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

Hiring

No private ‘do-over’ if applicant flunks test

01/28/2011
Do you use standardized tests to determine if applicants meet the minimum requirements for a job? If so, remember this: An applicant who fails a fairly administered test (after receiving a conditional offer of employment) can’t go out and take the test privately and then demand reconsideration.

Food services firm serves up support for military employees

01/27/2011
The 3,000 military veterans, National Guard members and reservists who work for Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexo have their own club: the year-old HONOR group. The networking group within the giant food-services company offers support, guidance and resources to employees and families connected to the military.

Strength in numbers: Lawsuit-proof your hiring process with double-team interviews

01/25/2011
You can help prevent hiring lawsuits with one simple tactic: Have two company representatives sit in on interviews. Then have both reps deliver the news when you have to tell an applicant she wasn’t selected. As this case shows, that extra effort can be insurance against a nasty “he said/she said” lawsuit.

In I-9 process, don’t ‘overdocument’ certain workers

01/24/2011
A new settlement shows the risk of requesting more work verification documents from new hires who aren’t native-born U.S. citizens.

Better benefits helping Verizon recruit 900 employees

01/20/2011

Verizon Wireless is using some sought-after benefits to help recruit new employees to fill 900 open positions. Recruiters for the 79,000-employee cell phone company entice applicants by touting these benefits:

Warn bosses: E-mail is smoking-gun evidence

01/18/2011

The risk isn’t new—e-mail has been around for a while. But managers and supervisors still continue to play fast and loose with their e-comments. E-mail messages are increasingly finding their way into employment-law court battles. Remind managers in the hiring process that it’s typically better to pick up the phone or walk down the hall to discuss a candidate than it is to send an e-mail.

New law limits employer use of credit reports

01/14/2011
Effective Jan. 1, Illinois employers must comply with the Illinois Employee Credit Privacy Act, which severely restricts the use of an applicant or employee’s credit history in hiring, firing or promotions. Covered employers may not use credit reports or credit information from sources other than credit reporting agencies when evaluating employees or applicants.

Hire education: Filling job positions without inviting lawsuits

01/14/2011

Employers operate in an increasingly complex legal environment, made all the more difficult by the tough economy. Hiring has emerged as a particular trouble spot. You need to hire and maintain a skilled and productive workforce, but you must watch out for legal liability that can surface in the process.

Insist that managers conduct interviews–even if they ‘know’ who’s best for the job

01/14/2011

Supervisors may think they know all the candidates for promotion so well they can select one without actually interviewing the interested employees. That’s a big mistake. Chances are, if one of the disappointed applicants sues, the supervisor will have to answer very specific questions about the hiring process.

How many interviews are too many?

01/13/2011
Some employers schedule multiple interviews due mostly to tradition and habit, which can waste managers’ time, alienate top candidates and unnecessarily lengthen the hiring process. Use the following guidelines to create a strategy for conducting multiple interviews and determining how many are too many: