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Hiring

The EEOC’s new initiatives for 2008: All talk … or a real threat?

04/01/2008
In recent months, the EEOC has made a lot of noise about new initiatives to combat workplace discrimination. Three of the most prominent include (1) the E-RACE Initiative, (2) employment testing and (3) protections for caregivers … 

Who pays for pre-Employment medical exams?

04/01/2008
Q. We require new employees to undergo pre-employment medical exams. May we require a new employee to cover the cost of the exam? We have 35 employees …

Alternative staffing models may save on employment costs

03/18/2008
During these difficult economic times, small and midsized businesses are looking for ways to reduce their employment costs—while maintaining employee benefits and gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Many employers are looking at alternative staffing models to meet those objectives …

HR Groups Rally Around Legislation to Create New Electronic Verification System

03/04/2008

Congress is considering legislation that would create a new mandatory electronic employment eligibility verification system to replace the current, widely criticized E-Verify program. HR groups are applauding, in part because 90% of employers already use the software on which it is based. Learn more about a proposal that could greatly simplify a cumbersome process.

You don’t have to make perfect decisions—Just honest ones

03/01/2008

When it comes to hiring or promotion decisions, courts will rarely meddle when companies make honest decisions—even if those decisions aren’t the best or most rational ones. Unless there’s some other underlying discriminatory reason, judges generally won’t second-guess even boneheaded decisions …

Springfield truck plant hopes to benefit from GM deal

03/01/2008

Workers at the Springfield plant of International Truck and Engine Corp., a subsidiary of Illinois-based Navistar, are hoping to attract hundreds of new jobs through a tentative agreement to acquire General Motors Corp.’s medium-duty truck business …

Hiring tests must reflect true work conditions

03/01/2008
Women accounted for half of new hires at an Iowa meatpacker until the company instituted a new pre-hire lifting test. Then the percentage of women fell to 15%.

Are there California laws analogous to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?

03/01/2008
Q. I know that as an employer, I have to abide by GINA and not discriminate based on genetic information. But are there any state statutes addressing this matter?

Philadelphia pushing for more diverse union work force

03/01/2008
In what the Philadelphia City Council is calling a “historic accord,” the city and building trade unions that will work on the $700 million expansion of the Philadelphia Convention Center have agreed to increase the number of minority participants. Under the agreements, the unions have disclosed the demographics of their membership and will push to diversify …

Candidates who reapply get another chance to file discrimination complaints

03/01/2008
Think time will make a discrimination case go away? Think again. Even if you think a previous complaint has been resolved or run its course, a former applicant or employee who applies for another job can still sue for discrimination if she is again turned down …