It is illegal for an employer to post a job posting that shows a preference for someone or discourages them from applying for a job based on their race, colour, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 years or older), disability or genetic information. Before and during the hiring process, prospective employees enjoy a number of legal rights, including anti-discrimination laws and the law on “implied contracts”. If you believe your rights have been violated during the hiring process, whether you were ultimately hired or not, you should speak to an experienced employment lawyer to discuss your options and protect your legal rights. Have your potential claim reviewed by a local lawyer. At the beginning of the recruitment process, it is important to be aware of certain legal issues in order to minimize risks. Job postings, interview questions, reference reviews, and job posting all need to be done in a way that meets legal requirements. At all stages of the recruitment process (job offers, interviews, reference review and submission), keep in mind the prohibited reasons and ensure that all questions are asked in such a way that all candidates have a fair chance to respond based on your professional needs. This minimizes the risk and likelihood that you will be accused of discriminatory hiring practices. Good recruitment is also a good ethical and business practice that promotes your positive reputation and makes it easier for you to recruit. Remember that every interview you conduct is like an advertising opportunity. Every candidate should leave and wish for the opportunity to work for you. The same goes for promoting the job posting, whether on your own website or on others like AngelList, TechCrunch, and LinkedIn: don`t add language that could be interpreted to seek out or favor candidates of a particular race, color, sex, age, sexual preference, national origin, disability, or religion. For example, you should avoid ads for “college graduates” that might show bias against hiring older candidates.
It is important to note that at no stage of the recruitment process, including your interview or during reference checks, will you be able to ask illegal questions. For example, just as you can`t ask a candidate about a disability during the interview, you can`t ask their former employer, “How many sick days did they take last year?” However, you can ask if they were reliable and punctual. Harassment outside the workplace may also be illegal if there is a connection to the workplace. For example, if a supervisor harasses an employee while driving them to a meeting. However, there are some risks that employers need to consider when recruiting and hiring talent outside of their traditional market spaces. Created by FindLaw`s team of writers and legal writers| Last updated December 10, 2018 Once you`ve identified the candidates you want to hire, you should do a background check on the candidates. If you do, the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires (among other things) that you make various disclosures to the applicant and obtain their approval before retrieving the background report. If, ultimately, you decide not to hire (or subsequently have to fire a candidate) based on information you learned in an information report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you to provide additional information about “adverse actions.” Given the detailed legal obligations associated with required disclosures (as well as the severe penalties for violating the law), you should be very careful before using generic disclosure forms to conduct background checks. Applicants have legal rights even before becoming employees.
Under federal law, an employer cannot unlawfully discriminate in its hiring processes based on a candidate`s race, national origin, gender, pregnancy, age, disability, or religion. State and local laws may establish additional protected classes based on factors such as an applicant`s sexual orientation. Employers must comply with anti-discrimination laws at every stage of the hiring process, from the posting of a job posting through the interview to the final selection of the candidate to be hired. Download the FindLaw Hiring Guide [pdf] for a practical guide to your rights in the hiring process. Harassment can take the form of insults, graffiti, abusive or derogatory comments, or other verbal or physical behaviour. Sexual harassment (including unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other behaviour of a sexual nature) is also illegal. While the law does not prohibit mere teasing, casual comments or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal if it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment, or if it leads to an unfavourable employment decision (for example, if the victim is dismissed or demoted). Another complicating factor for companies hiring globally is that they must comply with local labor laws.
Chan recommended hiring global talent as independent contractors whenever possible. “They can work on a project and charge you by the hour. They are responsible for their own taxes, pensions and company registrations and you are essentially a customer and not an employer,” he said. Kim Chan is a lawyer and founder and CEO of DocPro.com, an automated legal document creator in Hong Kong. DocPro.com has had some success in hiring foreign legal experts as foreign entrepreneurs, Chan said. However: “If you hire someone abroad as an employee, you have to set up a place of business there. This can lead to potential tax issues, as your business may generate income that is received in that jurisdiction. “It is also illegal to harass someone for complaining of discrimination, filing a discrimination lawsuit, or participating in a workplace discrimination investigation or trial. Over the past year, employers have significantly changed their hiring practices to ensure the safety of potential and current employees.
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