A CANDIDATE TOLD US THEY HAVE A DISABILITY. WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO?

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It’s hiring time! You’ve reviewed the applications, interviewed lots of fascinating people, and are ready to extend an offer. You’ve worked hard to get to this point, not only to find the right person, but also to sell them on the job. You’re probably both excited and nervous. You call the candidate, extend the offer, and give them a set time in which to make their decision. After the call, you follow up with the formal offer letter. This part is no less important than everything that’s come before. According to a Glassdoor survey, 1 in 6 job offers are declined. An offer letter can reaffirm to the candidate that accepting the offer is the right decision, but it can also give them pause and cause them to question the wisdom of accepting. A letter with poor grammar or typos, confusing sentences, details not previously discussed, or a tone at odds with the culture you’ve conveyed so far may speak to a lack of professionalism and scare them away. But a clear, polished, accessible letter that shines can help make their decision to accept an easy one. Good Practices When Drafting the Letter As you start writing, keep the following in mind: Provide a warm welcome. The letter should communicate your excitement about the individual joining your organization. Consider starting with a template—we have several on the platform—but make it your own. Make sure the letter's voice, tone, and style match your culture and brand, as well as the experience the candidate has had during the recruitment process. Playful or formal, the letter should be an extension of your company's culture. Avoid jargon, legalese, and other terminology the candidate may not understand. The letter should be clear, concise, and easily digestible, communicating all the relevant information the candidate needs to make a good decision, but without overwhelming them. Remember, you’re still selling the role, and you haven’t yet closed the sale. Use this opportunity to highlight the importance of this role to the organization and the advantages it will bring to the candidate if they accept. You want them visualizing themselves in the role and feeling excited about it. Details to Include in the Letter We recommend including the following key elements: Job title and general description. The full official job description may be best sent as an attachment, however. Logistics such as start date, work schedule, work location, whether the role is full or part time, and whether it’s exempt or nonexempt. Reporting structure as applicable, including their manager’s name, title, and contact information. Any contingencies such as passing a drug screening and background check prior to the start date. Compensation, including base pay rate, pay periods, and any bonuses or commissions they may be eligible for. A brief overview of benefits and a timeline of when they become effective. You can include an attachment with additional details, including coverage and costs. A statement that the employment relationship is at-will (if applicable). Instructions on how and by when to accept the offer. Close your letter by sharing your excitement for them to join! Steps to Take Before You Send the Letter When you’ve finished drafting the letter, don’t send it just yet! Ask a few others in your organization to review it for grammar, spelling, readability, and brand consistency. Don’t let your good news be overshadowed by avoidable mistakes. We also recommend having an attorney or internal HR professional sign off on the letter. Offer letters are not meant to be legal documents, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t legal implications. It’s best to avoid accidentally creating an employment contract, making promises you can’t keep, or inserting discriminatory language. Consider making the final version into a template for others in your organization to use. They’ll likely appreciate the time you’ve saved them. Once the letter is ready, send it out, and then take a moment to smile. Whether the candidate accepts or rejects the offer, you’ve done what you can to define and sell the role. Be proud of the work you’ve done. Even if the candidate rejects the offer, you’ve got an easily revisable letter draft ready to go. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer : This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: My employees regularly forget to log out during their breaks and meal periods. I've told them countless times, and they just forget to do it. What can I do? Answer from Emily, MBA, SPHR: There are a few steps you can take to help your employees remember to clock out for breaks and meal periods: Ask employees why they’re forgetting. There may be contributing factors worth addressing. You can also ask for feedback on what may not be working well with the current timekeeping procedures. Review your processes and systems to ensure they are easy to use and find. If you have a physical time clock, put it in a spot where your employees will pass by during meal and rest periods. Encourage your employees to use calendar reminders, especially if they clock in and out from their computers. Share why proper timekeeping is important—not just for the individuals, but for the team and organization. If it makes sense given your employee demographics, offer individual or group rewards for when employees consistently remember to clock out. If all else fails, use disciplinary action to hold employees accountable to your timekeeping processes. Ensure that employees are disciplined consistently. Emily's robust experience overseeing HR in the non-profit, healthcare, and hospitality industries brings valuable knowledge to clients. She graduated college with degrees in Music and Entrepreneurial Business, and her passion for helping and working alongside people led her to the field of HR. In her free time, Emily enjoys traveling and home brewing. