Q.
How long should employees wash hands and what kind
of soap is best?
A. Twenty seconds-have
them sing Happy Birthday twice (even sung quickly, it
takes just about that much time). Really any good hand
soap will do, but there are plenty of great anti-bacterial
soaps on the market for added protection. The important
things to remember are to wash hands:
- with vigorous agitation
- under hot-as-you-can-stand
running water
and scrub from the tips of the fingers up and over all
exposed areas of the forearms.
Q.
Which is better - a plastic or wooden cutting
board?
A. Recently there has
been quite a bit of controversy about this issue and there
does not seem to be a clear answer. At issue are
cross-contamination and cleanability of the boards. All
cutting boards should be cleaned and sanitized between
uses, regardless of material. When the boards become
scarred and gouged, they must either be planed and sanded
smooth or discarded since deep cuts harbor food debris and
bacteria.
Q. What types of
questions are allowed during an employment interview?
A.
Examples of questions that are illegal to ask
during an employment interview:
- I notice you use a white cane.
Are you legally blind?
- Is English your native tongue?
- What religious holidays do you
observe?
- Kalinowski? Is that Polish?
- Are you married?
Examples of questions that are legal
to ask during an employment interview:
- Do you have any relatives who
work for this company?
- The job requires you to lift a
20-pound box and place it on an overhead shelf. Can
you do that several times an hour, all day long?
- Are you over age 18?
Q. What
are some symptoms of chemical dependency?
A. Some symptoms can
include the following:
- observation by supervisors and
co-workers of changes in behavior and work habits
- absenteeism
- careless work habits
- accidents
- decrease in quality of work
- emotional outburst (s)
- introvert, manic personality
- financial problems
Q..
If an applicant volunteers their age on an application or
during an employment interview can I use that information
to determine whether or not to hire them?
A.
No, you may not take age
into consideration when making a hiring decision even if
the applicant has volunteered the information to you.
Q.
Is there one document that is acceptable to satisfy
all the Form I-9 requirements?
A. The
Form I-9 verifies an employee’s identity and right to
work in the U.S. The following documents can do both
(establish identity + prove the right to work in the
U.S.):
- U.S. Passport
- Certificate of U.S.
Citizenship
- Certificate of Naturalization
- Un-expired foreign passport
with right-to-work authorization
- Resident alien card with photo
ID
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