Hire Image LLC

Hire Image  reports that, effective July 28, 2019, Washington employers with 15 or more employees are prohibited from asking applicants or their current or former employers about their prior wages or salaries.  Employers are also prohibited from requiring an applicant’s prior wage or salary history meet certain criteria.  Employers can confirm an applicant’s prior salary if the applicant voluntarily discloses the information or after the employer has made an offer of employment, with compensation. Additionally, if the applicant requests, the new law requires an employer to provide the wage scale or salary range for the position for which the applicant is applying, after an offer has been made at  Hire Image . This requirement includes internal transfers and promotions. If no wage scale or salary exists for the position, the employer must provide the salary expectation prior to posting. For more information about the growing trend of salary history bans,...

Effective January 1, 2021:  Colorado employers are prohibited from (1) seeking the wage history of a prospective employee; (2)  Hire Image  relying on the wage history of a prospective employee to determine a wage rate; or (3) discriminating or retaliating against a prospective employee for failing to disclose wage history. The “Equal Pay for Equal Work Act”  Hire Image  also protects against wage discrimination based on sex and includes a pay transparency clause. The state went further, taking their new law to another level, including two requirements that no other state has yet included in similar laws.  First, employers must make reasonable efforts to announce, post, or make known all opportunities for promotion to all current employees on the same calendar day . Additionally, employers must disclose the hourly or salary compensation (or range) and a general description of all benefits and other compensation offered in each posting. Finally, the...

Hire Image  reports that, effective October 31, 2019, Kansas City employers with six or more employees are prohibited from: Asking about the salary history of an applicant for employment; Screening applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, other compensation, or salary histories; Relying on the salary history of an applicant in deciding whether to offer employment or in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for such applicant during the hiring process; or Refuse to hire or retaliate against an applicant for not disclosing his or her salary history. An employer may; however, engage in discussion with an applicant about salary, benefits, and other compensation expectations.  The above prohibitions do not apply to applicants for internal transfer or promotion at  Hire Image ; a voluntary disclosure by the applicant regarding his or her salary history; any attempt by the employer to verify the applicant’s non-salary information...

Hire Image  background screening specialists report that, effective September 1, 2019, Colorado employers with 11 or more employees (effective September 1, 2021, for all employers) are prohibited from: Advertising that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; Placing a statement in an employment application that a person with a criminal history may not apply for a position; or Inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history on an initial application. Employers may obtain an applicant’s publicly available criminal background report at any time at  Hire Image . Under the law, employers are exempt when the law prohibits a person who has a particular criminal history from being employed in a particular job; the employer is participating in a program to encourage employment of people with criminal histories; or the employer is required by law to conduct a criminal history record check for the particular position. For more information about ...

In June, we reported that recreational marijuana will be legal in Illinois at  Hire Image , effective January 1, 2020. Under the law, called the Legalization Act, employers may still require a drug free workplace and may still prohibit employees from being under the influence of marijuana in the workplace or while on call.  The law also specifically mentioned the right of employers to discipline or terminate an employee who violates the workplace drug policy. While the law was clear in some instances, it also created some ambiguity in terms of causes of action, potentially increasing exposure for Illinois employers who test for marijuana and act on a positive test result.  As such, the Governor recently signed amendments to the Legalization Act into law.  Those amendments provide, in part: “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to create or imply a cause of action for any person against an employer for:                ...

Hire Image  reports that Maryland Governor Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. explained his reasons for vetoing the Maryland Ban the Box legislation (Senate Bill 839 and House Bill 994) in a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House.  In that letter, he notes that hiring the right team is “one of the most critical activities a business does” and that requiring a business to wait to ask an applicant about his or her criminal history until the first in-person interview would result in “costly and time-consuming human resource work that ultimately goes nowhere.” The Governor also mentions hiring delays, wasted time and resources, additional costs without adequate returns, and safety concerns as his numerous reasons for the veto.  In particular, with regard to safety,  Hire Image  notes the exemption for children and vulnerable adults, which begs the question – what about everyone else?  The legislation also contained what he called “dangerous pr...

Hire Image   background screening specialists report that effective January 1, 2020, employers in Nevada are prohibited from refusing to hire a prospective employee because he or she submitted to a screening test and the results indicate marijuana.  Nevada is the first state to pass such a law. Exceptions include if the person is applying for certain positions, including: a firefighter, an emergency medical technician, positions that require an employee to operate a motor vehicle and for which federal or state law requires screening tests, or positions that, in the determination of the employer, could adversely affect the safety of others. The law goes further in explaining that “screening test” means any test based on a person’s blood, urine, hair, or saliva to detect a controlled substance. According to  Hire Image , Nevada employers should review their drug screening practices to ensure they are in compliance with this new law when it goes into effect....