Working with Employees 245
Figure 15.5:
SUGGESTION WHEN MAKING A JOB OFFER
Use the following suggestion when making a job offer. • Do not say or write such things as—”We look forward to a long and rewarding experience with you in our business.” (This gives the impression that this employee cannot and will not be fired at your discretion.) • Describe the terms and conditions of employment in writing. (Include a statement that these terms replace any oral promises made by anyone. Sign, date, and give a copy to the employee. Keep a copy in your files and put a copy in that person’s personnel file.) • To help ensure that the employment relationship is at will (meaning you can terminate it at anytime for any legal reason), quote compensation frequency by payment. (Say that compensation is X dollars per week not in Y dollars per year. This helps show you are not offering some sort of yearly employment contract. You can then add that this is a yearly rate of Y dollars.)
Follow Government Regulations Immediately after making an offer, check with the applicant for his or her immigration status. (No business is too small to avoid this federal law.) Get Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, online at www.uscis.gov (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services). Follow the instructions for accurate completion. With the passage in 1996 of the federal Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (also known as the Welfare Reform Act), the government began to require the reporting of information on newlyhired employees. This Act seeks to identify and locate parents with delinquent child support payments through the New Hire Registry. The employer has twenty days to report the following information to the designated state agency. • Employee Name, Address, and Social Security number • Employer Name, Address, and EIN of the employer