• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Hiring

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.

Richardson to gain jobs thanks to Texas Enterprise Fund

05/02/2011
Texas is investing $2.45 million to bring 434 jobs to Richardson, as part of the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF), a program designed to attract new businesses to set up shop in the state and create new jobs.

Applicant has filed for bankruptcy? Private employers can refuse to hire because of it

05/02/2011

In tough economic times, people who lose their jobs often have to file for bankruptcy. But some employers frown on bankruptcy and don’t want to hire someone who can’t pay his or her bills. Now the 5th Circuit Court of Ap­­­­peals has ruled that a private employer is free to turn down an applicant because he or she filed for bankruptcy.

Members of protected group flunk job test? Make sure bosses aren’t manipulating system

05/02/2011
If your pool of qualified applicants is demographically significantly different than your hires, there may be trouble afoot. Don’t count on pre-­employment job tests to automatically create fair hiring. If a quick internal audit shows that particular departments or managers have considered but not hired members of a protected class, you may want to look at whether the testing is being handled properly.

Carefully track who applied for which positions

05/02/2011

If applicants believe an employer discriminates, they may be reluctant to even apply for a job, thinking it’s inevitable they will be passed over. That doesn’t mean they’ll hesitate to go ahead and sue anyway. However, smart employers that let everyone know what jobs are open and how to apply will probably win those cases.

New bill would ban job bias based on unemployment status

04/22/2011
New Jersey this year became the first state to pass a law that forbids employers from requiring job applicants to be currently employed. Now legislation introduced in Congress—the Fair Employment Act of 2011—would amend Title VII to add “unemployed status” to the list of categories protected from job discrimination.

Are there any legal issues to consider now that we’re hiring only ‘careful’ workers?

04/20/2011
Q. Recently, several employees suffered work-related injuries shortly after we hired them. As a result, our workers’ compensation premiums have soared. The company’s CEO, in an effort to avoid this problem, has directed us to hire only “careful” workers in the future. Is this legal?

What can we ask job applicants? We want to make sure they can physically perform the work

04/20/2011
Q. We are looking to hire several new workers in our receiving department. The job will require lifting heavy boxes. Can we ask applicants about any current medical conditions or disabilities that would prevent them from doing so? Can we ask applicants to pass a physical test to see if they can fulfill the requisite job duties?

Weed out substance abuse with ‘one-strike’ rule

04/20/2011
Many employers have adopted strict drug and alcohol testing programs for all new hires—and strictly bar employment of anyone who tests positive. Now the 9th Circuit has ruled that applying the rule to a recovering addict is legal unless that addict can somehow prove that the rule discriminates against a class of disabled individuals—namely, recovering addicts.