Hiring Employees FAQ

Questions:

• What laws must I follow when hiring new employees?
• When I hire someone, do I have to use a written employment contract?
• Do any special rules apply if I'm hiring a teenager?
• Can I take an applicant's disability into account when I'm hiring?
• Can I ask where an applicant was born or whether he or she is a U.S. citizen?
• I want to know whether applicants have ever been fired or stolen from a prior employer -- can I require them to take a lie detector test?
• What should I do before hiring my first employee?
• What first-day paperwork requirements do I need to handle with new employees?
• How far can I go in running background checks?
• What is a job description?
• Can I check an applicant's credit report?

Answer:

What laws must I follow when hiring new employees?

A variety of state and federal laws govern what you can and cannot do during all phases of the hiring process, including interviewing, investigating, testing, and selecting new employees.

Generally, you must:

• avoid illegal discrimination
• respect the applicant's privacy rights
• refrain from making promises you can't keep
• follow the legal rules for hiring immigrants, and
• follow the legal rules for hiring young workers.