Should our company use job descriptions? How long should they be, and what information should they contain? Do they really serve a useful purpose?
We get those questions all the time, and the answer is always the same: Yes, employers should use lean, practical job descriptions that accurately reflect essential job duties because they serve an [...]

The worst-case scenario for any claim involving an employment-related decision is the “smoking gun” piece of evidence that destroys the case. It could be a notation in an interviewer’s notes that the applicant was “old” or a supervisor’s note indicating that the recently terminated employee “complained about safety issues a lot.” Because you generally have [...]

Employers have started hiring again and are often overwhelmed with huge numbers of resumes, even for entry-level positions. Some companies have decided that an effective way to identify the best candidates is to refuse to consider job applicants who are currently unemployed. But a number of human resources professionals, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), [...]

by Joseph C. Pettygrove
Employers are increasingly looking at the feasibility of scanning hard copies of various types of employment documents and retaining only the electronic copies in the routine course of business. Generally speaking, you are allowed to do that if you ensure that your electronic record maintenance systems are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible [...]

by Rita M. McKinney
Supervisors can be an employer’s frontline of protection against costly discrimination claims — if they’re armed with the right information and training. Here are 11 important things every supervisor needs to know.
Basic Training for Supervisors – easy-to-read guides to avoid legal hazards, covering more than 17 areas of supervisor training

Tell me about yourself. What are your strengths? How about your weaknesses?
Maybe those questions sound familiar. Maybe you hear the same phrases come out of your own mouth every time you conduct a job interview. And maybe you’re missing something.
Mastering HR: Hiring

Here’s the scenario: As the human resources director for your company, you’re asked to sit in on the selection process for your company’s next CEO. After an intense screening process, you have three candidates to be the next leader of your company — a white male in his early 70s, a [...]

When you think about interviewing job candidates, what comes to mind? The interviewee makes sure his clothes are neatly pressed (and free of stains) and that his hair is combed, teeth are brushed, and palms are dry for the inevitable interviewer handshake. Well, today that handshake may never happen. Technology, especially video technology, is radically [...]

At the risk of falling into a male gender stereotype, we’re not shoppers; we’re buyers. We don’t browse. We know what we want, go directly to it on the store shelves, grab it, and head for the cash register — almost always without trying it on.
Most employers feel the same way about hiring. No one [...]

by Amy M. McLaughlin
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently determined that a job applicant presented enough disputed information for his age discrimination case to be submitted to a jury, rather than dismissed. The applicant claimed that the individuals who interviewed him had an age bias against him and preferred [...]