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer : This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: We would like to add a working interview to our selection process. Is this permitted and are there other options to help us finalize our selection? Answer from Wendy, PHR: Yes, you can have a working interview as part of your selection process, but there’s a big caveat. If you have the candidate do “real work” that is useful to your business, you’ll need to hire them as a temporary employee, have them complete new hire paperwork, pay them at least the minimum wage, and then jump through any termination hoops if you don’t hire them. You can’t lawfully classify them as an independent contractor for this purpose. Here are a few more things keep in mind: It will likely be most convenient for you to write a check to the candidate at the end of the working interview. But if not, make sure they get paid within the time frame required by your state’s final pay laws. If a candidate is injured during the working interview, you may be liable for a workers’ compensation claim. You'll want to be clear with the candidate that the working interview is not an offer of employment. When the work is completed, give them a timeline for when they can expect to hear back from you. If you’d prefer to avoid the hassle of hiring candidates as temporary employees, there are alternatives that can yield similar results. Here are two we recommend: Test candidates’ skills by assigning them a task to complete. This task should be something that can be completed quickly and that doesn’t benefit the organization—it shouldn’t be work that needs to get done. For example, you could have them process part of last week’s (redacted) payroll or have them write a particular type of client communication that has already been sent. Allow candidates to observe a current employee doing the job for an extended period. Job shadowing shows candidates what to expect in the role and what sorts of tasks they’d be expected to perform. This will help them gauge their likelihood of success in the role. This Q&A does not constitute legal advice and does not address state or local law. Wendy has over 20 years of experience in HR and talent acquisition. She has been writing and talking about HR for 5 years and was an HR podcast host for 4 years. Wendy has a BA from the University of South Dakota. In her spare time, she makes artisan ice cream and volunteers with her daughter's Girl Scout troops. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer : This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: How many hours can I assign to a part-time employee? Is there a limit? Answer from Sergio, SHRM-CP: There’s no limit per se, but there are few factors you might want to consider: If the employee was looking for a part-time job when you hired them (and didn’t settle for fewer hours than desired), you may get pushback if you assign more hours than they bargained for on a regular basis. Under certain laws, as well as insurance and retirement plans, benefits kick in when an employee hits a certain number of hours per week, regardless of how you classify them. For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) considers employees full time at 30 or more hours per week. If you regularly assign an employee a full-time schedule while continuing to classify them as “part time”—and full-time employees receive additional benefits, such as paid time off—the employee could argue they’re being treated unfairly or even in a way that amounts to employment discrimination. Sergio has over a decade of customer service experience including non-profit, food service, and hotel management. He graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Leadership. In his free time Sergio loves physical fitness, spending time with family, and travelling.  From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer : This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: What should we do when one of our designated paid holidays falls on a weekend when we aren’t open? Do we need to offer an alternative day off? Answer from Janelle, SHRM-CP, SHRM-PMQ: No, you don’t need to offer an alternative day off. There are no federal laws requiring private employers to provide paid time off for holidays. However, there are potential benefits to offering an alternative day off: It can boost employee morale. Employees won’t feel that they “lost” a day off—and three-day weekends are always appreciated! It may save you from having to process a host of time-off requests for weekdays around that holiday. It communicates your commitment to work-life balance, an important factor for engagement and retention.  Janelle has over 19 years of HR Practitioner experience within the healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing industries. She has worked in HR roles as an HR Manager, HR Generalist, and Sr. Recruiter managing hiring, onboarding, payroll, employee relations, and staffing. Janelle holds certifications from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business and the Society for Human Resource Management. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer : This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: Can we decrease the number of hours employees work? Answer from Daniel, SHRM-SCP: Yes. Absent an employment contract or other legally binding agreement, you can reduce an employee’s work hours—there is no law that prevents this. Hours are typically reduced for reasons such as a decrease in business needs, the company's productivity has decreased, job restructuring, or reorganization. It's important, however, to make scheduling decisions in a manner that is consistent with legitimate business needs and to ensure that you're being consistent in how you treat employees. Reducing an employee's work schedule can expose you to legal claims if it is perceived to be based on an unlawful reason such as discrimination or retaliation. And of course, there’s also the risk that the affected employee may decide to look for work elsewhere. Daniel has over 12 years of experience in the communications, government relations, political advocacy, and customer service fields. He has a BS in Journalism and Communications. He has run a small business of his own and sat on the Board of Directors of several local non-profits. In his free time he enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, and home brewing. