Delaware Employment Law Blog

After being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, long-time advocate of the American worker, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, will be released from the hospital today.  Kennedy was hospitalized Saturday morning after suffering a seizure at his family's compound at Hyannisport, Massachusetts.  Following the news of his sudden illness, politicians from both parties spoke highly of the Democratic Senator, including both democratic presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. As Washington regulars reflect on Kennedy's contributions during his more than 40 years in public service, U.S. employers may be interested in the initiatives that would have the greatest impact on the American workplace. 

Kennedy's Current Workforce Initiatives

Senator Kennedy is a major employee advocate and many of his initiatives are focused on this goal.  This passage from his senatorial website demonstrates Kennedy's perspective:

The minimum wage is at an all-time low, the Family and Medical Leave Act is under attack, and workers are being stripped of their overtime pay, unemployment insurance, and pensions. The United States must recommit itself to supporting working families to ensure a strong and prosperous America for future generations.

Specifically, Kennedy seeks to achieve these objectives through various proposals.  Here are five of Kennedy's proposals that would have the greatest impact on employers. 

1.   Union Rights

Senator Kennedy is a long-time union supporter.  On the agenda just this month was the Public Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, which focuses on collective bargaining rights for public safety employees.  Currently, 26 states permit public employees to form bargaining unions.  The Cooperation Act would require the other 24 states to do the same. 

2.   Minimum Wage

Kennedy is one of the Senate's most vocal advocates for an increased federal minimum wage. This subject is a sensitive one for most U.S. employers.  If the national minimum wage did increase, it would likely trigger at least some changes in the way employers look at immigration reform, which is also on the Senator's list of proposals.

3.   Immigration Reform:  Illegal Immigrants

Another one of Senator Kennedy's major initiatives is targeting immigration.  Last year, immigration-reform legislation was passed but, according to Kennedy, fell short of achieving the goals it was intended to address. Kennedy has continued to advocate for revisions to the legislation, focusing on these main points:

1. Tougher Border Enforcement.  These changes would include border-enforcement patrols double the current size.  It would also target illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.  Employers who hire illegal workers would be subject to increased enforcement, as well.
2. Earned Legalization.  This initiative would target illegal aliens already in the U.S., giving them opportunities to earn citizenship.  This effort is based on the argument that massive deportation would be seriously disruptive to communities and business in the States.

4.  Immigration Reform:  The Future for Foreign Workers

Temporary-Worker Program.  As many employers are fully aware, getting specialty workers from other countries is a daunting task.  This third prong of Senator Kennedy's proposal is forward looking.  In the future,temporary employees from abroad would be given easier access to come to the U.S. for temporary work with the goal of working towards permanent employment and citizenship. 

5.  IDEA Reform

Another initiative on Kennedy's agenda has been increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  The Senator's position is that, although the goals and purposes of the IDEA are on-track, the lack of federal funding has prevented it from being fully utilized by the states.

Information about these and other initiatives can be found on the Senator's official website.

The parents in the group might need to sit down for this story. . .

In a bizarre and frightening incident, a middle school girls’ softball coach at the Seaford School District apparently injected one of the girls on his team with an adrenaline-filled Epi Pen--not to save her life by combating an allergic reaction—but apparently in retaliation for lackadaisical play on the field.

The girl’s family is now suing the school district for failing to properly and thoroughly verify the coach’s background.

Hiring is one of the most important decisions any employer can make. A failure to carefully screen employees can not only result in adding underperformers to your workforce, it can result in exposure to theft, violence, and legal liability.

This recent incident in Seaford underscores the importance of a thorough and productive background check. But how do you get real, useful information in a world where many employers are advised to divulge only “name, rank, and serial number” of their former employees?

Tips for Conducting An Effective Background Check:

1. Get a release - the best way is to reduce the fear of a lawsuit. Get a release of liability from the applicant whose references you are checking, and provide it to the employer. Common sense dictates that the chance of a lawsuit will be substantially reduced when the potential plaintiff has already authorized the release and discussion of employment-related information.

2. Inform of Delaware’s reference check law - you should also tell your contacts about Delaware's reference check law, which gives former, current, and prospective employers immunity from a lawsuit for providing references in "good faith." Better yet, give them a copy of the law to review and provide to their legal counsel.

3. Say the password - most experienced HR professionals you contact will be just as frustrated as you are about the inability to get information about prospective employees. As a result, you might want to give them the opportunity to help you out and still sleep at night. Try asking whether the applicant is "eligible for rehire." A negative answer might be just what you need to steer clear of an individual.

4. Find a secret source - another way to get information is to go directly to the applicant's supervisor. That person will have the most information and will be more likely to provide it than the HR department. Of course, you want to prevent such a maneuver against your company, so make sure you constantly remind your own supervisors about your policies on background checks and that all inquiries should go through HR.

5. Go public - your high-school principal was right when he warned you that your youthful transgressions would be "on your permanent record." Criminal arrest and conviction records are a matter of public record. They are not only public but also easy to get, at least for offenses committed in Delaware. A visit to the prothonotary (clerk) in the state courthouse located in Wilmington, Dover, or Georgetown can get you free access to an applicant's arrest and conviction record free of charge.

6. Visit cyberspace - another source of information is the Internet. Search engines like Google can scour the Internet for websites, newspaper articles, and postings by applicants. Similar checks on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook can provide useful information as well. Use of such searches is becoming common. A 2006 survey by CareerBuilder.com indicated that 26 percent of hiring managers have used the Internet to collect information on applicants. Half of those managers said they had accessed personal information on social networking sites.