How Employment Law Affects Hiring
A Brief The Burden of Laws Intended to Protect Weigh on
Employers and Influence More Than You May Think
In recessionary times and in better economic times most hiring decisions are governed by many rules and
regulations. It’s the law folks. The law governs much of our behavior in all
areas of our life. Employees might forget how much hiring decisions are based
on existing law. Let’s review at least some of the pervasive some law that
permeates almost every hiring decision made. Let’s also take a moment to look
at the new media trends that you may not know about. If you really want
to have an edge in understanding the laws that govern hiring practices, then educate yourself on
some of the weight of law that drives hiring.
A larger overview of the law could
make anyone cringe, much like the scene from the movie The Devil’s Advocate where Al Pacino
plays the timelessly scary devil attorney himself (Milton), and explains to
Keanu Reaves (Kevin) why the devil himself chose to be in law. He explains
ominously in the movie It gets us into everything. Unlike the
sinister motives outlined in the movie, most employment law developed years ago
and amended continuously until today was meant to protect us, protect people
with disabilities and to encourage employers do the right thing. All heavenly
intentions, right?
But the fear of the law and the burden of the law on
employers remains great. Here’s primer of what employers think about before
they can consider you for employment.
Be thankful for the law that
governs hiring but know the burden too that influence employers large and
small. The sheer amount of information staggers the mind. Here the briefest of
brief overviews of the burden or the influence of the law on all these hiring
areas:
Proper Job Descriptions and Advertisements
The Interview Process Legal and Unlawful Questions
Discrimination and Harassment Rules
Job Applicant Skill, Medical, and Drug Testing
Running Background Checks and Credit Checks
All Employment Contracts: Provisions; Noncompete Agreements;
Terminations and more
Hiring of Independent Contractors
Hiring Immigrant Workers
Hiring Young Workers
According to William Joseph
Austin, Jr., a preeminent employment law attorney with North Carolina based
Ward & Smith P.A. points out that we live in a regulated society and adds: No
exception is made for the employment relationship, beginning with recruitment,
applications, interviews, background checks, and hiring.
According to the EEO, the Federal laws prohibiting job
discrimination are:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII),
which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin;
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which
protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same
establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which
protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against
qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and
local governments;
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which
prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who
work in the federal government; and
the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among
other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment
discrimination.
Mr. Austin goes on to point out that EEO laws, both
federal and state, impose a deep and abiding constraint on employer discretion
in the entire process. Mr. Austin also notices and points out
that Job-seekers are protected on the basis of such an ever-growing
list of classifications, characteristics, traits, and conditions that no
employer can afford to undertake seat-of-the-pants recruitment and hiring. Careless
employers could pay a high price.
According to Title I of The Americans with Disabilities Act,
it prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment
agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals
with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement,
compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of
employment. The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state
and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor
organizations. The ADA’s nondiscrimination standards also apply to federal
sector employees under section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and
its implementing rules.
