Hire the Right Employee!
Hire Right:
Part III
Part I Part II
"Its one of your company's most important decisions."
References/Background checks: For those employees that pass both the
technical and social/emotional intelligence interview, you will want to check
references and complete a background check. This is an important step because
juries have been holding employers liable for negligent hiring when their
employees commit crimes during work hours. The Kirby Co. was recently ordered
to pay $160,000 in damages to a woman who was raped by one of their employees
while conducting an in-home vacuum demonstration. In addition to negligent
hiring, it has been shown that 25 percent of job candidates misrepresent
their education and credentials. So, it is vitally important that you do
not skip this part of the hiring process.
Prior to conducting a background check consult with either an attorney or
your Attorney General to inquire about what laws and background procedures
your company should follow. States vary on what procedures they want employers
to follow before and after conducting a background check. The Fair Credit
Reporting Act requires you to obtain the candidate's consent prior to conducting
a financial background check, and to inform the candidate if he/she was denied
employment based on their credit report. Lastly, federal bankruptcy law makes
it unlawful to discriminate against a candidate who has filed for
bankruptcy.
Find Companies that Conduct Background Checks
Choose an Employee: At this point in time you should have a group
of qualified applicants. So, how do you pick the best? You might want to
consider developing an evaluation form that weighs and ranks each candidate
based on their technical answers, social/emotional answers, and background
check outcome. Evaluate your ranking to see if all the highest ranking employees
all look, sound, and act like you. If they do, you have a problem! Remember,
a diverse workforce is usually stronger than a clone workforce.
Tip: As soon as you know which applicants
you are not going to hire send him/her a simple rejection letter. Do not
state why the applicant was not hired, only that another applicant was more
appropriate for the job. Also, do not forget to thank the applicant for their
time.
At the time of hiring be careful not to make any verbal or implied promises
with the employee. Any promises you make with the employee can later become
a binding contract that a court may require your company to honor. For example,
do not promise an employee that he/she will never have to work over-time,
he/she will never be transferred, or that his/her job duties will never change.
It is a good idea to develop applications, employee handbooks, and offers
of employment with an employment-at-will statement. For more information
about employment-at-will read
The
Employer's Legal Handbook.
Tip: Companies that hold government contracts
or receive funding fall under an executive order requiring them to establish
formal affirmative-action plans if the contracts are in excess of $50,000
and employ more than 50 employees.
Now that you have picked your employee(s), the hiring process is done, right?
No, the very last step is the probation period. A probation period, usually
about three months in length, allows you the time to confirm your correct
hiring decision or to confirm that you have somehow made a hiring mistake.
Just in case the new employee you hired is not able to perform the job as
described in the job description, you have the ability to let him/her go
without the need of providing him/her with a verbal and two written
warnings.
Tip: Even though an employee is on a probation
period they are still covered under the ADA, Title VII, and sexual harassment
laws. The new employee would not fall under FMLA which requires 1,250 hours
of employment during a 12 month period for eligibility.
An employee that is a "good fit" for your company will be more productive
than an employee who is looking through the want ads after the first week,
so hire right and enjoy the success that comes with a well planned hiring
process.
Gary Vikesland, MA LP CEAP
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