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Thinking of hiring someone?

For small business owners, the process of hiring new staff can be daunting.  From understanding how to put a job description together, to the wording - and placement of job advertisements, and the vetting and interviewing of applicants.  There is a lot to navigate!

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first act to forbid discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, physical disability, sex or national origin.  This included all forms of potential discrimination that could take place in the workplace such as in selection, promotion, compensation, assignment of roles and termination.  Further amends to the Act in the Civil Rights Act of 1991, expanded the rights of victims to receive punitive and compensatory damages for intentional discrimination, as well as giving them the right to a jury trial.

Here are some links to useful information you can use to put together an effective job description:
https://www.sba.gov/content/writing-effective-job-descriptions
This link gives a good breakdown of the difference between a Job Description and a Job Specification http://www.managementstudyguide.com/job-description-specification.htm  it is important to know this difference and to be able to be precise as to what the Job Specifications are, as these are the minimum qualifications and traits needed in order to perform or undertake the responsibilities of a particular position.  These qualifications and traits can put you at legal risk if they are determined to be inaccurate or subjective and can be proven to discriminate against protected classes who may be capable of performing the job with a reasonable accommodation.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers great guidelines for employers around different kinds of discrimination http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm  and prohibited employment practices http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/practices/index.cfm

At Namaqua Consulting we offer small businesses assistance with the selection, hiring, training and retention of employees.

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