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Hiring

Court: Applicants must apply first before they sue for hiring discrimination

11/28/2011
Some workers file hiring-bias lawsuits before they bother submitting an application or telling any­one they’re interested in a promotion. Fortunately, they rarely win. Absent some direct evidence that an employer routinely rejects applications of a protected class, failure to complete an application or express interest in a promotion bars such a lawsuit.

Can we require credit reports for applicants?

11/18/2011
Q. Is it legal to institute a policy requiring all new hires to submit to a consumer credit report?

Suit: Marion mining company snubs female applicants

11/16/2011
Marion-based Mach Mining faces charges it has refused to hire women for coal mining positions since it began operating in 2006. According to the EEOC, several well-qualified female applicants have applied for positions at the mine, but none have been hired.

Which of the following issues requires the most work on your part?

11/15/2011
Handling benefits and mediating workplace disputes top the list of difficult HR duties.

Talent-based interviewing: The 5 best questions

11/11/2011
Talent-based interviewing asks questions about real-life situations that are phrased in a unique way to elicit a candidate’s first (natural) response. This is a better assessment of future performance than simply checking whether the candidate has previously worked in a similar role (experience).

ACLU, TSA settle case of HIV-positive applicant

11/09/2011
The federal Transportation Security Administration has settled a lawsuit brought by the national ACLU and its Florida chapter. The ACLU filed an administrative complaint on behalf of an HIV-positive Air Force veteran who was rejected for a job as a transportation security officer because of his HIV status.

You’re hired! Oh, you’re pregnant? You’re fired!

11/09/2011
Capri Healthcare in Clearwater is being sued following an EEOC complaint that it rescinded a job offer as soon as it found out its new employee was pregnant.

Can we refuse to consider rehiring a job applicant who we previously terminated?

11/09/2011
Q. We are a larger company. I noticed that an applicant for a position within one of our branches was previously employed and let go by another division. Would it be discriminatory to decline interviewing a candidate for this reason?

What are the risks of using pre-employment tests?

11/09/2011
Q. We’re considering using an online pre-employment screening test designed to determine if an applicant is the right fit for our business. Are there any risks associated with using such tests?

Employee or independent contractor? Get it right

11/09/2011
Recently, the IRS unveiled a new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program, which allows eligible taxpayer employers to voluntarily reclassify workers as employees for federal employment tax purposes. The program features partial amnesty for past misclassifications. Even so, the recent government crackdown on worker misclassification continues to cause significant risk for employers.