When I was away last week, one of the headlines from my alma mater caught my attention. The University of Pennsylvania Health System announced that effective July 1st, they will refuse to hire anyone who smokes or uses tobacco. No doubt some of you are either lauding this step, or shaking your head in disgust. Could an… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: hiring
Former Lawmaker (and Ex-Felon) Urges Connecticut To Ban Discrimination Against Felons in 2013
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Legislative DevelopmentsAt a Sentencing Commssion hearing last week, former state lawmaker Ernie Newton — who was convicted in 2006 on corruption charges — urged commission members to address hiring discrimination against ex-felons, reports CT News Junkie. There is no indication yet that they will do so, but his comments raised some eyebrows in the press. Newton’s… Continue Reading
New Laws Place Restrictions on Employers Seeking Passwords
Posted in Highlight, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Social MediaEarlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak to the HR Compliance Conference in San Francisco about legal issues related to hiring. In some ways, everything old is new again on this topic. Issues like the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or the EEOC’s guidance on criminal background checks, have been around for years yet… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: NY Deductions, ADA Accommodations, Offers of Judgment, FMLA Report, Facebook & Hiring
Posted in Class Actions, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Social Media, Wage & HourAs the dog days of summer drag on, the news from the employment law arena slows to a trickle. But here are a few recent stories that may be of interest to employers in Connecticut. New York recently expanded the types of things that employers can deduct from wages. For Connecticut employers with cross-border employees,… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: Conn. Senate Votes to Ban Discrimination Against Unemployed in Ads
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Legislative DevelopmentsUPDATED AND CORRECTED The Connecticut Senate this afternoon voted 30-5 to ban employers and employment agencies from discriminating against the unemployed in job advertisements. As recapped by the Office of Legislative Analysis, “This bill makes it a discriminatory employment practice to advertise employment opportunities in a way that discriminates against anyone because he or she… Continue Reading
“Friends” With (Health) Benefits? Social Media & The Hiring Process
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Social MediaI’m looking forward to speaking tomorrow evening to the Staffing Management Association of Southern New England on how social media is impacting the hiring process. You can find details of the event here. While I won’t give away all the secrets of my presentation here, it’s fair to say that employers shouldn’t throw out all the… Continue Reading
New Book Published: Think Before You Click
Posted in Highlight, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource Center, Social MediaDespite authoring this blog, I must confess that I always thought it would be neat if I could author a book. I’m pleased to announce that I can check one thing off my bucket list, at least in part. I can now announce the publication (finally) of ” Think Before You Click: Strategies for Managing… Continue Reading
Five Questions with… Regan MacBain Traub, Founder, The Human Resource Consortium
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Manager & HR Pro’s Resource CenterToday brings another installment of an occasional feature of “Five Questions”, in which we ask five questions of a noteworthy person in the employment law and human resources areas. I’m pleased that Regan MacBain Traub, CPC, SPHR, founder and managing principal of The Human Resource Consortium, was able to take some time to respond to… Continue Reading
General Assembly Approves Ban on Use Of Credit Reports by Employers
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative DevelopmentsIn the last flurry of action, the Connecticut House last night approved Senate Bill 361, which bans the use of credit reports in hiring and promotions, in certain situations by certain employers. The bill had previously been approved by the state Senate. I recapped the bill in detail a few days ago. There are a… Continue Reading
Senate Passes Bill Banning Use of Credit Reports by Employers With Exceptions
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Legislative DevelopmentsUPDATED June 9, 2011 – The House approved the measure late last night, June 8th. For additional details, see this updated post. In the closing hours of the General Assembly’s term, the Connecticut Senate has passed a bill yesterday that would ban the use of credit reports by employers in many situations. Senate Bill 361… Continue Reading
Legislative Update: CHRO & Affirmative Action; Gender Identity Discrimination; Paid Sick Days; Credit Reports; Workplace Bullying
Posted in Legislative DevelopmentsThe Connecticut General Assembly is heating up and a number of employment-related bills are still alive this legislative session. The Labor & Public Employee Committee has voted a number of bills out, meaning that they’re up for consideration by either the House or Senate, or another committee. These include: HB 5460 (which would prohibit so-called… Continue Reading
Of Credit Histories, Ricci’s Impact & The Gender Wage Gap
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceBeen a busy week so there’s time only for a few things to some recent and upcoming publications, podcasts and radio shows that I’m involved with. My thanks to the respective producers or reporters for the opportunity. First, the Daily Labor Reports and U.S. Law Week each did a lengthy piece this week on the… Continue Reading
