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Hiring

Don’t use weight as an excuse not to hire, no matter the cost

09/01/2003
Issue: Overweight employees cost you more in health care costs, and new research proves it. But you can’t discriminate against them.
Risk: More courts are saying that obesity is a …

Post all job openings in-House

09/01/2003

Q. We typically don’t post high-level management openings internally. Should we? —K.L., California

Keep close eye on new hires; they’re more injury-prone

09/01/2003
Hammer home safety rules to new hires before they start; don’t expect “on the job” experience to teach them the safety ropes. Reason: New employees have a greater likelihood of being …

Improve new-hire orientations with Web checklists

09/01/2003
Formal orientations make new employees productive more quickly, and they make it easier on you to bring that person up to speed. But don’t overwhelm new hires right away. Create a …

Hiring commercial drivers? Probe deeper into applicant work history

09/01/2003
If you hire commercial drivers, prepare to start collecting more pre-hire information from applicants. The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) wants employers to …

Probe deeper into drivers’ work history

09/01/2003
The Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed new rules requiring companies that employ commercial drivers to collect more pre-hire information about applicants’ employment history, including their …

Weed out applicants with ‘silver bullet’ interview question

09/01/2003
Issue: Interviewers often have one pet question they use to test an applicant’s quality.
Benefit: The right question can separate the contenders from the pretenders …

O-V-E-R-Q-U-A-L-I-F-I-E-D can spell ‘lawsuit’

09/01/2003
Issue: With the job market flooded with experienced and skilled people, the temptation rises for hiring managers to use “overqualified” as a weeding-out method.
Risk: Courts could view your use …

Follow these 3 rules for conducting pre-hire medical tests

09/01/2003
Issue: Requiring a medical test before hiring an applicant is smart, but it carries legal risks.
Risk: A wrong step can trigger Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or privacy lawsuits …

Encouraging diversity: Lessons from Supreme Court’s affirmative-action rulings

08/01/2003
The U.S. Supreme Court’s pivotal rulings in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases this summer provide some direction on how far employers can go …