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Hiring

Drop any hint of youth-oriented hiring policy

06/01/2002
A 45-year-old sales manager sued under federal age-bias law, saying an insurance company discriminated against older managers. He argued that the company’s hiring policy targeted younger managers to match its recruitment …

Toughen your hiring policy to help neutralize union ‘salts’

05/01/2002
In applying for a job with a heating and air conditioning company, an applicant stated that he had been laid off from his previous job. But the truth was that the …

Post Job Openings In-House

05/01/2002

Q. We rarely post high-level management jobs internally. Must all jobs be posted internally so that someone can’t file suit claiming “pre-selection” or that he never had a chance to apply? —K.L., California

Root out violent applicants by asking right questions

05/01/2002
Sept. 11 put a new kind of workplace violence on the radar screen, but the threat of verbal and physical attacks by co-workers, customers and spouses is still just as pressing …

Employers win one: OSHA makes ergonomics rule voluntary

05/01/2002
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last month unveiled its long-awaited plan to reduce workplace ergonomic injuries. Biggest change from the Clinton-era plan: Gone are strict mandates on employers. Instead, …

Supreme Court: Illegal workers aren’t due back pay

05/01/2002
Immigrants who work in the United States illegally can’t claim the same rights to restitution as U.S. citizens when they are mistreated on the job, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last …

Indemnify a Noncompete? Not So Fast

04/01/2002

Q. We want to hire an individual who signed a noncompete with his current employer. He asked us to indemnify him in the event his employer sues him. What are the legal risks associated with agreeing to indemnify him? —V.M., Virginia

Rehiring Is Your Call

04/01/2002

Q. We have a number of Hispanic employees who speak little or no English. One of these employees recently resigned through a Spanish-speaking co-worker acting as interpreter. She quit after we denied a raise because of problems with her timecard. Her mother called and demanded that we rehire her daughter. Are we under any legal obligation to rehire? —W.K., Maryland

Banning Unsolicited Résumés

04/01/2002

Q. Our company doesn’t want to consider unsolicited résumés as applicants. We are trying to come up with a legally sound definition for “applicant” so we can write an official policy. —H.D., Wisconsin

Study: Race colors perceptions of workplace discrimination

03/01/2002
A new national survey of 1,000 workers portrays sharply different views of how minorities are treated at work, and should serve as a wake-up call to employers. One key …