When it comes to hiring, the HR and recruiting process is already confusing. However, if you throw in multiple offices, states, or employee types, things can get complicated very quickly. Each state has different laws regarding how to hire and fire employees, including discrimination, payroll, and more. If you are recruiting or staffing in a state for the first time, you are going to want to check these laws out, or partner with an organization that knows how to navigate these variables.
If you are in recruiting or staffing, there is a high chance that you will come across some weird rules regarding the hiring process eventually. Today, we’re giving you a jump-start to the differences by listing the most unique rules we’ve found to date from North Dakota and Florida to Georgia and Washington.
Guns In Florida
In Florida, they have a “Guns At Work Law” that states employees should be allowed to keep their guns when at work. Specifically, they are allowed to keep them in their cars. This law actually extends to the customers, and anyone invited onto the premises so long as the gun stays locked in the car.
Defamation in Virginia
Should you state something when hiring or reviewing someone in Virginia, make sure that everything you say is true and verifiable. Employees in the state are liable for defamation based on what they write during evaluations. It’s best practice to tell the truth; however, the truth here should always come with proof.
Capitalized South Carolina
Many states have at-will employment laws. In short, these let both parties both quit and fire at will. However, in South Carolina, this comes with an asterisk. The state will not consider any at-will disclaimers valid unless they are printed on the cover page of the employee handbook in underlined capital letters.
Discrimination in Michigan
Unlike most states that go by traditional law-regulated rules of discrimination, Michigan also has two more. Any employer that is found to have discriminated against race, gender, age, weight, or height can be brought to court for discrimination and harassment.
Details in New Hampshire
When you hire an employee in New Hampshire or promote them, you must let them know the details of they pay they will get in writing ahead of time. This is more than just telling what they are paid; they want to help create equal pay across the genders and state! This means letting them know about their rate of pay, the date, and place of payment, and the frequency as well as the methods that were used to determine their pay.
Overtime in California
This state is riddled with strange laws that employers are required to make their human resources follow if they want to keep retaining top talent, or any talent at all. However, their laws on how to pay hourly employees might take the cake. State law requires that each employee get time and a half pay after an eight hour day, 40 hour week, and for the first eight hours of the seventh consecutive day than an employee works. In addition, they are also entitled to double pay should they work more than twelve hours in a day or eight hours on the seventh consecutive day of work.
No NonCompete in North Dakota
While non-compete agreements are standard in most industries, they aren’t as common in North Dakota. This is because they can only take place between business partners as well as buyers and sellers. However, employees and employers are not allowed to sign them together.
No Wage Deductions in Indiana
While all other states allow for wage lowering, Indiana has a strange way of handling this situation that makes it almost impossible. First, you have to sign a written agreement with the employee that they can revoke at any time. In addition, you must make sure your reason complies with one of the limited reasons. If you don’t, you could pay three times the amount that you were trying to save!
Direct Deposit in Utah
While most states require employers to provide an alternative to direct deposit, Utah allows direct deposit as the only method. However, this is only the case if the employer’s federal employment tax deposit from the last year was over $250,000, and two-thirds of their employees are already using direct deposit. Remember this when recruiting in Utah.
Forgiveness in Minnesota
If you fail a drug test in Minnesota, you are allowed to complete a treatment program and return to work for the first offense. On the other hand, most other states allow for firing on the first offense.
