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The EEOC has proposed new regulations to enforce the expanded version of the Americans with Disabilities Act passed last year. They’re going to have a big impact on many HR functions, including hiring.

Long story short: With a broadened definition of “disability,” more job applicants will be covered by the law.

As before, a disability’s defined as a condition that substantially limits a major life activity.

But instead of the old “eating, sleeping and working” that courts were used to, the new regs expand protection with a huge list of activities covering everything from caring for oneself and performing manual tasks to concentrating and communicating.

How HR can prepare

The following steps will help HR any new legal landmines created by the regs:

1. Train hiring managers – With more applicants considered disabled by the law, it’s more likely than ever that an unsuccessful candidate will sue for disability bias. Managers need to stay clear of interview questions that touch on health issues.
2. Review job descriptions – Seemingly innocent wording could be thought by courts to exclude to people with disabilities. A company could get in trouble, for example, if a job description lists a specific lifting requirement for a position that involves lifting only occasionally.

Remind managers: The law doesn’t, and never did, require you to hire anyone who’s unqualified. But with new opportunities for people to sue, it’s important than ever to keep the hiring process focused on the applicant’s ability to do the job.

To read a summary of the new regs, click here.

Employees are more comfortable telling co-workers that their zipper is undone than to point out any other embarrassing gaffes, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. Two-thirds of employees said they’d tell a peer about an undone fly, while half would do the same to a higher-level co-worker.

Lowest on the comfort scale? Discussing personal hygiene. Just 28% would tell co-workers they needed a shower. The number’s just 11% when the dirty employee is higher in the ranks.

The rest of the list:

1. You have food in your teeth (66% for a same-level co-worker, 49% for someone higher)
2. You have something in your nose (51% and 33% )
3. You have a stain on your clothes (51% and 34%)
4. Your hair is messy (33% and 13%)
5. You need a breath mint (33% and 14%)
6. Your clothes aren’t appropriate for the workplace (32% and 10%)

What conversations are you most uncomfortable having with your peers? How about folks higher up in the company? Let us know in the comments section below.

Here are the behaviors that could indicate a top performer has one foot out the door:

1. Change in attitude – For example, a top team player might withdraw and stop helping others.
2. Sloppiness – Formerly top-notch employees will make more errors when they know they’re leaving.
3. Solitude – The employee might start to distance himself from others, for example, by eating lunch alone.
4. More absences – Workers headed for the door will take “sick days” to attend interviews.
5. Formal attire – Employees will also use lunch to go to interviews, which normally will require them to dress nicer than usual.
6. Increased Web use – Departing workers are less inclined to do actual work, and they’ll spend a lot of time on online job boards.

That’s the lesson sure to be learned by a Tennessee auto parts supplier that’s currently fighting two disability discrimination lawsuits.

In the most recent case, brought by the EEOC, the agency is arguing the company tested for legal prescription drugs such as painkillers. According to the suit, the company fired or refused to hire people with “disabilities” (their prescriptions) and failed to keep information learned from the tests confidential, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A previous suit was filed on behalf of seven employees by one worker who suffered from chronic back pain, depression and bipolar disorder, was fired after testing positive for “certain chemicals” (her prescription drugs).

She’d never been cited for safety violations, and, she’s arguing, the medicine didn’t affect her ability to work.

Courts will normally let companies use prescription medication as a reason not to hire someone only when there’s a reasonable belief it’ll affect the candidate’s work or cause a safety risk.

We’ll see what the judge says this time.

Cite: EEOC v. Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. and Bates v. Dura Automotive Systems, Inc.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the so-called ‘no-match’ rules (which told employers what to do if the Social Security number provided by a new hire didn’t match the number in the feds’ database) in 2007. Controversy and legal battles have prevented the rule from ever going into effect.

Now, it’s officially off the books. A regulation was published in the Federal Register on October 7 rescinding the rule.

The DHS announced it will focus on promoting the use of E-Verify as the mechanism for preventing the employment of illegal immigrants.

Soon, they warn, there’s going to be an explosion in the number of IT-related jobs available, making it tough for companies to hire and keep employees with tech skills.

The reason: a demand from the federal government for more computerization in the health industry. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earmarked $19 billion in incentives for hospitals and doctors’ offices to use electronic records, and laid out financial penalties for those that don’t make the switch by 2015.

The feds are also expected to increase spending in other IT areas, such as energy and green building projects.

The upshot: a lot of IT job openings appearing suddenly. Estimates for new health IT positions range from 41,000 to 200,000, according to Dr. William Hersh of Oregon Health & Science University.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates demand for network systems and data communications analytics to go up 53% by 2016. Demand for other IT skills, such as database administration, will rise at least 20%, BLS says.

Get more information here: http://www.college-net.com/ecornell/hrmorningweb

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