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HR Management

The $500,000 question: Are your hiring tests legal?

04/01/2000
If you use a test to screen job applicants, make sure it isn’t unfairly blocking certain groups. Dupont used a written test for entry-level …

Don’t embellish reasons for firing

04/01/2000
When a financial services firm terminates an employee, it must file a Form U-5 outlining the reasons for the firing. While those statements have some immunity …

In-house whistle-blowers win protection

04/01/2000
Truck driving instructor Bud Barela tried to help his students “do the math” to figure out how they could earn pay and time off the company promised. But the numbers …

‘Direct threat’ no longer required to bar former substance abusers

04/01/2000
After the 1989 Valdez oil spill cost it billions of dollars, Exxon tightened its policy on recovered substance abusers. It permanently removed any employee who had been …

Failure to document disability nixes employee’s ADA protection

04/01/2000
When United Parcel Service (UPS) grounded pilot Gary Walsh, he agreed that he shouldn’t be flying. A recent car accident had affected his memory …

Labor is following through on pay-equity crackdown

04/01/2000
Sunoco Inc. is one of the latest companies caught up in the federal government’s increased enforcement of equal pay laws. The company was ordered to pay a total of $250,000 …

Keep your nose out of employees’ off-duty activities

04/01/2000
The more you consider limiting the actions of workers while they’re off the clock, the closer you step toward a lawsuit. More than half the states have laws protecting …

Reservist leave: Know workers’ rights when duty calls

04/01/2000
Forget the image of the “weekend warrior” serving one weekend a month and two weeks a year in the National Guard or Reserves. Uncle Sam wants your employees …

You must pay for all work, even if it’s not authorized

04/01/2000

Q. In the October 1999 issue, you explained that nonexempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week are entitled to overtime for all hours over 40, regardless of whether the overtime was authorized. Do we owe overtime if a nonexempt employee works more than his or her scheduled hours even if the total number of hours worked does not exceed 40? —J.P., Illinois

Don’t Ban Breast-Feeding if You Allow Baby at Work

04/01/2000

Q. Can we legally prohibit female workers from breast-feeding at work? —R.B., California