As a recruiter, your reputation rests on sending clients quality contractors. Beyond ensuring they fit the job requirements, you want to make sure contractors will not put your clients or their in-house employees at financial or physical risk. That's why many recruiters want background checks on contract candidates. But when done improperly, a practice that is meant to protect you and your clients can do more harm than good.

Criminal background checks have increasingly been under fire…

First the good news: the economy is growing and companies are adding jobs.

The bad news? The growth is slower than everyone would like and has slowed since the beginning of the year.

Why?  Well as ADP CFO Jan Siegmund explained in an …

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), the healthcare reform law often referred to as Obamacare, is being credited for a spike in contract staffing, which is at its highest level since 2006 and is outpacing traditional, direct hiring.

The Bureau of Labor statistics reported that 2,679,800 workers were employed in contract/temporary positions in May, inching ever closer to the all-time record of 2,767,300 contractors working in October 2006, according to…

New York City has become the latest area to pass a law banning what has been called "unemployment discrimination."

So just what is unemployment discrimination? It refers to denying candidates employment based solely on the fact that they are not currently employed. It's no secret that companies have probably always preferred actively employed candidates, but some companies took it a step further in the wake of the recession by stating in job postings that unemployed…

As the number of wage-and-hour lawsuits under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) hits an all time high, recruiters can help clients avoid what one attorney calls "one of the top threats to U.S. employers."

Human Resource Executive Online recently reported that…

Many recruiters and employers are still trying to wrap their arms around Generation Y (or Millennials if you prefer) and their  unique look at the workplace.  Now, according to Workforce, recruiters may want to start bracing for the next generation in the workplace.

The article…

There is a common misconception that contract workers are somehow inferior, lower-level, or not the "cream of the crop." However you want to say it, the belief is that candidates only take contract assignments because they were passed up for direct hire jobs.

That is definitely a myth.  For many high quality candidates, contract staffing is not a last resort. They are…

Think you don't have to worry about healthcare reform because you don't have 50 or more employees? Think again!

Most of the hype about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the healthcare reform law better known as Obamacare, has been surrounding the employer mandate. Employers with 50 or more…

There is no question that Registered Nurses (RNs) play an integral role in modern healthcare. As the population ages and healthcare reform requires all Americans to get insurance, possibly pushing more peple into the healthcare system, the services of RNs will become even more vital.  The question is, how will hosptials and other healthcare facilities deal with this demand?

A…

There's a new sheriff in town when it comes to worker misclassification.

Many employers use 1099 independent contractors (ICs) to reduce the costs associated with workers.  By utilizing ICs, employers avoid paying the employer share of payroll taxes, the expenses associated with Workers' Compensation and unemployment, employee benefits costs, and the time and money associated with administering various employment tasks.  However, employers can't just call a worker an…

If your client requests a credit check on a candidate for a professional contract assignment, you should do it, right? Not necessarily. You could actually be breaking the law if you comply with this simple client request!

Nine states (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Colorado) have laws restricting the use of credit information in employment decisions. Colorado is the latest to pass legislation, which goes into…

According to a recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) article, I-9 audits are on the rise (membership may be required). In 2004, only three audits were conducted compared with 3,004 in 2012. Simple paperwork errors can cost employers up to $1,100 per violation.

If you serve as the W-2 employer for your contractors, you are…

When you hear about contract-to-direct arrangements, you usually hear about how client companies use them to test drive candidates. These arrangements give companies the chance to see a potential new hire "in action" rather than just depending on the typical interview and hiring process to determine whether they are the right fit. They can evaluate a candidate's skills and work ethic before they make a direct hire commitment.

But a recent  …

According to Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." The same could be said of hiring.  Despite companies best hiring efforts, they are often unpleasantly surprised by what they get.

Citing Careerbuider stats, a recent article from the Staffing Stream titled …

One of the trickiest things about running your own back-office is navigating the complex web of state and local laws.  Paid sick leave (PSL) is an area where recruiters need to be especially careful.  With no paid leave laws on the federal level, some states and cities are taking matters into their own hands. Most recently, the city of…

Chances are you've heard the phrase "Do what you do best and outsource the rest." That phrase rings particularly true when it comes to recruiters who make contract placements.

Contract staffing provides a great opportunity for recruiters to increase their sales and establish a steady, predictable income stream.  But it also comes with a number of time-consuming and complex financial, administrative, and legal duties associated with employing the contractors, including…

As expected, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 H-1B visa cap was met less than a week after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting petitions.

H-1B visas are issued to allow employers to hire foreign workers with specialized knowledge or technical expertise in disciplines such as science, engineering, and computer professions.  The USCIS sets a cap each year for how many H-1B visas it will issue.

On April 1, USCIS began accepting petitions for visas subject to…

The good news for staffing firms regarding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or Obamacare, is that it has the potential to push more companies toward contract staffing. Under the employer mandate, companies with 50 or more employees will have to provide healthcare insurance to them in 2014. By utilizing contractors who are the employees of a back-office or a staffing firm, smaller companies can keep from going over the 50-employee threshold.

But…

In the current employment environment, you likely won't have to tell many client companies what contractors can do for them. They already get it. They want the flexibility and cost savings that contract staffing offers and are actively pursuing contractors.  

But there are still a few employers out there that don't understand why they should use contractors and often question the cost. With these clients, recruiter Mario Fidanzi of MedTeam Staffing says recruiters…

A year and a half after it was launched, the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) is not only still available, it has been expanded.

Through the program, employers who voluntarily reclassifiy 1099 independent contractors (ICs) as W-2 employees will only be required to repay a small portion of the back…