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

Hiring

Don’t assume disability: Let applicant or employee bring it up

08/25/2008
The ADA makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of a covered disability or to discriminate because of a perceived disability. An employer’s belief that an applicant or an employee has a disability—even if she does not—is enough to trigger liability if the employer acts on that belief and refuses to hire or discriminates based on the perceived disability …

Prepare for possible changes in employment eligibility verification

08/22/2008
Stories of immigration raids and heavy fines are as close as the nearest newspaper. But at the street level, North Carolina employers know they may be caught in the crossfire as federal and state governments increase efforts to weed out illegal and undocumented workers. Although federal law primarily governs immigration issues, North Carolina and some other states are considering implementing employment verification requirements of their own …

Supervisor’s ignorance of the law isn’t enough to justify punitive damages award

08/22/2008
Although there are serious consequences when supervisors don’t know how to comply with workplace anti-discrimination rules, their ignorance of the law won’t necessarily result in a costly punitive-damages award if you get sued …

May we demand applicants pay for medical exams?

08/22/2008
Q. Our company requires applicants for certain classes of jobs to have medical examinations as a condition of employment. Can we require the potential employee to pay the costs of the medical examinations? …

The HR I.Q. Test: September ’08

08/21/2008
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Transportation companies face new drug-Testing requirements

08/21/2008
Starting Aug. 25, organizations that must comply with U.S. Department of Transportation drug-testing regulations face new requirements. The new rules affect “return-to-duty” drug tests given to employees who previously tested positive or underwent drug rehab …

Verifying employment eligibility: Whom should we check?

08/19/2008
Q. I know Georgia’s Security and Immigration Compliance Act requires all state contractors and subcontractors to verify the citizenship of their employees. But how do I know which employees must be verified?…

What are the E-Verify time limits?

08/19/2008
Q. What is the required time frame for conducting an employment eligibility check on a newly hired employee under E-Verify? Am I required to run the check before the employee begins work? …

What if E-Verify shows someone isn’t authorized to work?

08/19/2008
Q. What happens if I run an E-Verify check on an employee and find out he or she is an unauthorized worker? …

Legal risks of interviewing transgender applicants

08/19/2008
Raul Lopez Jr. is a biological male who presents himself as Izza Lopez, a female. When Lopez applied for a job at a medical clinic, he listed both his male and female names on the application. The company offered Lopez the job, but the HR director demanded to know his biological sex. Then the clinic rescinded the offer …