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Hiring

Can we give preference to hiring veterans?

10/10/2013
Q. We pride ourselves on supporting veterans who have served in the armed forces. We know we should generally not use an applicant’s class (such as gender, race, etc.) when making hiring decisions. But we have heard that the law does allow us to give a hiring preference to veterans. Is that true?

Are we allowed to ask questions about an applicant’s family medical history?

10/10/2013
Q. We make offers to applicants contingent on passing a physical examination. As a part of the examination the doctor asks for a medical history, including questions about the applicant’s family medical history. We have heard that we should not ask about the applicant’s family medical history, but we aren’t sure if that’s true. Should we not ask for this information?

Leave ‘overqualified’ out of hiring lexicon

10/09/2013
While supervisors may use the term “overqualified” when discussing potential job candidates, be aware that it’s a legally explosive term. Rejected applicants could view “overqualified” as an age-related code word.

What rules must we follow if we must lay off work-visa employees?

10/02/2013
Q. Do we have any duties or obligations if we discharge employees who are in the United States on work visas?

Austin F.D. stops hiring after EEOC claims testing bias

10/02/2013
The Austin Fire Department has stopped hiring candidates from its 2012 candidate list now that the EEOC has declared that its hiring test discriminated against black and Hispanic candidates. The EEOC pointed to disparities in pass rates between the groups.

Interview performance can be the hiring tiebreaker

10/02/2013
When several qualified candidates are in the running for a job, you can use interview performance as the deciding factor. Just make sure interviewers note their specific reasons why one applicant seemed better than the others.

Be alert for hidden–or overt–bias when hiring manager rejects qualified candidate

10/02/2013
Do some of your supervisors gripe about having to follow anti-discrimination laws? Rein them in. Otherwise, you’ll wind up in court if a job candidate gets rejected for obviously illegal reasons.

For small business (or large), 11 steps to hiring right

10/02/2013
Jeb Breithaupt, who owns a home building and remodeling company, says, “It takes me longer to hire someone for my staff than it does to design one of my custom homes. The philosophy behind my 11-step hiring process: Make the applicant work to get the job. Yes, that takes time. But my success rate is 90%. When I’ve failed to follow it, I’ve regretted it every time.”

Hiring looks different as economy improves

09/26/2013

Good economic news means HR pros are spending more of their time recruiting, hiring and orienting new staff. But the process looks and feels a lot different than it used to.

Don’t expect to get away with paying undocumented workers less than law requires

09/16/2013
In a case that shows courts are losing patience with employers that hire undocumented ­workers and then flout wage-and-hour laws, a federal court has zapped an em­­ployer almost $285,000 in unpaid wages and penalties, and another $150,000 to pay the former em­­ployees’ legal fees.