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Hiring

North Carolina again ranked as top business ‘go-to’ state

12/24/2009

Site Selection magazine—whose readers decide where to locate new corporate facilities—has ranked North Carolina as having the top business climate in the nation for the fifth year in a row. Texas was the runner-up, with Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama rounding out the top seven.

To what extent can we use electronic systems to store I-9s and other personnel documents?

12/23/2009

Q. I understand that I-9 forms can now be stored electronically. To save on office space and filing time, our department is considering scanning and electronically filing all personnel files and documents. Is this OK?

Lawry’s Restaurants agrees to settle gender bias claims

12/22/2009

Lawry’s Restaurants recently agreed to settle a gender discrimination class action alleging that the chain hired only women for its food server positions. The EEOC filed the suit after Lawry’s Las Vegas restaurant refused to accept a male busboy’s application for an opening as a food server.

New employee not working out? Have hiring manager handle the firing

12/09/2009

Sometimes, you have to take a chance on a job applicant because the candidate pool isn’t filled with as much talent as you would like. Everyone knows picking a marginal candidate can turn out to be a mistake. If you find you have to terminate such an employee, have the same person who made the hiring decision also make the termination decision. That reduces the chance of a costly discrimination lawsuit …

During the hiring process, when is it OK to ask about disabilities?

12/09/2009

Q. Are there any circumstances where an employer can justify considering a prospective employee’s disability in making hiring decisions?

This winter’s forecast: ICE

12/09/2009

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be conducting I-9 audits of employers performing work on “critical infrastructure” over the winter months. About 1,000 employers—mainly in defense- and law enforcement-related industries—are being targeted for the audits. The new audit crackdown may be a sign of things to come.

Construction firm flagged for sex bias settles for $300,000

12/08/2009

Lisa Drozdowski worked as a flagger for Danella Construction, which operates in 10 states, including Ohio. She was often asked to help laborers perform other tasks on the job site. But when she applied for a laborer position, which pays better, she was told the company did not hire women as laborers. Drozdowski filed a complaint with the EEOC …

What are the pros and cons of doing Google searches on job applicants?

12/08/2009

Q. Currently, we don’t do any background investigations on job applicants. I’m considering instituting an informal background-screening program, whereby my HR director would conduct a Google search for every job applicant, in addition to looking at any Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace pages. I can’t imagine there’s any legal risk in researching information that is already publicly available on the Internet, right?

Have those who do the hiring also do the firing

12/04/2009

Here’s one of the easiest ways to reduce your chances of losing a race discrimination lawsuit: Make sure the same person or group who chose to hire an employee in the first place also makes the decision to terminate her. That makes it much harder for the employee to show she was fired for a discriminatory reason.

Can we make employees or applicants pay for medical examinations?

12/04/2009

Q. Under what circumstances, if any, can an employer require an applicant or employee to pay for his or her own medical or physical examination?