nora akins

March 1, 2011

Investing In Innovation

Innovation is a core component of corporate strategy. There is a positive correlation between new products and market share. Creativity is the ability to produce original and valuable work, concepts or ideas. Innovation is the process of turning creative ideas into new products or services. The process includes selection, development and commercialization of those ideas. Pre-employment tests can include tests for creative potential. Companies can select people based on one’s creativity quotient. There are many ways to test creativity, including: Divergent thinking, or generating a lot of ideas and possible solutions Convergent thinking is selecting the best solution Assessing the […]
February 1, 2011

Chilling News

Some employers don’t realize Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects the rights of all employees, regardless of union status, to form or join, labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities, such as discussing wages, work conditions, and other terms of employment. Should an employer interfere with this right, it is considered an unfair labor practice. The term chilling refers to discouraging, depressing or deterring employees from exercising their rights under the NLRA. A non-union employer who prohibits employees from discussing wages under the confidentiality section […]
January 1, 2011

Anticipate Increased Enforcement

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has finished up its best three years in history in terms of the number of charges filed, the total dollars recovered, and the reduction of backlogged charges. EEOC claims and total dollars recovered from employers hit an all time high ($319 million) in FY 2010. Charges filed in FY 2010 were up 7.1% from the previous year to 99,022. A combination of factors attribute to this trend. The EEOC’s authority has been expanded through legislation; the ADA Amendment Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Commission […]
December 1, 2010

Criminal Histories

An employer can be legally responsible for an employee’s wrongful acts. Negligent hiring is a claim made against an employer based on the premise that an employer knew, or should have known, an employee was likely to behave inappropriately toward other employees. Criminal history is a routine background check made prior to a hiring decision to avoid negligent hiring. The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed more than 400 of its members earlier this year and revealed 73% conduct a criminal history of potential employees. Criminal histories have become common for reasons beyond limiting legal exposure to negligent hiring. […]