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Hiring

Keep ‘Customer Preference’ Out of Your Hiring Criteria

02/01/2006

Make sure your hiring managers understand that basing hiring decisions on the prejudices of your customer base is a sure way to land in court. Applicants’ race, age, sex or religion should always be irrelevant. Courts won’t be swayed by claims that customer preferences forced your hiring hand …

Hiring licensed applicants? Check for violations that revoke the license

02/01/2006

When hiring people who need to possess certain licenses, make sure you do more than just check that the applicant holds the license. Your application process should include a background check into any violations that could lead to a license revocation …

 

Increase your value by helping to spot rising managers

02/01/2006

Your unique vantage point in HR equips you to identify managers with the potential to become company leaders. By sharing your insights with top execs, you’ll help build organizational excellence and make yourself more valuable. Use these tips to alert top execs to possible future leaders they might be missing …

Study multiple reviews to identify best HR tech products

02/01/2006

Each year, several respected organizations rate the top HR technology, software and Web-based products. But it’s difficult to know which products are best because no two rating systems are the same, and they’re often contradictory …

Use ‘Mini-Med’ Benefits to Cut Costs, Help Retain Staff

02/01/2006

Soaring health costs are forcing many small firms to shift more cost burden to employees or drop coverage. But be aware that many companies are taking a third option: offering a limited medical health insurance plan (or "mini med") that provides bare-bones health coverage …

Make sure your physical tests gauge realistic demands of the job

02/01/2006

Any tests you use to screen applicants should relate to the job, and you must be prepared to prove that they do. If you can’t and a protected group of workers (e.g., women, minorities) tend to score poorly, you’re just asking for a lawsuit …

Don’t guess about a worker’s condition; test and inquire

02/01/2006

If you treat employees as if they’re disabled, they’ll garner ADA protections even if they’re healthy as horses. Wait for skills testing and medical results to determine an employee’s condition; don’t make snap judgments …

Female worker replaced by a female may still pursue sex bias case

01/01/2006

You may think that your organization is immune from a sex discrimination lawsuit if you hire a female employee to replace a fired female. But such "free passes" don’t automatically exist … and your supervisors should know it …

Alert Supervisors to Little-Known Association-Bias Law

01/01/2006

By now, your supervisors know it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of his or her disability. But do they also know about a less obvious part of the ADA that makes it illegal to discriminate against people because they have an association with a person who has a disability? …

You may be liable for wage claims from contractor’s illegal workers

01/01/2006

You might think outsourcing jobs to an independent contractor saves money. But if you insist on exercising any significant control over how, when and where independent contractors do their job, you may end up paying dearly in the end if your organization is deemed the true employer …