DOL Announces New Online Recruiting Resource for Employers

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Published on Wednesday, 27 March 2013 15:51

          The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a suite of online resources, know as the "Business Center," for employers looking to recruit, train and retain a skilled work force through the department's CareerOneStop website. The website includes tips about how to recruit qualified candidates through local American Job Centers and provides employment projections. Additionally, the website offers access to local training and educational institutions, a catalog of occupational certifications and a tool to help employers translate the military training and skills of returning service members into specific civilian occupations. The CareerOneStop Business Center is available online at http://www.careeronestop.org/business. According to Jane Oates, assistant secretary of labor for employment and housing, "These resources will help educate employers about our nation's work force development system and put the resources they need to find and hire qualified workers right at their fingertips." The new Business Center page builds on existing resources available through CareerOneStop, which also has information to help job seekers find education and training providers, conduct a job search and access local labor market information. Read More.

Secretary of Labor Encourages U.S. Employers to Hire Veterans

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Published on Monday, 12 November 2012 17:47

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis released a statement encouraging U.S. employers to commemorate the Veterans Day holiday Monday by making a commitment to hiring veterans She emphasized that, "We've now lowered our unemployment rate for our veterans to 6.3 percent – well below the national average – and brought down the jobless rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans by more than two percentage points in the last year alone. We're making progress, but our work will not be done until everyone who has worn the uniform can find civilian jobs worthy of their heroic sacrifice…Through boot camp and pre-deployment training, the U.S. government spends 8-12 weeks preparing our outstanding soldiers, sailors and airmen to serve. Now that we're winding down a decade of war overseas, it's critical that we spend some time preparing these heroes for the transition back to civilian life. Over the next five years, the Department of Labor will help more than 1 million transitioning service members find jobs when they come home. We're helping them with job search strategies and resume writing, and showing them how to market their world-class military training to secure good-paying civilian jobs…Those who fight to protect our freedoms abroad should not have to fight for jobs when they come home. They deserve a chance to use their unique skills to help re-grow our economy. So this Veterans Day, I encourage employers to make the commitment to put our veterans to work for them. It's an act of patriotism that's good for our country and good for their bottom line.” Read More.

Employer’s Use of Screening Tests Cannot be Discriminatory

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Published on Monday, 23 July 2012 16:01

Employers often use tests and other selection procedures to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion. There are many different types of tests and selection procedures, including cognitive tests, personality tests, medical examinations, credit checks, and criminal background checks. Although the use of tests and other selection procedures can be a very effective method for determining which applicants or employees are most qualified for a particular job, employers must exercise caution because these tests and selection tools can violate the anti-discrimination laws if an employer intentionally uses them to discriminate based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, or age (40 or older), or if the tests and other selection procedures disproportionately exclude applicants or employees in a particular group by race, sex, or another covered basis, unless the employer can justify the test or procedure under the law.

In a recent case involving the use of pre-employment screening tests, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a consent decree with Leprino Foods Inc. to resolve charges of discriminatory hiring practices at the company's Lemoore West facility. The OFCCP alleged that Leprino Foods' use of a pre-employment test called WorkKeys to select hires for on-call laborer positions resulted in discrimination against African-American job applicants and applicants of Asian and Hispanic descent.

The OFCCP conducted a scheduled compliance review in which OFCCP investigators held interviews, analyzed company data and reviewed documents provided by the company. Through this review, OFCCP discovered that the administration of the WorkKeys exam allegedly had an adverse impact on minority job applicants for these specific positions. The agency further determined that the exam was not job-related, as it tested applicants’ skills in mathematics, locating information and observation – skills that are not critical to the entry-level tasks performed by on-call laborers, such as inspecting products, monitoring equipment and maintaining sanitation at the facility.

Supreme Court Rules Federal Law Preempts Portions Of Arizona’s Immigration Law

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Published on Tuesday, 26 June 2012 17:18

In a 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal law preempts significant portions of Arizona’s immigration law (Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (S.B. 1070)). Three of four provisions of the law were invalidated by the Court. One of the provisions made it a violation of state law for an unauthorized worker to apply for work or work in the state of Arizona. Specifically, under section 5(c) of the law it is a misdemeanor for “an unauthorized alien to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place or perform work as an employee or independent contractor” in Arizona. Penalties for violations of this section include a $2,500 fine and incarceration for up to six months. In opposing this section, the United States argued that the provision “upsets the balance struck by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)” and is therefore “preempted as an obstacle to the federal plan of regulation and control.”

Commenting on section 5(c), Justice Kennedy observed that, “Although §5(C) attempts to achieve one of the same goals as federal law—the deterrence of unlawful employment—it involves a conflict in the method of enforcement. The Court has recognized that a “[c]onflict in technique can be fully as disruptive to the system Congress enacted as conflict in overt policy.” Motor Coach Employees v. Lockridge, 403 U. S. 274, 287 (1971). The correct instruction to draw from the text, structure, and history of IRCA is that Congress decided it would be inappropriate to impose criminal penalties on aliens who seek or engage in unauthorized employment. It follows that a state law to the contrary is an obstacle to the regulatory system Congress chose.” Based on this reasoning, the Court struck down section 5(c). Read More.