LinkedIn Recommendations – A Hot Topic Among HR Professionals, But Should It Be?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceIn my presentation last week to the HRA of Greater New Haven (which i discussed yesterday), the hottest topic that people wanted to discuss was LinkedIn Recommendations. People had several questions: Should a company bar its employees from doing such recommendations? Should a HR department "police" LinkedIn to ensure compliance? What is the risk of… Continue Reading
U.S. Supreme Court To Decide Soon Whether to Take Church Homes (Avery Heights) v. NLRB Case
Posted in Labor Law & NRLB, LitigationBack in June, I talked about an important case arising out of Connecticut, that dates all the way back to a long and notable strike by employees in 1999 against the Avery Heights facility in Hartford, Connecticut. You can read the full post about Church Homes (d/b/a Avery Heights) v. NLRB here. As I said… Continue Reading
Quick Hits: EEOC’s ADEA Lawsuit; FLSA Collective Actions & Releases; Severance Pay & Taxes;; EEOC Compliance Manual Update
Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Litigation, Social Media, Wage & HourWith the dog days of summer in full force here in Connecticut ("it’s the heat AND the humidity"), it seemed an appropriate time to roll out another installment of the "Quick Hits" feature to touch on a few items you might have missed over the last week or so: One of the biggest stories that you’ll… Continue Reading
Federal Court Denies Summary Judgment to Background Check Company Based on Alleged Violations of FCRA
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceIn a case that should send shivers through background check companies, particularly in Connecticut, a federal district court judge recently ruled that a job applicant could proceed to trial with her claims that two background check companies violated in the Fair Credit Reporting Act when they reported that she had been convicted of a crime… Continue Reading
Subjective Belief That You Are “More Qualified” Than Other Caucasian Applicants Not Enough to Support Race Discrimination Claim, Court Rules
Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, LitigationWhile some matters get all the headlines, the work of the state and federal courts move on. One such case came out earlier this week and I highlight it because it touches on a point that employers sometimes lose sight of — the ability to still make subjective decisions and have that decision supported by… Continue Reading
Conversation About Length of Time Employee Expected to Manage Store Does Not Create Contract, Court Says
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation, Wage & HourSuppose you, as a hiring manager, have a discussion with one of your current employees about a job opening within the company at another location. In the course of that discussion, you indicate that you would expect that employee to work in that position for two years before moving on to other possible opportunities. After that conversation, you put… Continue Reading
New I-9 and FMLA Forms Now Available – Use the New Year to Update Your Paperwork
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceFile this under "mundane" but necessary. Two sets of new forms (and a poster) have been released by the U.S. Government for use by HR professionals and companies in two very different circumstances. First, the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) has issued a new rule with that revises Form I-9 and the list of documents… Continue Reading
BeenVerified.Com Shakes Up Background Check Market; Allows Job Applicants to Control Information
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceA new New York-based company, BeenVerified.com launched yesterday and hopes to shake up the background check market with an innovative approach. If the buzz the company is receiving continues, it will be well on its way. (Full disclosure: BeenVerified.com is a client but, other than authorizing me to write about them, has had no input… Continue Reading
Using Social Networking Sites for Employment Screening; Is there a Right Answer?
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceOver the last couple of days, an interesting debate has emerged about whether employers should use social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace to "screen" potential employees. One corner, supported by the Delaware Employment Law Blog, argues that there are some real and tangible benefits to using the sites, as long as they are used… Continue Reading
Poor Supervision Even Exists at the Department of Justice
Posted in Human Resources (HR) ComplianceA few weeks ago, a report came out blasting the hiring procedures that existed at the Department of Justice in prior years. Because this is not a political blog, I left it for others to comment on it, such as The Word on Employment Law. But the basic gist of the report was that there… Continue Reading
OFCCP Releases Guidelines on How To Be a “G-FIVE” Employer of Veterans
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and RegulationsAlthough employment laws and regulations are typically seen as telling employers what NOT to do, there are some laws and initiatives by government agencies that give employers of ideas of what TO do, whether in terms of hiring practices or other programs. One new directive by the The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs late last month is… Continue Reading
Further Updates on E-Verify and the Executive Order to Implement It for All Federal Contractors
Posted in Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and RegulationsSince my original post on the subject of Executive Order 12989 yesterday (and the sweeping effects it will have for all federal contractors), others have also added their comments to the subject. Among some of the notable posts: The brand-new Florida Employment Law Blog (run by my former colleague Richard Tuschman — congrats, Richard!) predicts negative… Continue Reading
About Daniel Schwartz
Trusted advisor. Experienced employment law attorney. Bar leader. Award-winning author. Noted Speaker. "Legal Rebel". All can be said to be apt descriptions of Daniel Schwartz, a member of Pullman & Comley. More +
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