The packet contains basic information on DLIR’s role in certifying H2A Visa requests and housing, disability compensation laws, unemployment insurance law, and Hawaii’s wage and hour laws, including child labor. Download the packet here or check out DLIR’s website.

Employers who use employment tests and other procedures in making hiring decisions can refer to a  fact sheet issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  It provides technical assistance on how federal anti-discrimination laws apply to testing and other selection procedures, including background checks.  The fact sheet also includes recent EEOC enforcement actions illustrating what employer should consider in implementing employment tests, and some suggestions on employer best practices for testing and selection.

Employers should protect themselves from hiring liars, cheats, drug abusers, and other potential bad hires, says Barry J. Nadell, Senior Vice President of the background screening division of Kroll and the former President and co-founder of InfoLink Screening Services. In an article for Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends, he offers seven tips for 2008 to avoid making a bad hire.

Although U.S. employers are projecting a slight decline in hiring for the third quarter of 2008, they “are generally not reacting with large-scale payroll reductions,” according to a Manpower Inc. spokesman.

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc. shows that of the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 26 percent expect to increase their workforces during the July - September period, while 10 percent expect to scale back their payrolls. Fifty-eight percent expect no change in the hiring pace, and 6 percent are undecided about their hiring plans. Complete survey results are available here.

Managers who want to fill positions often ask for the moon in filling out job requisitions or discussing their needs with Human Resources. Consultant Johanna Rothman, in an article for Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends, provides an outline of questions to ask hiring managers so that the company can start recruiting and hiring more realistic candidates.

In order to increase the predictive accuracy of interviews with job candidates, Eric Kramer, CIO of Innovative Career Services, outlines a strategy of having the candidate prepare, then deliver a presentation. In his article for Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends, Kramer says that requiring a presentation demonstrates the candidate’s ability to assemble information, convey it, and to “think on their feet.” He provides guidelines to develop a presentation outline to potential candidates.

In “My Summer Vacation,” business author and entrepreneur Tony Lee describes what he learned when he spoke to an owner of a small business about firing someone before you hire them. Lee is Chief Alliance Officer and Executive Vice President of Adicio, a developer of Web-based classified-advertising solutions, and the founder and former publisher of The Wall Street Journal Online Vertical Network. He is the co-author of The Jobs Rated Almanac and Career Choice, Change and Challenge.