• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Hiring

Can I convert part-timers to contractors?

02/26/2009

Q. Payroll taxes are hurting our bottom line. May I convert part-time bookkeepers to "1099" employees?

2 N.C. companies make Fortune ‘best to work for’ list

02/26/2009

Two companies headquartered in North Carolina have made Fortune magazine’s 2009 “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. The two, both headquartered in Cary, are engineering firm Kimley-Horn & Associates and software giant SAS.

Pharmacies may ask about past drug convictions, despite California law

02/24/2009

The California Labor Code prohibits potential employers from asking about marijuana possession convictions more than two years old. But sometimes, federal law overrides state law—and that’s the case for employers that are hiring potential employees to work in pharmacies.

OC Register settles independent contractor suit for $22 million

02/24/2009

The Orange County Register recently agreed to pay $22 million to settle a class action brought by its paper carriers, who claimed the newspaper misclassified them as independent contractors rather than employees. The settlement will bring to an end a two-month trial against the newspaper.

Can telling applicant he’s ‘overqualified’ trigger a lawsuit?

02/24/2009

If you’re like lots of employers, you’ve probably been inundated with résumés from desperate people applying for anything that resembles a job. Many of them have far more experience and education than you need. They’re "overqualified." Do you dare tell them so?

Can we hire only ‘careful’ workers to reduce our workers’ comp costs?

02/24/2009

Q. Several recent hires have suffered work-related injuries shortly after beginning their employment. As a result, our workers’ compensation premiums have soared. The company’s CEO, in an effort to avoid this problem, has directed that only “careful” workers be hired in the future. Is this legal?

Jersey City Rastafarian shaves $10,000 off UPS

02/24/2009

A federal jury in Trenton has awarded $10,000 to a man denied a job at UPS because he refused to shave off his one-inch beard. Roniss Mason of Jersey City claimed shaving violated his Rastafarian religious beliefs and filed a complaint with the EEOC.

Lost in MySpace: Know the law before searching web for applicant info

02/24/2009

Many of the millions who post information online never think a potential employer might read what they post. Meanwhile, employers believe that if the information is available online for the viewing, they have an obligation to look. However, several laws may restrict how you conduct the search or how you use the information.

Personal information on work computers: No expectation of privacy

02/24/2009

A New Jersey appeals court has held for the first time that an employee has no reasonable expectation that personal information stored on work computers is private—even if the employee has created a separate password to protect the information. Employers have the right to search work computers.

15 California firms make Fortune ‘best to work for’ list

02/24/2009

Fifteen companies headquartered in California have made the 2009 Fortune magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Why did so many California companies make the list? Great benefits seem to be the reason.