By Michael Cormier Privacy is one of those nebulous things we all think we understand, but really don’t. Ask someone on the street, for instance, whether privacy is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, and the answer is likely to be a resounding, “Of course!” After all, this is the United States, land of the free. […]
By Michael Cormier Summer’s fast approaching, and for many businesses that means seasonal hiring. In the good ol’ summertime, certain industries and individuals are looking to hire: landscapers, pools, pool maintenance companies, amusement parks, babysitters and nanny services, summer camp personnel, just to name a few. This time of year, the legal doctrine of “respondeat […]
Seasonal Hiring: Not a Good Time to Be Lax By Michael Cormier Spring is finally here. The season when thoughts turn to warm weather, baseball, and blooming plant life. And if you’re in HR, seasonal hiring. For a lot of industry, especially retail, spring is a busy time. Obvious examples are nurseries and the big […]
By Michael Cormier “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” – Mark Twain A new phrase is sweeping the country in the debate over hiring people with a criminal past: “Ban the box.” Ban the box refers to the question on job applications asking if the candidate has […]
By Michael Cormier, Attorney at Law Would you reject a job candidate who has filed for bankruptcy? Would it color your opinion of that candidate’s reliability? Sense of obligation? Morals? If you answered “Yes”, then I suggest you read on to the end of this article. The list of five people you would have rejected […]
By Michael Cormier, Attorney-At-Law What your employees do outside the workplace may seem like none of your business, and in most cases it isn’t. But when a worker’s extracurricular activities affect his or her performance on the job, that’s a whole different ball game. This is especially true of substance abuse: Nothing can harm a […]
By Michael Cormier Attorney at Law As an employer, you know why potential employees should be screened with a thorough background check before hiring: other than their resume and what they told you during the interview, you really don’t know this person. So, to round out your information, you hire a company to do […]
Hiring employees has never been easy. It’s kind of like that box of chocolates Forrest Gump talked about: you can never be sure what you’re getting. Which is a very good reason for performing background checks on prospective employees before they become part of your company. Now, you may be thinking, “I’ll just hire on […]
Written by: Michael Cormier It’s a well-known fact that hiring the wrong person can be a costly mistake. Lost hiring time, lost training time, not to mention the cost of providing wages and benefits to an unproductive employee. But that’s just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. We’re talking about employer liability, of course – […]