Yesterday , we looked at the first 5 of our "Top 10" list of common hiring mistakes made by California employers. Today, the rest of the Top 10 – plus an upcoming webinar you won't want to miss. [ For mistakes 1-5, click here.] 6. Not using offer letters Offer letters, like job descriptions...

Given the recent state of the economy, most employers have been more concerned with how to conduct effective layoffs than with avoiding mistakes in the hiring process. Yet as the economy gradually (if fitfully) shows signs of improvement, companies need to prepare to hire again. Are you ready? Now is...

First rule of auditing: Before you start, get legal advice on how to keep the results confidential. Otherwise, in the event of a suit, you'll likely have to reveal the results of your audit—and that could damage your defense. And here's the second rule of auditing: Be sure that management...

We had a customer call our office and ask us if we did random drug testing of our employees. We said we do not, and he told us that if we did, one of our employees would not pass and went on to describe that employee. We asked if something happened while he was a customer here, and he said, "No—it...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws apply to employer tests and other selection procedures—such as personality tests, medical exams, and credit checks—used to screen applicants for hire and employees...

We think that drug use in our company might be growing, and management wants to institute a broad, random testing policy with a zero-tolerance standard. I believe that random testing might be a privacy violation in California. Is it advisable to have a random testing policy? — Martin, HR Manager...

One of our employees has been prescribed a powerful medication. Can we ask her to take a fitness-for-duty evaluation to determine if the drug decreases her ability to perform the job's duties? Also, her situation is making me worried that other employees might be in the same boat. Can we require...

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued temporary rules to prevent employees whose drug test results show low levels of creatinine from being unfairly accused of cheating on the test. Join us this fall in San Francisco for the California Employment Law Update conference, a 3-day event that will...

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Company will pay $2.2 million to settle a genetic testing lawsuit filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC charged that Burlington Northern conducted genetic testing as part of a medical exam required of employees who had filed...

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued new rules to update revised drug and alcohol testing procedures for the federally regulated transportation industry, effective Aug. 1, 2001. Key provisions of the new rules include: 1) mandatory validity testing, 2) a waiver from the rules prohibiting...

The U.S. Department of Transportation has implemented several changes in drug and alcohol testing regulations that impact transportation employees in safety-sensitive positions, such as bus drivers, railroad workers, airline mechanics and flight crews. The most important changes involve validity testing...

The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously upheld an arbitrator's decision reinstating a truck driver who twice failed required drug tests after testing positive for marijuana. Eastern Associated Coal Co. argued that it had the right to terminate the worker as a matter of safety and public policy under...

Virginia Menge, a school bus driver employed by the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, was placed on leave after allegedly failing a random urine drug test by testing positive for nitrate, a substance which can alter test results. The drug testing agency refused Menge's request to have the...

A recent California Court of Appeal ruling involving an employee who agreed to undergo random drug testing places new restrictions on when you can administer drug tests. Random Drug Test Conducted On Employee's Day Off Perrin Edgerton, a Caltrans equipment operator in the Redding area, failed a random...

In the March 1998 issue of California Employer Advisor , we reviewed a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal focusing on alleged secret genetic testing of employees at the University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The court held that the workers could sue the lab...

According to a new survey by Quest Diagnostics Inc., the country’s largest drug-test processor, drug use in the workplace has significantly declined. In 1988, 13.6% of employment-related drug tests were positive. By last year, however, just 4.6% of the approximately 6 million tests conducted by...

Under federal Department of Transportation rules, if you employone or more commercial drivers who operate certain types of vehicles, you must comply with detailed drug and alcohol testing, training and record keeping regulations. As of January 1, 1998, the percentage of drivers you're obligated to...

Suppose an employee shows up for work with slurred speech or is acting strangely. If you have a policy giving you the right to request a drug test when you have good cause to believe the person is under the influence, you might demand that the employee submit to a urinalysis. But be careful-a new court...

The most recent drug testing survey published by SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories indicates the number of workers who test positive for drug use is at an all-time low. Only 5.8% of more than 4 million workplace drug tests the company performed in 1996 were positive, a 13% decline from 1995. Of...

At first glance, this case might seem hard to believe. An employer is ordered to pay big damages to a worker who was fired for testing positive for drug use following a workplace accident. Why? Because of poor documentation and alleged race discrimination, both of which could have been avoided. With...