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Hiring

365-day virtual job fair aims to attract veterans

08/30/2011
Houston-based Waste Management drew 739 military personnel and spouses in two hours during a virtual career day this summer—and it’s not over. The firm is experi­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ment­ing with a “perpetual online career fair” that will stay “open” year-round in its effort to recruit active-duty personnel, veterans and military spouses.

Hershey hit with protests by immigrant temp workers

08/23/2011
The students thought they were signing up for a cultural exchange program in which they would travel to Pennsylvania to work and experience life in Hershey. Instead they ended up working in warehouses preparing Hershey products for shipping. Along with members of the AFL-CIO, they recently protested outside the warehouse facilities.

What is Philadelphia’s law on requesting info on applicants’ criminal records?

08/23/2011
Q. Our company has an office in Philadelphia. Can we ask about an applicant’s criminal and arrest record when recruiting employees to work there?

State settles with feds over police promotion tests

08/23/2011

The New Jersey Civil Service Com­­mission has settled a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice concerning its promotion practices for police sergeants. The DOJ alleged the state’s method of scoring and using written examinations had a disparate impact on black and Hispanic officers in violation of Title VII.

Common sense prevails: Simply belonging to protected class doesn’t justify bias lawsuit

08/23/2011
Good news if you have ever worried about a lawsuit from an employee who was passed over for a promotion in favor of someone outside the employee’s protected class. While it’s impossible to guarantee you will never be sued, courts generally look favorably on properly run, fair hiring and promotion processes.

That’s not a contract! Feel free to make hiring contingent on passing background check

08/23/2011

It’s common to tell a job applicant he’s hired—as long as a background check doesn’t reveal anything that would disqualify him. But some applicants think such an offer creates a contractual relationship. Under most circumstances, it doesn’t.

Experience isn’t the only valid job qualification

08/23/2011

The job candidate with the most experience might also be the oldest applicant. But that doesn’t mean you always have to pick him. You can use other factors as long as none of them hints at age discrimination. The key is to maintain impeccable records showing how and why you chose the candidate you did.

The price of a poorly worded want ad: a cool $1 million

08/23/2011
“Recent college graduates” in their “early 20s and 30s” is how ­Cavalier Telephone described—both orally and in writing—their preference for sales candidates. This overt age bias brought the wrath of the EEOC.

Words that win: 4 nontraditional job interview questions

08/17/2011

Filling a job opening can be tricky if there are several great candidates. You can separate the best from the rest by changing up the usual interview questions. Here are four nontraditional job interview questions to elicit answers that will help you assess candidates on a different level.

Photo Matching and E-Verify?

08/10/2011
Question: If an employee provides an I-9 document that’s subject to photo matching in E-Verify, can an employer ask or require the employee to provide a copy of the document to use during the E-Verify process?