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Hiring

Better writers make better hires

12/21/2010

How do you decide between two equally worthy candidates? When in doubt, hire the person with the best writing skills, says Kris Dunn, chief human resources officer for Kinetix and author of “The HR Capitalist” blog. Here’s why.

Pennsylvania’s business climate rated largely favorable

12/21/2010

Pennsylvania has the third-best business climate north of the Mason-Dixon Line and the 12th best in the nation, according to Site Selection magazine. Only Ohio and Indiana ranked higher among Northern states.

Terminated employees staging protest? Consider suing to force them to stop

12/21/2010
Here’s a bit of good news for employers that must terminate some of their employees because the IRS says their Social Security numbers are invalid. If they stage an unfair protest against their firings, you can sue them to stop.

EEOC’s final GINA regs emphasize employee notification

12/21/2010
The EEOC has issued final regulations implementing the employment provisions of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), clarifying employer compliance issues and offering model language to help employees understand their rights under the law.

Is a policy still a policy if it’s not in writing?

12/15/2010

Will a court acknowledge a company “policy” that doesn’t exist on paper? One court recently did—even though the policy wasn’t written anywhere—because the policy was being followed by all managers. Still, when in doubt, it’s best to write it out.

At hiring meetings, think like a consultant

12/15/2010

When new positions open up, HR professionals often meet with hiring managers to gather information about the job and develop hiring strategies. The problem: Too many HR pros take the wrong approach—a passive “order taking” approach—to these intake meetings. Instead, it’s wiser—for the organization’s success and the HR professional’s reputation—for HR to take a consultative approach to these meetings.

Florida’s business climate a relatively sunny 14th best

12/13/2010
Florida has the nation’s 14th best business climate, according to Site Selection magazine. Florida finished sixth in the executive survey of overall business climate and 11th in 2010 new plant rankings. The state finished 31st in overall competitiveness, and 40th in new plants per million residents.

Better writers make better hires

12/10/2010

How do you decide between two equally worthy candidates? When in doubt, hire the person with the best writing skills, says Kris Dunn, VP of People for software firm DAXKO and author of “The HR Capitalist” blog. Here’s why:

Are government workers protected against bias based on marital status? 7th Circuit passes

12/09/2010

Public employees have rights that private-sector employees don’t, including exercising constitutional rights like free speech and due process. That’s because constitutional rights apply to government actions. But do public employees enjoy the right to be free from retaliation based on marital association? Faced with that question, the 7th Circuit recently punted.

What should we know about running credit checks on job applicants?

12/09/2010
Q. Our company is hiring a new finance director and we’re planning to do credit checks on serious job candidates. Are there any legal issues that we should be aware of?