Are you paying attention to employment law requirements? If you aren’t, you should be. Not only are you required to follow specific regulations concerning employment law, but you are also required to notify your employees of their employment law rights by placing an employment law poster in a conspicuous place in your business where your employees will be likely to see it, such as an employee break room. There are eight basic Federal employment laws that you should be aware of and understand. The first of these is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This employment law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin and sex. In addition, sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and sexual harassment is also prohibited under this employment law. Next, there is the Civil Rights Act of 1966. This employment law prohibits discrimination based on race or ethnic origin. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits employers from paying different wages to men and women that perform essentially the same work under similar working conditions. Most employers have heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but do not understand how this employment law can impact them. This law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin or citizenship of persons who are authorized to work in the United States. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, also known as ADEA, prohibits discrimination against individuals who are age 40 or above. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination against minorities based on poor credit ratings. The Bankruptcy Act prohibits discrimination against anyone who has declared bankruptcy. In addition to these employment laws, you are also subject to the following employment laws. The Occupational Safety and Health Act provides specific regulations regarding the safety and health conditions of employers and employees in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories FMLA, the Family Medical Leave Act, allows employees to take unpaid leave from their jobs under specific conditions. Under the Employee Polygraph Protection Act Labor Law, private employers are not allowed to use lie detector tests for either pre-employment screenings or during the course of employment. FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, provides for minimum wage and overtime pay standards as well as recordkeeping and child labor standards in private as well as public employment. Beyond the major Federal employment laws, you will also need to make sure that you are in compliance with state employment law as well. Each state may provide for employment laws in addition to the federal employment laws mentioned above. For example, California employment law covers several areas such as unemployment labor law insurance, temporary services or leasing labor law and state disability labor law.
Everyone knows that one of the secrets to long term success in any organization is hiring the right people for the right job. Your staff need to be able to do their job competently and at the same time, fit in with the people that they will be working with. Having a solid employment background check procedure to follow when screening job applicants can be a huge benefit to you during the pre employment process. When you employ someone new I’m sure that you would like to think that this new addition will be an asset to your business for a long time to come. At the same time your applicant will be trying to impress you and convince you that they are the best candidate. Some applicants are so desperate that they will manipulate their resume to the point of downright lies. This practice is more common than you might imagine so it’s surprising how often employers do poor screening checks or don’t do them at all. Ask the Job Seeker for Permission First Get your applicant to sign a waiver prepared by your legal experts before you go looking for background information. The waiver should provide you with permission to access any personal information that you might need to process the application. The prospective employee should be aware that they are giving up their privacy in return for being considered for the job. The Difference Between Reference and Background Checks Many people are either confused about the difference between reference and background checks or they think that they are the same thing. They are not. A reference in this context is a person who has worked with your candidate sometime in the previous 7 years and who is prepared to talk to you about them. You need 3 references to get a good picture of the person. When you do a background check on someone it is to confirm and validate any documents or information that they have given you and of course, to be sure they are not using an assumed identity. Also check for arrest warrants, criminal records and any other information that might be relevant. Consider the following when you draw up your employment background check procedure. Court Records Checking with court records offices all over the country would be an impossible task as there is no official database of all records in one place. You can and should check with state and county court houses in and around all of the places that the applicant has lived or has worked in recent years. They might still have a criminal record or arrest warrants or other records elsewhere but at least you will have made a reasonable effort to find them. Drivers License You only need to do this if the employee is required to do any driving. If it does then take the license and check its validity by giving the issuing agency a call. Credit Checks If the job has got anything to do with money then you should do a credit check. For most posts that are not concerned with money or finance in any way then a credit check may be of not be worth doing. Other Licences It seems that the more respected is the profession, the less inclined employers are to check that licenses to operate in that profession are valid. It sounds incredible but it is possible to find yourself treated by an unlicensed employee simply because noone bothered to check that the license was current and valid. Academic Achievements Why is it that so many people lie about their academic qualifications and grades to get jobs? Could it be because it will probably work as hardly any employer checks them? Call the college or institution to make sure that the applicant did gain the qualifications that they say they did. Use a Public Records Database to Get your Employment Background Checks Started Most if not all the background and validation checks above can be performed easily by making a series of phone calls. It is however time consuming so why not start your employment background check procedure by searching an online public records database. This is a method of background checking that is super quick and could give you enough information to make a decision without picking up the phone or commissioning an expensive employment checking service.