During an interview have you ever asked a potential employee how old they were? Or if they were married? Did you know that both of these questions are illegal to ask a potential employee during an interview? Questions like these that may seem innocent and can be considered typical “getting to know you” type of questions are actually illegal to ask during an interview. It is important to avoid asking these types of questions to potential employees because your organization could become tangled up in a discriminatory hiring practices legal mess or lawsuit.
Questions asked during an interview should focus on the qualifications for the job. Most human resources personnel are aware of qhat constitues an illegal or legal question, but others involved in the interview process may not be. Here are some example of legal and illegal questions:
Legal Questions include:
What education do you have?
What experience qualifies you for this job?
Do you have specific licenses or certifications that pertain to this job?
Are you willing to travel?
Do you have a legal right to work in the United States?
Are you available for overtime?
Illegal Questions include:
What is your age or date of birth?
What is your sexual orientation?
What church do you attend?
What is your national origin?
What is your marital status?
In addition to these questions, there are both more legal and illegal questions that can come up during the interview process. Every recruiter, hiring manager, executive, and department manager must realize that asking the wrong interview questions or making improper inquiries can lead to discrimination or wrongful-discharge lawsuits, and these suits can be won or lost based on statements made during the interview process. Be aware of what the potential candidates are being asked during the interview process, and make sure everyone involved in the process is aware of what types of questions can and can not be asked.
For more information, HR Made Simple users should log in and search “interviews.”
With the economy continuing on a downward trend, many employers have grabbed hold of the notion that their employees will do anything to keep their current jobs. With this in mind, many employers have lost sight of what they need to do to create loyalty from their employees and to ensure employee retention even after the economy recovers. In a time when competition is fierce, employers should recognize that employees are becoming part of the competitive advantage for business in the modern world. Bad employees can cause a business to fail; mediocre employees can cause a business to break even; but good employees can make even a so-so business soar.
The key to having good employees is, of course, to hire right. At least half of the personnel problems organization’s face with employees today are caused by poor hiring practices and policies. Just as important as hiring good employees is keeping good employees. It is important to remember the idea that the satisfied employee is less likely to search for greener pastures than the unsatisfied employee who feels underappreciated and overworked. Here are some tips on how to keep your best employees.
Salary. Pay might not always be the most important thing, but it definitely ranks right at the top. Pay is only a non-issue when an employee is not dependent on the paycheck or has another source of income. A general rule is that you must offer a competitive salary/wage for that position. If you are offering below market rate, you may only attract the worst of the prospective employee pool.
Benefits. Similar to salary, if other like businesses are paying certain benefits your company will also have to in order to attract top talent. Health and dental insurance are benefits that better employees are demanding. Your company can also offer additional benefits, such as life insurance, 401k plans, and sick and vacation days, to attract better employees.
Training. Good employees know that they must be continually learning and improving their skills. They will search for an organization that not only encourages, but provides regular training and opportunities to expand and improve their skills. In addition to this, think about offering cross training so your employees can learn to do other functions in the business, which will benefit everyone involved.
Recognize Good Work with financial and non-financial recognition. Employees often feel management only addresses them when there are problems. Good employees expect to be told when they do good work.
Good Working Conditions are a must. Good employees expect their employer to be making constant improvements so the workplace is not only safe but pleasant.
Finally, Have Fun. Good, loyal employees do not want boring, drudgery-filled work. There are many ways employers can make work fun and many of these techniques cost little or nothing. This is not the same kind of fun one has on vacation. But it does add excitement and keeps attitude high and motivation up.
For more tips, and ideas on how to attract and create loyal employees, HR Made Simple users should log in and search employee retention.
Having clearly stated and specific policies in your company’s employee handbook is essential. Many companies have used a general ethics policy in the past, but without clear and specific policies it may be hard to fire an employee for violating an unwritten or “general ethics” policy. One specific policy that has attracted attention is a policy on Personal Internet Use at Work. In one instance, not having a Personal Internet Use at Work policy lead to an employee filing, and winning, a wrongful termination suit.
