EEOC Compliance Tips From Joe Bontke | Focus on Hiring, Retention & Benefits | Policy and Legal Updates
eESI Week’s Best this week includes ‘straight from the EEOC’ tips for ensuring your small business is in compliance. Plus, tips for choosing the best hires, how much to pay them, and how to find out what health benefits your competitors are offering. You’ll also want to read about HHS’ move to drop a proposed certification rule, and your obligations as an employer under the FCRA.
A first for eESI:
This week, eESI is thrilled to present our loyal readers with our First eESI podcast!
Our first foray into the world of podcasting features an interview with the EEOC’s Joe Bontke, an education and outreach coordinator working out of the agency’s Houston district office. Entitled ‘What Momma Said Not to Talk About at Work – Religion, Sex & Politics,’ this podcast includes highlights from the eESI Live Series event Joe headlined in Houston on October 24th.
You’ll find the link to this highly informative podcast full of actionable tips at the bottom of today’s blog post.
eESI’s Focus on Hiring:
The search for talent is heating up as unemployment levels hit a record low. How can your hiring team find the right person for the job? Research indicates that identifying candidates with strong soft skills is your best bet. Find out how you can use talent analytics to help you evaluate candidates for your next job opening with these Key Predictors of Successful Hires from Skills Survey.
But hiring is more than just choosing the right candidate; your organization also has to convince that candidate to choose you. How much should you pay and what benefits should you offer to get top talent to say yes? Start with eESI’s A Practical Guide to Market Pricing by Sharon McKnight to learn how to choose a compensation policy that suits your organization. Then, take a peek at the latest health benefits trends in The Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2017 Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey.
Compliance Issues This Week:
First, the good news.
After receiving 72 comments, many of them negative, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has elected to drop a proposal to require organizations to file a certification of compliance with HIPAA transaction standards. Business & Legal Resources’ Senior Editor, David Slaughter, explains the impetus behind the initial proposal and what its withdrawal means for small businesses in this release — HHS Withdraws Rules for Certifying Compliance with HIPAA Transaction Standards.
And now the bad.
SHRM’s Roy Maurer reports that a federal judge has thrown the question of whether an employer complied with the pre-adverse action provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) back to the jury, denying the employer’s motion for summary judgment on the matter. The employer in this case had failed to send a copy of a final background report to an unsuccessful job applicant.
What does this mean for employers conducting background checks on employees and pre-hires? Maurer’s article title says it — Employers Should Share All Background Check Reports Before Revoking Job Offers.
Juries are fickle. Even if you’ve already provided some information to the candidate or employee, tie it up, top it with a bow, and send it again with your final action notice.
Joe Knows:
With common sense advice and interesting anecdotes, EEOC’s Joe Bontke shares his tips on leadership and responsiveness in EEOC compliance.
