Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Conducting background checks for employment requires employers to strike a balance between getting enough information to make an informed hiring decision and not overstepping the boundaries into areas that might infringe upon employee privacy. Additionally, as with many other employment laws, California has specific rules that are stricter than the federal regulations—California employers need to […]
by Lorene Novakowski In a recent Alberta arbitration award, the arbitrator awarded damages to employees for a breach of their privacy rights, in the amount of $1,250 each. The grievance arose after the province of Alberta conducted background credit checks without consent on 26 government employees. The employees worked in an area–maintenance enforcement–that gave them discretion in […]
By Jennifer Melton On January 11, 2012, Pepsi Beverages Company agreed to pay more than $3 million to resolve race discrimination claims filed in 2006 by more than 300 African American job applicants. The claims alleged that the company’s criminal background check policy (1) disproportionately excluded African Americans from employment with Pepsi and (2) violated […]
By Kara E. Shea Employers are understandably hesitant to hire an applicant with a criminal history. There are good reasons to exercise caution ― employers face considerable exposure for workplace violence committed by employees. The U.S. Department of Labor‘s Occupational Safety and Health Administration regularly cites employers that have failed to enact adequate safeguards against […]
What is HR to do when a job applicant or worker claims to have shy bladder syndrome and refuses to urinate in a cup as part of a drug test? Consider testing the worker’s hair or saliva instead, according to new informal advice from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Shy bladder syndrome, also known […]
By David M. Stevens During its 2011 legislative session, the Maryland Legislature passed the Job Applicant Fairness Act, which was signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley on April 12. The law imposes significant restrictions on employers’ ability to perform credit checks on job applicants and employees. It goes into effect October 1. For many […]
Wednesday, in NASA v. Nelson, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the government didn’t violate federal contract employees’ constitutional rights by using certain background investigations. In this case, contract employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sued NASA, alleging that the background checks it was using violated their constitutional rights to informational privacy. The background […]
By Hadiya Roderique In Canada, pre-employment background checks are generally permissible. With some exceptions in some provinces, these checks can include information about a candidate’s employment history, education, credit, fingerprints, and criminal record. Though Canadian employers can generally conduct such checks on potential or current employees if they have their consent, the legitimacy and permissibility […]
by Michael B. Leahy Recently, our colleagues in California brought a shady — and possibly criminal — Web-based reference service to our attention. What we saw shocked us. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including hiring Every excuse in the book! CareerExcuse.com supplies fraudulent job references to employers […]
These days it seems like you can’t pick up a newspaper or log on to the Internet without reading another story about multimillion-dollar fraud. Just when we thought we’d heard the last of Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, along comes Bernie Madoff. But fraud isn’t a problem only for Fortune 100 companies and millionaire investors. It […]