The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been quite busy this year including last week's lawsuits against seven employers for allegations of workplace harassment. This week, more lawsuits have been filed, including one against Grand Hyatt for disability discrimination and one against a Georgia restaurant for pregnancy discrimination. Employers are wise to examine these cases closely to ensure compliance with EEOC regulations. 

Let's take a closer look at some of the EEOC lawsuits and how employers should comply.

Background checks are important for any size business but may be overlooked by small businesses who don't hire regularly or don't know where to begin.  Some growing businesses may also opt out of screening due to time constraints or cost. Small businesses, however, have a lot more to lose by not screening new employees. If the wrong employee is hired, there's a huge loss of time and money. If the employee doesn't represent your company well, you could be sued for negligent hiring or face brand reputation challenges.

Background checks don't have to be a pain for small businesses. Use this handy resource list to get started and keep your company safe.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) says that individuals have a right to access the background information stored on them, no one can access it without permissible purpose (such as employment), and they can dispute any information that is wrong. Adverse action procedures are specific in protecting these consumer rights. With the rise in FCRA compliance claims, employers are doing their best to follow regulations during adverse action procedures, including rescinding a job offer. 

When a hiring manager finds an arrest or conviction on a background check, what is the best way to withdraw the job offer and remain FCRA compliant? 

If an employer screens applicants regularly, they should be aware of federal,  state and local laws around background checks. Businesses of all sizes are being held to these strict regulations or else they are facing punitive fines in court. Consumer rights are protected against inaccurate reporting of their backgrounds. Other laws penalize for discrimination during the hiring process. If your business is running background checks, your hiring and screening policies should be consistent and compliant.

Is your employee screening policy in compliance? Review these laws to find out.

If your company is hiring many employees at once or even if you're an HR department of one and only hire sporadically, a checklist is an organizational tool that is helpful. A checklist will ensure that every step is taken, creating consistency, and covering all of the legal responsibilities of hiring. Selecting the right candidate, on-boarding and integrating the new hire into the team can be a positive and successful experience.

When hiring a new employee, documented procedures, such as a checklist, can make the process better for the hiring manager, candidates and employees.

Whether you're screening an applicant prior to employment or screening a current employee, the chore of informing that person about a failed background check can feel cruel. They likely have good intentions and, for all intents and purposes, may have been stellar candidates or solid employees. The good news is that you can prepare for this process with some forethought and you may not have to withdraw a job offer or terminate them after all.

Here is a clear process to tell an employee that they failed their background check.

With Europe ramping up data protection compliance under GDPR and Facebook coming under scrutiny for its failure to keep user data safe, employers should also be aware of the responsibility of collecting employee data. Employees have a right to privacy under federal and state laws.  Their personal identifying information is to be kept confidential, stored securely and disposed of properly. 

Here are HR best practices for keeping employee data safe.

When your HR department consists of one, you will likely be setting policies and building out the organization from the ground up. These responsibilities include recruiting, interviewing, screening, payroll, benefits, employee relationship management and more. Human resources personnel must also stay abreast of compliance regulations that affect hiring processes and change frequently. Outsourcing some tasks may be necessary to increase your resourcefulness.

Here are best practices for background checks when you're an HR department of one.

Since entering the workforce as a teenager, I've made friends, built lifelong relationships, and in many cases, been the only female in the workplace. Most of the time, I felt respected and treated equally. I've also had my fair share of wage gap disputes, gender bias, and managerial comments that I am certain weren't made to my male colleagues. I can also unfortunately say #MeToo.

Employers, you can do something about sexual harassment. You can create a safer and more dignified workplace with just a few changes.

With the new year, many laws that were passed in the previous year become active. For employers, these new laws may require big changes to employment manuals, hiring documents, or important parts of the hiring process. To help make things easier, we've done some research and compiled a list of new state laws that went into effect on January 1 and others to expect this year. This information may not be completely comprehensive, for instance, not all wage laws are covered, so employers must still be aware of integral legislation in their state or local community. 

Here are the hiring and state employment laws going into effect this year...