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Hiring

Legal compliance starts at the very beginning—with hiring

01/05/2010

Protecting yourself and your organization from lawsuits starts the minute you decide to hire someone. Potential lawsuit land mines line your path. To stay out of court, build your hiring process around these principles:

Employment Contracts

01/03/2010

HR Law 101: Some employers and employees choose to enter into an employment contract. Usually the worker is seeking job security, while the company wants to protect its trade secrets and sales territories. However, if you sign an employment contract, you may find that you’ve given away more than you bargained for …

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

01/01/2010

HR Law 101: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), signed into law in May 2008, prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against job applicants or employees based on their genetic information in hiring, firing, compensation or any other terms of employment.

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 …