employees to agree to more extensive medical examinations as a condition of employment? Probably not.

10 ways to ‘green’ your employee benefits

07/07/2010

Vouchers for compact fluorescent light bulbs and rooftop solar panels have taken their place next to health insurance and flextime as popular employee benefits. Young job-seekers want to work for socially responsible, environmentally friendly companies. That’s one reason more companies have begun offering “green” employee benefits.

DOJ grant to fight employment bias along Mexican border

07/02/2010

Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, who represents the 15th District of Texas in Congress, recently announced that the Justice Department has awarded $59,546 to fund a project aimed at reducing employment discrimination against Texans authorized to work in the United States regardless of their national origin.

New worry: ‘Mob’ charges for hiring illegals

07/01/2010

The immigration law landscape keeps changing, and employers must keep up. Even employees who are in the United States illegally can sue you for unpaid overtime. Now you also have to be aware of another risk: Clever attorneys have begun filing RICO Act lawsuits, alleging that some employers are essentially running “mob” operations by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

Don’t waste your online recruiting budget: Ask right questions to choose best job sites

06/29/2010

Replacing employees is costly enough without frittering away your recruiting dollars on advertising that either doesn’t reach the desired candidates or results in bad hires. Too many employers take a shotgun approach, placing ads on several sites without obtaining data to help make the right choice. To get the best value for your ad dollars, ask job-board sales reps these questions:

N.C. woman has bone to pick with Perdue

06/28/2010

Audrey Sheftall and her granddaughter both applied for jobs at Perdue Farms’ Lewiston facility on the same day. Perdue hired the granddaughter, but not the 66-year-old Sheftall. Sheftall complained to the EEOC that Perdue had discriminated against her because she was no longer—ahem—a spring chicken.

Workers ‘illegal’? You still have to pay them correctly

06/28/2010

Employers can’t use an employee’s undocumented status as an excuse for not paying minimum wage or overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as the following case shows.

How can I do a better job of screening applicants?

06/24/2010

Q. I constantly run into this problem: I prescreen a candidate who seems like a perfect fit for the job description. But when I send the person to the hiring manager for an interview, I’m told to keep looking for someone better. This is frustrating to the managers, the applicants and me. Any suggestions on how I can improve my screening?