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Hiring

Malvern’s Vanguard Group faces race discrimination suit

10/30/2009

As one of the largest investment management companies in the nation, Malvern-based Vanguard Group is used to making money, not paying it out. That could change now that the firm has been sued for racial discrimination after allegedly refusing to hire a black applicant for a high-level finance job.

Before we start background checks, should we start asking applicants for birth dates?

10/30/2009

Q. Our job application doesn’t ask for the applicant’s age or date of birth. However, we plan to start conducting background checks on job applicants we’re seriously considering. The company that will conduct the checks for us said the birth date is on all the applications they see and that it’s instrumental to conducting the checks. What should we do?

Can we demand a drug test for an employee recently convicted of drug violations?

10/30/2009

Q. One of our employees was recently in jail for traffic and drug violations. Before he returns to work, what guidelines can we follow to ensure that he’s drug-free? Will we be discriminating if we require a drug test before allowing him back on site, even though we didn’t require such a test when he was hired?

Beware ‘front pay’ trap when job-seekers sue

10/27/2009

Employees you don’t hire can’t cause too much legal trouble, right? Wrong! In today’s tough economy, frustrated job-seekers are more likely than ever to sue. And if they sue for discrimination and win, courts are increasingly likely to award both back pay and lost future earnings …

EEOC: Company illegally used credit, criminal records

10/27/2009

The EEOC has cited national convention marketing firm Freeman Companies with discriminatory hiring practices based on the company’s use of applicants’ credit scores and criminal background checks in hiring. According to the complaint, the credit and criminal background checks are neither job related nor of business necessity. The EEOC alleges they screen out otherwise qualified women and minority candidates.

Refusal to hire non-Hispanics sparks EEOC lawsuit

10/23/2009

Propak Logistics, an Arkansas-based freight management company, has drawn the ire of the EEOC, which is suing the firm for refusing to hire applicants who weren’t Hispanic for nonmanagement positions at its plant in Shelby.

Exception to the rule: You can ask different questions to internal and external applicants

10/19/2009

One of the cardinal rules of hiring is that you should ask all applicants the same questions. But even good rules can sometimes be broken … when it makes good sense. For example, if you are interviewing both internal and external applicants for an open position, it’s perfectly logical to ask internal applicants some different questions …

Crackdown looms for misclassifying employees as contractors

10/19/2009

The GAO recently released a detailed report with a set of recommendations to address the persistent, widespread problem of employer misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The report urges the DOL and the IRS to step up enforcement efforts, so now’s a particularly opportune time for employers that have classified any workers as independent contractors to carefully review those decisions.

DHS is cracking down — follow these I-9 best practices

10/19/2009

Times are changing in the world of workplace immigration law. Employers now have to complete a new version of the I-9 Form. The feds just launched “a bold new audit initiative” to punish employers who hire illegals. And starting Sept. 8, thousands of federal contractors are required to use the electronic E-Verify system. Result: a greater risk for immigration-related trouble than ever before …

Outsourcing hiring doesn’t save you from liability

10/19/2009

As you try to cut costs in a tough economy, it may be tempting to outsource some HR functions to an independent contractor instead of continuing to do them in-house. Before you make that move, consider this: Employers may be liable for discrimination practiced by the outsourced independent contractor.