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Recruiting & Hiring Q&As

• Can I accept a copy of a Form I-9 document if the employee tells me they cannot find the original?
• Do all employees have to complete a Form I-9?
• Can we ask applicants if they have a felony conviction in our application or during their interview?
• What should I do if I find out an employee is not authorized to work in the U.S.?
• We’ve had to lay off some employees – are there legal issues if we hire a former employee as an independent contractor?
• Is it legal to make copies of the documents an employee presents with the Form I-9?
• What would be the advantage of changing a nonexempt employee from an hourly rate to a monthly salary?
• Can I have an applicant complete an I-9?
• If I ask applicants to demonstrate their job skills during an interview, am I required to pay them for that time?
• How do I complete an I-9 form for a remote hire?
• What does it mean to be exempt?
• Are there any exceptions to the limits on occupations and hours for minors?
• An hourly, non-exempt employee whose duties may make him eligible to be classified as an exempt administrative employee, is demanding to be classified as exempt. Are we required to change his classification?
• What are the I-9 requirements for employing a minor?
• Can we interview potential job candidates online through a video or Internet-based system, instead of having them come to our office in person?
• What do employers need to update when an employee's name changes in California?
• What is an employer's liability if an employee provides false documents with the Form I-9?
• What forms do I need to employ a minor and what are the exceptions?
• I would like to know if our exempt employees are required to take a meal break in the same manner as hourly/nonexempt employees?
• What is a Form I-9 and when do I have to fill one out?
• How do we pay exempt and nonexempt employees who are working remotely?
• Can we tell an employee who wears very faddish clothing – such as torn t-shirts, bare midriffs – not to wear this type?
• Can an employer accept a temporary driver license as a document for Form I-9 purposes?
• What is an EEO-1 Form and who has to file one?
• Are employees entitled to see and copy their personnel files?
• Some of our employees would like their high school kids to work in our office this summer to gain experience. Do we have to pay them?
• Can an employer require that a new hire complete the Form I-9 before their first day of employment?
• Can an employer complete Page 2 of the Form I-9 before the employee’s first day of employment?
• How long do we wait until an employee brings us a work author­ization document?
• How long do I have to keep resumes and job applications?
• May I hire a person as an unpaid intern?
• May I fire an employee who fails to produce the required documents within three business days of his or her start date?
• Are employee meetings and training sessions considered hours worked?
• Our background check company’s report included a very old felony conviction; can I consider this conviction in making my hiring decision?
• Can a person hired for 3-6 months be an unpaid intern or is minimum wage required?
• Does a potential new hire have an obligation to tell me they're pregnant before I hire them?
• Can I pay outside salespeople a salary instead of a commission and follow the minimum salary rules for exempt employees?
• Do we have to pay people who travel to our office for a job interview?
• Can a for-profit business make use of unpaid volunteers?
• What is the proper way to correct a mistake made when copying a Social Security Number to a Form I-9?
• Who is protected by child labor laws?
• What are the pros and cons of sending job offer letters?
• What can happen to me if I classify someone as an independent contractor, and he is really an employee?
• What will happen if I do not comply with child labor laws?
• If I hire an employee for two days, must an I-9 be completed?
• May we have a policy requiring employees to follow certain hygiene practices, such as wearing deodorant or not wearing perfumes or colognes?
• How long do we keep I-9 Forms?
• How long do we have to complete the I-9 Form?
• Do minors need permits to work year-round?
• Is a parent or guardian who employs his or her child exempt from labor laws?
• Am I obligated to rehire past employees for seasonal positions?
• Do we have to offer benefits to part-time employees?
• May I run a credit check on a job applicant or an employee?
• Is there a minimum number of hours a part-time employee must work?
• Can I use Megan’s Law lists to make employment decisions like screening job applicants or withdrawing offers of employment?
• What are the risks of rescinding an offer of employment?
• Is a work permit required for a 16-year-old high school graduate?
• Can we furlough employees for only a day or two per week?
• May I test applicants or employees to make sure they are up to the job?
• If we bring back an employee, do we need to rehire them and fill out new hire paperwork?
• Am I required to give new hires a copy of the 15 pages of instructions when I have them fill out the Form I-9?
• Can I complete Section 1 for an employee who is having a hard time filling out the form?
• Can Spanish-speaking employees complete the Spanish Form I-9?
• If a new hire does not provide a Social Security number (SSN), does that invalidate the Form I-9?
• At what point do I have to fire temporary employees or make them regular full-time employees?
• Can I accept a non-REAL ID California drivers' license as an acceptable document for Form I-9 purposes?
• Can we refuse to hire an applicant who voluntarily disclosed that, as a minor, he had a now-expunged felony conviction?
• Can we ask applicants to state their gender on our job application?
• Do I have to report independent contractors to EDD?
• When must I report newly hired employees or independent contractors to the state EDD?
• Can we require applicants to pay for the cost of a background check as long as we reimburse them once they have worked for us a specific amount of time?
• Am I required to keep I-9 forms for three years or one year?
• Am I required to pay for travel time, and if so can I pay it at a lower rate?
• Do I have to recertify documents if an employee changes his/her name after completing the I-9?
• Am I responsible for creating a safe workplace for a telecommuting employee?
• Are there restrictions on the types of work a minor may perform?
• Can we require that our employees provide us with race and ethnic information?
• What are the requirements for the computer professional exemption?
• Can I require all new hires to show me their driver's license?
• What are the requirements for a salesperson to be exempt?
• What are the poster requirements for employers who work remotely from home or out in the field?
• How do I do a Forms I-9 self-audit?
• Can we do a pre-employment drug test on a minor?
• Are there any circumstances where I can refuse to hire an individual because of his/her disability?
• Our company acquired another company, along with its employees. Are we required to complete Forms I-9 for these employees?
• How do I determine whether an authorization document that appears to have expired has been extended?
• If a new, revised Form I-9 comes out, should we have everyone complete a new form?
• May I make deductions from an exempt employee's salary?
• What do we have to do for our remote employees working in other states?
• Can I store Forms I-9 electronically?
• How do I correct underpaying an exempt employee their required minimum salary?
• Can we revoke a job offer if a background check revealed some criminal history?
• What happens if a potential new hire has a medical marijuana card or uses marijuana recreationally? How will this work if he fails his pre-employment drug test?
• Can exempt employees be required to work specific hours?
• If a person with a disability applies for a job, do I have to choose them over other candidates?
• May I request certain documents our company wants with the Form I-9, such as driver's license and Social Security card?
• What are the pitfalls of having people work from home?
• If my employee earns more than $100,000 per year, are they exempt from overtime?
• May we deduct from the exempt employee's salary when they have no paid time off accrued and takes off a partial day for the employee's own illness or for vacation?
• If I put an employee on salary, are they exempt from overtime?
• What do I do if my employee says that they lost their driver license and has no document to present to us to verify?
• Can I classify an employee who works only part-time as exempt?
• May nonexempt employees volunteer for extra hours without pay?