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How does the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) protect genetic information? "Under GINA, under Title II, it is unlawful for an employer to acquire, use, or disclose an employee's genetic information." Ruth N. Mackey explained in a recent BLR webinar. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the ways an employer can […]
"The next frontier of background checks are social media background checks." Sara Hutchins Jodka explained in a recent BLR webinar. In fact, SHRM recently reported that 56 percent of employers use social media in the recruiting process already.
When using contingent workers, defined as non-traditional and non-employee workers (often either independent contractors or workers leased from temp agencies or professional employer organizations), employers remove a lot of the hassles associated with managing a workforce internally. However, they also introduce some risks, especially since the decisions are often out of their hands.
In 2008, Congress recognized scientific advances in the field of genetics and feared these advances would give rise to misuse and discrimination based on genetic information. This led to the passing of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
What happens if a manager forgets to inform HR that an employee has absences that could be FMLA-qualifying? Can those absences still be counted against the employee's 12-week FMLA allotment for the year? What about when an employee has an emergency and must take leave immediately but was unable to request it? Can that count […]
‘Ban-the-box’ laws are laws that say you cannot have a question on your application that asks ‘do you have a criminal conviction?’ Typically, applications will ask for an explanation or description if the answer was yes. This forces immediate disclosure.
Ensuring the proper classification of workers is a concern for many reasons. Taxes, employment laws and employee benefits are the main ones. Have you run into situations where you were unsure of whether a worker should be classified as an employee or contractor?
How can an employer minimize the likelihood of facing a disability discrimination claim? There are actually a lot of steps employers can take to reduce this risk. Here are 9 of these actions.
Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) has declared obesity to be a disease. This has implications for employers, since obesity may now also be considered a disability in certain circumstances. table style=”padding: 15px;” align=”right”> When is Obesity a Disability? To see when it might be possible that obesity may be declared a disability, let's take […]
In June 2013, the American Medical Association officially voted to classify obesity as a disease. While this classification doesn’t have legal weight, it provides support for individuals arguing that obesity should be considered a protected ADA disability—which could open the door for discrimination claims. Let’s take a look at the rationale behind this change. Obesity […]