By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey more than eight out of ten human resource professionals reported that they regularly conduct reference checks for professional (89 percent), executive (85 percent), administrative (84 percent) and technical (81 percent) positions. Regular reference checks were…
By Lane V. Erickson Several times a week I have clients who come to me and ask me to either review an employee handbook for them or to create an employee handbook for use with their employees in their business. The most universally, two specific questions that come up from…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Many employers do not know or understand the laws that apply when it comes to hiring or choosing to not hire a prospective employee with a criminal record. Additionally, the amount of misinformation that exists and that people hear from well-meaning friends or unreliable sources…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Many of my clients who either already have an existing business or who are about to create one ask me questions about job applications for employees. Most people are familiar with job applications because most people have filled one out themselves in order to obtain…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney In order to determine how an employer can comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, in creating an employment relationship with an employee, let’s consider the following common scenario. You are a manager at an employing company that has several job vacancies to fill. This…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney It may be surprising to know that many people who are working a job really don’t know whether they are an employee or not. They may think that they are an independent contractor, but may not actually be one according to the law. In Moore…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Credit checks related to hiring and other employment matters are generally referred to as employee credit checks or employment credit checks. Idaho does not currently have a “credit check law” that restrict or prohibit an employer from conducting a credit check on its prospective or…
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney Regardless of whether your workforce in Idaho is 20 or 2,000, any organization that has employees will benefit from having well written, accurate job descriptions for its employees. Drafting effective and accurate job descriptions in an Idaho Employment Agreement eliminates unnecessary confusion. It also helps…
By Joseph G. Ballstaedt Yes, an employer in Idaho can pay employee with non-monetary compensation, and most do to some extent. Non-monetary compensation is any work benefit that isn’t paid in cash, with a check, or by deposit into the employee’s bank account. See Paolini v. Albertson’s, Inc., 143 Idaho…
By Joseph G. Ballstaedt Under federal law, when an employer intentionally discriminates against an employee based on the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, or disability, the employer can be liable for punitive damages. See 42 U.S.C. § 1981a(a). The purpose of…