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Did you know you may still be able to verify I-9 documents remotely? But, you’ll need to use the new procedure. Learn more about it below. As we reported earlier, there’s a new I-9 form, and you should be using it for all new hires. When U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the new form, it also informed us about new requirements for remote verification of I-9 documents. USCIS has dubbed this the alternative procedure. With workforces having gone remote due to COVID, employers were able to view those documents remotely—temporarily. Now, if you are a qualified employer, you are allowed to conduct Form I-9 remote documentation verification for any employee hired on or after August 1, 2023. Qualified employers are those that are participants in good standing in federal E-Verify. Employers are in good standing if all of the following are true: • They have enrolled in E-Verify for all hiring sites in the United States that use the alternative procedure. • They are compliant with all E-Verify program requirements. • They continue to be enrolled in E-Verify and are in good standing at any time when they use the alternative procedure. Pros and Cons of Using E-Verify E-Verify is the USCIS’s free system that compares information from an employee’s I-9 to data supplied by the federal government to confirm whether the individual is authorized to work in the United States. It’s optional for most employers, though some are required by federal or state law to participate. Notably, most federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use the system if the contract contains the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) E-Verify clause. Using the E-Verify system does not replace or alter any of the Form I-9 requirements, except that it now allows for remote verification via the “alternative procedure.” If you’re thinking about using E-Verify so you can continue (or start) to verify I-9 documents remotely, we recommend weighing the pros and cons of E-Verify and considering the required steps of the alternative procedure, which we’ve outlined below. Pros • E-Verify can help employers verify that an employee’s I-9 documents are genuine. The system is designed to reduce the risk of hiring undocumented workers. A primary advantage of using the E-Verify system is that the company may reduce its exposure to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violations and fines. Proper use of E-Verify (assuming it’s based on a compliant I-9 process) acts as evidence that an employer is following employment eligibility laws. • Employers that hire students who have F-1 visas and have received a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields can access a 24-month F-1 STEM extension of the student’s work authorization that is only available to E-Verify employers. More information is available here. • Using E-Verify is a requirement for employers to use the alternative procedure for remote verification of I-9 documents. Cons • Use of the system adds another administrative step to the I-9 verification process with its own compliance requirements. E-Verify requires staff training as part of the enrollment process. • By using E-Verify, employers agree to allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) and DHS to perform periodic audits of their hiring records. Using E-Verify also does not decrease the chance of an I-9 audit; it may even increase the likelihood if you have a pattern of noncompliance. • Errors that might go undetected in the I-9 process may be subject to more scrutiny when your hiring data is stored in a government database. Employers should ensure their I-9 processes are compliant and ready to withstand inspection. • E-Verify can’t always detect if an employee is using legitimate documents that belong to another person. That said, the E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) states that there won’t be civil or criminal liability for actions taken in good faith based on information provided by E-Verify. Alternative Procedure Steps If you would like to use the alternative procedure, you’ll need to take the following steps within three business days of an employee’s first day of employment: 1. Receive and examine copies of the employee’s Form I-9 documents (or an acceptable receipt) and determine if the documents appear to be genuine. If the documents are two-sided, employers need to examine copies of both the front and back. 2. Conduct a live video meeting with the employee. The employee needs to bring the same documents that they sent to the employer so the employer can ensure that they reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee. 3. Check the box on Form I-9 (Rev. 08/01/23) that an “alternative procedure” was used to examine documentation to complete Section 2 or reverification. 4. Retain clear and legible copies of all documents that the employee sent to complete Form I-9, regardless of whether the documents are from List A, List B, or List C. Be advised that you can’t require employees to use the alternative procedure if they don’t want to, and you will need to perform an in-person examination for those unable or unwilling to participate in the remote verification process. This could arise when new employees don’t have access to the necessary technology or are uncomfortable transmitting sensitive personal information electronically, particularly if the employer hasn’t provided a secure way for them to do so. Also, if you offer the alternative procedure at a particular hiring site, it needs to be offered to all employees at that site. If you prefer, you can offer the alternative procedure only to remote employees and do in-person inspection for onsite and hybrid employees. Employers can’t choose when to use remote or in-person verification based on a person’s or group of employees’ citizenship or immigration status, national origin, or any other protected characteristic. From HR Support Center - Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.

Question: We recently made a couple of small updates to our employee handbook. Do we need to have employees sign a new handbook for each update? Answer from Shawna, SHRM‐CP: No. For small, minor updates, you don’t need employees to sign off, especially if you simply made an administrative change like updating the name of your employee assistance program provider, correcting a typo, or adding a clarifying statement. A simple communication to all employees to let them know that the change has been made, why, and where to find the change should suffice as notice. Larger changes, like a brand‐new policy or an update with essential changes, would warrant a new employee signature, especially if they could be disciplined for violating the new or updated policy. If you need to discipline an employee related to the new policy or update, their signature will help show that they were made aware of the change. After working in the mental health field for nearly a decade, Shawna became an HR professional and obtained a masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with a Society of Human Resources Management certification. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology. In her free time, Shawna enjoys hiking with her family, backpacking, running, and reading.  From HR Support Center ‐ Legal Disclaimer: This message does not and is not intended to contain legal advice, does not address state or local law, and its contents do not constitute the practice of law or provision of legal counsel. The sender cannot be held legally accountable for actions related to its receipt.