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Minnesota Human Rights Act

02/01/2008
The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) is the state’s super anti-discrimination law combining the elements of several federal laws, including Title VII, the ADEA and the ADA. While those federal anti-discrimination laws cover employers with 15 or more employees, the MHRA covers all employers regardless of size …

Don’t reject convicted felons unless you have legitimate business reason

02/01/2008

Q. Our hiring process involves conducting background and reference checks. If an employee has a felony conviction within the past seven years, we automatically refuse employment. Any reason we should change our policy? …

Protecting against negligent hiring

02/01/2008

Q. I recently read an article about employees who were attacked at work by other employees who never should have been hired in the first place. How can an employer reduce its risk of liability for negligent hiring? …

Illinois gives E-Verify a green light, for now

02/01/2008

Illinois has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, lifting the state Legislature’s ban on E-Verify that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Employers may continue to use the federal electronic verification system to check workers’ employment eligibility status until lawmakers have had a chance to re-examine the issue …

When English-Speaking staff resent Spanish chatter

02/01/2008

Q. We have a collegial atmosphere in our small factory. But several of our production line workers who don’t speak Spanish are complaining that bilingual employees chat among themselves in Spanish, leaving the others out of the loop. Everyone speaks English when talking about work, so it’s not a safety issue. Still, the non-Spanish speakers resent the Spanish chatter and wonder if they’re being talked about. What can we do? — L.C, Illinois …

Public employers, contractors must use DHS verification system

02/01/2008

The Georgia Department of Labor recently issued rules on compliance with the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2006, which requires all public employers and employers with state contracts to electronically verify workers’ employment eligibility …

Colorado Immigration Law

02/01/2008

In view of concerns about undocumented workers, Colorado recently enacted its own immigration law, which requires employers to take certain actions beyond what the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act mandates. Employers must make an affirmation within 20 days of hiring a new employee …

Stable employment history is a legitimate hiring criterion

02/01/2008

You can use stable employment history as a legitimate selection criterion in hiring—if you do it right. The key is to allow employees to explain interruptions in their employment histories, ignoring those that could lead to a discrimination lawsuit …

Make sure written employment contracts exclude oral promises

02/01/2008

It’s tempting for hiring managers to oversell positions they desperately want to fill. Although HR should warn them not to make promises the organization can’t keep, it happens. That’s why every written employment agreement and offer letter should contain explicit language limiting the terms to what actually appears in writing …

What ‘Brown’ does for employees, education

02/01/2008

UPS uses a tuition assistance program to attract part-time employees to work the graveyard shift. Much of the $300 million the firm has spent on tuition assistance programs over 10 years has paid for its trademarked Earn and Learn program for part-time employees …