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Hiring

Run background checks, even for top-dog positions

04/01/2005
Buyer beware: If you don’t probe deeply into job candidates’ backgrounds, you’re in the minority these days.
In fact, 80 percent of employers polled in a new Society for Human …

Remind managers: Don’t elicit secrets in interviews

04/01/2005
You’re legally protected if job candidates voluntarily spill the beans about their employers’ secrets, such as customer lists and manufacturing methods. But warn hiring managers to avoid asking questions aimed at …

Warn managers not to hire on ‘gut instinct’ alone

04/01/2005
Issue: Establishing quantifiable criteria for making hiring decisions.
Risk: Applicants have an easier time winning hiring-bias lawsuits if they can point to weaknesses in your stated reasons for hiring.
…

Reach out to older applicants via new AARP program

04/01/2005
AARP, the nation’s largest organization for seniors, launched an online effort last month to help employers recruit older employees. Participating businesses will pay a fee, based on the number of employees, …

Personality tests don’t trammel constitutional rights, but beware risks

04/01/2005
Many employers use personality tests to identify job-related characteristics, such as maturity or emotional stability. But these tests can carry legal risk when applied incorrectly.
If you use personality tests, …

Can you limit employees’ time to file suit?

03/01/2005
An employee’s ability to sue your organization expires at different times under various employment laws. For example, in most states, employees can file sexual harassment lawsuits within 300 days of the …

Make privacy a cornerstone of your culture

03/01/2005
Confidentiality can quickly become a legal issue in many workplace decisions and activities.

Use an ‘accuracy statement’ to sniff out applicants’ lies

03/01/2005
Issue: Creating a legal basis to reject (or fire) people who lie on their job applications.
Benefit: Providing a “statement of accuracy” on applications gives you strong legal standing against …

Request birth date only after conditional job offer

03/01/2005

Q. We don’t ask applicants for their age or birth date on our application. But we plan to start conducting background checks on applicants whom 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? —V.T., Wyoming

All employers now have ability to confirm I-9 documents online

03/01/2005
The federal government extended a pilot program to all 50 states that will let you go online to check the authenticity of new hires’ work authorization documents, such as Social Security …