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

Hiring

Are there any occasions when it would be appropriate to ask about applicant’s religion?

12/01/2015
Q. When, if ever, can our company legally ask an applicant about his or her religious affiliation?

Dauphin County bans the box

12/01/2015
Dauphin County has announced plans to join the ranks of municipalities that will no longer ask applicants about their criminal histories on job applications.

Résumé reveals disability? How to respond

11/16/2015
Don’t allow hiring managers to quickly sort résumés from disabled applicants into the “No” pile. It’s an increasingly popular practice, a new study shows, but decidedly unlawful.

How much background check info can we divulge?

11/13/2015
Q. We terminated an employee’s employment because of a recent conviction. A state agency has asked for details about the reason for the termination. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, what can we share with the agency regarding details on background checks?

Essential job skills list is a lawsuit shield

11/13/2015

Here’s a tip that can help you streamline the hiring process if you reasonably believe you will have a large number of applicants. Instead of listing preferred qualifications, include a longer list of required ones. That way, you should be able to whittle down the applicant list to those candidates closest to your ideal candidates.

New rules ‘ban the box’ on federal applications

11/03/2015
On Nov. 2, President Obama unveiled a new executive order that will prevent federal agencies from asking job candidates about their criminal backgrounds until later in the hiring process.

6 ways to cut legal risk of employee-referral programs

11/03/2015
Employee-referral programs can be a reliable, inexpensive way to find great talent. But you probably don’t realize that they carry a hidden legal risk, too.

How do we go about verifying I-9 documents for remote employees?

10/28/2015
Q. We have a workforce that largely works remotely, some hundreds of miles from our corporate office. For a variety of reasons, we will be reclassifying a number of these individuals from independent contractor status to employees. Given that we will need I-9s for the employees, do we need to personally see the required identification documents, or can the employees send us facsimiles/scans, etc.? If we need to see the forms personally, what is the best way to do that?

Minnesota drug testing law doesn’t protect airline employee

10/28/2015
If it stands, a recent federal court decision could provide some clarity for Minnesota employers.

Target pays $2.8 million, agrees to drop hiring tests

10/28/2015
The Target retail chain has agreed to stop using three pre-employment assessments that the EEOC claimed were discriminatory.