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

Hiring

It’s not a crime to require applicants to sign arbitration agreements

12/01/2007

Employees have sometimes tried to apply a pair of Michigan criminal laws against employers that include arbitration agreements in employment applications. Now a federal court has declared that those criminal statutes don’t apply. You don’t need to fear that making an employee sign the application will subject you to criminal penalties or imprisonment …

Track all feedback to improve promotion process

12/01/2007

If your organization has lots of entry-level employees and a practice of promoting from within, you probably face a crowded field when trying to identify the best candidates for promotion. If that entry-level labor pool is also ethnically and racially diverse, you have to make sure your promotion process doesn’t favor one group over another. Here’s one way to pick the best of the best …

It’s OK to have higher expectations of employees during probationary period

12/01/2007

If your organization uses a probationary period to test out employees before making permanent hiring decisions, know that you can—and perhaps should—expect more during that period than you may later. It’s not unreasonable to expect new employees to be on their best behavior …

Reporting requirements under the Georgia New Hire Reporting Program

12/01/2007

Q. I’ve heard that Georgia law requires employers to report new hires to the Georgia Department of Labor, but I can’t find any such requirement in the department’s rules …

TWC to share information on employment tax schemes with IRS

12/01/2007

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) recently agreed to tell the IRS about employers that fail to properly pay state unemployment insurance taxes. The TWC joins 28 other state work force agencies in entering the new initiative, which expands on existing data-sharing efforts between federal and state agencies …

Pilgrim’s Pride to pay $1 million to 5,300 applicants

12/01/2007

The nation’s largest poultry producer—Texas-based Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.—recently agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that it discriminated on the basis of sex and ethnicity in hiring …

Negligent hiring in case of Marion VAMC surgeon?

12/01/2007

The panel that hired Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez as a surgeon for the Marion Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) is under scrutiny after he was implicated in nine suspicious deaths. A check into Veizaga-Mendez’s records revealed that he lost his license in Massachusetts in 2006 over accusations of “grossly” substandard care …

Employers not liable for employee crime outside work

12/01/2007

California employers can rest easy—they aren’t liable for criminal acts their employees may undertake outside the workplace or their job responsibilities. That’s true even if the employee uses work-related materials to commit the crime, and the employer missed important clues in a background check …

Verifying I-9 document

12/01/2007

Q. It is my understanding that employers are required to view I-9 verifying documents within three business days of an employee’s hire. My company hires employees in various states, and I cannot personally view the I-9 documentation of the out-of-state employees. What process is acceptable for completion of the I-9 verification process if I cannot personally view the required documentation? …

RCI Inc. guilty of hiring illegal immigrants

12/01/2007

Richard Rosenbaum, former president of RCI Inc., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, to multiple counts of harboring illegal immigrants, tax evasion and fraud. Rosenbaum owes $16 million in restitution to the federal government and must forfeit more than $1.1 million in personal assets …