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Hiring

Are you ready for the EEOC’s enforcement crackdown?

05/11/2011
The EEOC received a record 99,922 charges in the 2010 fiscal year—the most the agency has received in its 45-year history. Given this sharp increase in charge activity, now is a good time to review your personnel policies and practices to make sure you’re taking appropriate steps to help prevent potential dis­crimination claims.

Harassment a problem in the past? That’s no excuse for not hiring women

05/11/2011

Some work environments are more prone to sexual harassment than others. That shouldn’t keep you from hiring women for positions in a largely male workplace. The answer is to educate em­ployees about harassment and then punish anyone who violates your anti-harassment policy.

Black Jacksonville firefighters sue for race bias in testing

05/11/2011
A group of black firefighters are suing the city of Jacksonville and their union, alleging that white firefighters illegally had an opportunity to view promotional tests before they were administered.

IRS ramps up HIRE correspondence audits

05/11/2011
You knew it was going to happen. With so much revenue at stake, the IRS has begun correspondence audits of employers that claimed the 6.2% Social Secur­ity credit against wages paid to new hires under the 2010 Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

Dayton: the next New Haven? Police hiring tests to be tossed

05/06/2011

Dayton officials are poised to toss out 748 passing police-hiring exam scores and conduct oral interviews to improve minority hiring for the city’s police department. At first glance, the situation in Day­­ton seems to resemble the case in Ricci v. DeStefano, a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court case. There are important differences, however.

How to improve the job candidate experience

05/06/2011
How would you grade your organization’s application process? Tracking the candidate experience can improve it and enhance your organization’s HR brand among potential applicants. First step: Solicit feedback from candidates about their experiences with recruiting, application, interviewing and web site interaction.

Bias against applicants who never apply? Ruling in case involving criminal background checks

05/04/2011

Under limited circumstances, a job applicant might be able to win a discrimination lawsuit without actually applying for a job. For example, someone could conceivably prove that it would have been be futile to even bother filling out an application. Fortunately, such cases are rare.

Double-check ID records! No-match letters are back

05/04/2011

After a three-year hiatus, the Social Security Administration has resumed sending no-match letters to employers, alerting them when em­ployees’ Social Security numbers don’t jibe with the ones in its database. While it’s unclear whether the resumption will harm employers, now is a good time to make sure your employment eligibility verification processes are in good shape.

Fill-in shows promise? That’s legit reason for hiring

05/03/2011
Sometimes, managers have to act fast to fill a position. It’s reasonable to let someone take the job temporarily. If she does well, it’s perfectly acceptable to use that performance as a reason to offer the job permanently.

Download new USCIS handbook to prepare for I-9 audits

05/02/2011
Are your I-9s in order? More and more employers are finding themselves under scrutiny from inspectors from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Employers now have a new tool to help them stay on the right side of the law.