While performing routine maintenance, the IT staff at a Fire Department found that an employee had been watching “inappropriate” videos at work. They were not pornographic in nature, but they contained profanity and were violent. An investigation ensued, and soon after, the employee was fired. The employee sued for wrongful termination, on the grounds that the department never told employees that they were not allowed to watch Internet videos at work.
In this particular case, the Fire Department only had a general ethics policy, which stated that employees could be fired for “malfeasance, misconduct in office, gross neglect of duty, gross immorality or habitual drunkenness” (Narisi 2010). The Fire Department claimed that watching inappropriate videos in the workplace constituted malfeasance, but the judge did not agree. In this case, the judge found that there were too many gray areas in the policy, and that specifically it did not mention computer use. In addition to this, using a word such as “inappropriate,” without defining it, leaves the door open for personal interpretation of what is and is not inappropriate.
So, the judge sided with the employee and the Fire Department lost. The Judge did acknowledge that the employee had accessed videos on his work computer that may be deemed offensive, but that was irrelevant to the case because the company’s Code of Ethics was deemed too vague to cover the employee’s use of technology. The Code of Ethics had no specific guidelines for what would be deemed “inappropriate” and did not specify how workplace computers may or may not be used.
What can you take away from this? It is important to always be as specific as possible with employee policies. Another best practice would be to develop a clear and comprehensive employee handbook that covers everything from employee computer use, to personal auto use and vacation time. HR Made Simple Users should log in and search Employee Handbook Policies. Or, visit HR Resources Now to download fully customizable and legally compliant Employee Handbook Policies.
Most companies are aware of the benefits that offering an internship can provide to both them, and the intern. Internships are a great way for employers to get cheap, or possibly free, workers, well at the same time it’s an excellent opportunity for a student to gain relevant experience in their field. As internships have grown in popularity in the past few years, questions have arisen about what exactly an internship is. If you choose to not pay your intern, it is important to make sure that the internship meets the guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released a six factor test that employers can easily use to determine if their interns should be paid.
The Test:
The internship is more about education than contributing to company operations
The primary benefit of the internship is derived by the intern
The intern does not displace employees
The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern
There is no guarantee of a job when the internship is over
All parties understand there will be no compensation for the internship
If the internship your company is considering offering meets these six guidelines, then offering an un-paid internship is acceptable. If the internship does not meet these guidelines, the intern must be considered an employee and be paid at least minimum wage. As a company that offers internships, we find that we have a better quality of applicants when we offer a paid internship.
If you are an HR Made Simple User, refer to the Internships-Definition and Criteria document for more information.
I have been hearing requests lately for some tips on workplace safety policies that can be used in multiple settings. I have provided a sample safety policy from the HRSentry library for your reading enjoyment, To access more of the 100+ policies available, login to your HRSentry account, and using the search feature type in “policy”. If you do not have an account at this time and would like to see what policies are in the libraries, use the search feature on the homepage to get a list. And as always comments are welcome!
Safety Policy
XXX is committed to the safety and health of all employees and recognizes the need to comply with regulations governing injury and accident prevention and employee safety. Maintaining a safe work environment, however, requires the continuous cooperation of all employees.
XXX will maintain safety and health practices consistent with the needs of our industry. If an employee is ever in doubt about how to safely perform a job, it is that employee’s responsibility to ask his/her supervisor for assistance. Any suspected unsafe conditions and all injuries that occur on the job must be reported immediately to YYY.
Compliance with these safety rules is considered a condition of employment. Non-compliance will be treated like any other violation of established company rules and will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Therefore, it is a requirement that each supervisor make the safety of employees an integral part of her/his regular management functions. It is the responsibility of each employee to accept and follow established safety regulations and procedures.
Safety questions, concerns or suggestions should be forwarded to YYY.
