Well, it’s officially a trend: Employers are increasingly using personality tests for hiring decisions.

At least according to a recent The New York Times article which describes this as a burgeoning $2 billion industry.

While not new, personality tests are finding new traction as employers hire for remote work positions that have a different skill

Imagine, hypothetically, that you are the head of a massive technology company.  You decide one day that you want to layoff, say, 50 percent of the workforce tomorrow while offering employees a severance agreement. What should you know?

My colleagues, Gabe Jiran and Keegan Drenosky, did a whole webinar on the subject last month that

A few months ago, I wrote about how artificial intelligence was being introduced in the workplace.

At the ABA Annual Labor & Employment Conference last week, a whole panel discussion was devoted to the legal ramifications of using artificial intelligence — particularly in hiring decisions.

The speakers talked about the EEOC guidance that I

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to talk about Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace at the CBIA’s HR Conference.  There was a lot to cover in our discussion and a lot of takeaways too.

For those in Human Resources or in-house lawyers reviewing a company’s potential use of AI in the workplace, here are three

In my prior post, I wondered aloud whether there were some rough waters ahead for employers.  Apple recently announced that it would not meet it’s earnings estimates in the first quarter of 2019, in part because of soft demand from China. Other companies are expected to announce some similar issues.

Honestly, I’ve had enough conversations

In the last few months, I’ve had some inquiries from employers asking about resources for layoffs.

Yawn.

Everyone remembers the layoffs of the recession, right?

Actually no, as it turns out.

In the ten years since the last great round of layoffs, there is a big group of new managers, directors, human resource personnel, lawyers

The Office of Legislative Research, whom I’ve praised in several posts before (here and here), recently issued a report on the consequences of a felony conviction on employment. 

Overall, it does a good job summarizing the issues when it comes to state employment.

But later on in the publication it states the following

The EEOC yesterday released important new guidance for employers on the use of arrest and conviction records by employers under Title VII.  You can read the guidance here as well as a short question-and-answer document too. 

For employers in Connecticut, this new guidance only adds to the state-specific rules we have here in state and

Today, the EEOC has published its final rule clarifying a portion of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).  You can download the rule here and a FAQ from the EEOC here.   The rule comes as a partial response to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that analyzed the issue. 

The rule has some significance for employers who have policies or take action that may have a disparate impact on older workers. In plain english, disparate impact essentially means an age-neutral rule that affects older workers more than younger workers; disparate treatment means a rule or action that treats older workers differently.

The easiest example to think of is suppose a police department has a physical fitness test so that officers can pursue and apprehend suspects; that practice may have a disparate impact on older workers . 

So what did the final rule clarify? According to the EEOC:
Continue Reading EEOC Publishes Final Rule on Reasonable Factors Other Than Age (RFOA)

The Second Circuit today reinstated claims brought by a black firefighter against the City of New Haven alleging that he was unfairly denied promotion to the position of lieutenant because of the city’s scoring of a 2003 promotional exam.  (I covered the original lawsuit back in 2009 here.)

The decision in Briscoe v. City