Interviewing Job Applicants - What NOT to Ask

Issue #183-8.27.13

In This Issue: Lawful Hiring, by David Dow, Attorney The New Higher Tax Rates, by Bruce Bryen, CPA Digital Radiography, by Dr. Lorne Lavine David Dow, Attorney Printer Friendly Version Lawful Hiring: How to Interview Applicants without Winding up in Court By David Dow, Attorney When interviewing job applicants, the goal of every employer is to find the applicant who can best fill the open position. The more information you can find out about the applicant, the better you can decide who to hire. For example, you want to hire someone who will show up to work every day, so it makes sense to ask an applicant to list the reasons she missed work at her last job. But that question may just lead to your getting sued for discrimination. Federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age and disability. In addition, many states have their own laws that not only prohibit discrimination on the same grounds as federal law, but also extend anti-discrimination laws to other characteristics such as sexual orientation, medical condition and discrimination based on arrests that did not result in a conviction. Some states also have laws establishing a right to privacy that precludes you from asking about various types of personal information. Compliance with anti-discrimination laws begins at the hiring and interview stage. Even job applicants are protected by anti-discrimination laws. There are limits to what you can ask a prospect employee during a job interview. There is simply some information that you do not want to know about a job applicant. If you do not know about an applicant’s marital status, age, sexual orientation or disability, then you cannot be credibly accused of relying on that information in making a hiring decision. On the other hand, if you ask an applicant questions about her children and country of birth, the applicant may easily conclude that you made the decision not to hire her based on that information and elect to consult an attorney. As a general rule of thumb, interview questions should concentrate on the applicant’s ability to successfully perform the job duties that are fundamental to the position being filled. Here are examples of questions that can be asked in a job interview contrasted with questions that should not be asked: Ask: “If hired can you show proof of age?” Instead of: “How old are you?” or “What is your date of birth?” Ask: “Are you authorized to work in the U.S.? If hired, you will be required to submit verification of your legal right to work in the U.S.” Instead of: “Are you a United States citizen?” or “Where were you born?” Ask: “Has a court, jury or government agency ever made a finding that you committed unlawful harassment or discrimination?” Instead of: “Have you ever sued or filed claims or complaints against your employer?” Ask: “Are you able to perform the essential duties of the job with or without reasonable accommodation?” Instead of: “Do you have a disability” or “Have you ever filed for or received workers compensation?” Ask: “Do you have any commitments that would prevent you from working regular hours?” or “Can you work overtime, if needed?” Instead of: “How many children do you have?” or “What does your husband think about your working outside the home?” Ask: “Whom should we contact in the event of an emergency?” Instead of: “Are you single? Married? Divorced?” Ask: “Have you ever used another name?” Instead of: “What is your maiden name?” Ask: “Are you prevented from being employed in the United States because of your visa or immigration status?” Instead of: “What is your national origin?” or “Where were you born?” Ask: “How long do you plan to stay on the job?” Instead of: “Are you pregnant?” or “Do you plan on becoming pregnant?” Ask: “How did you overcome problems you faced at your last job?” or “Have you ever been discharged from any position? If so, for what reason?” Instead of: “How many sick days did you take at your last job?” or “Have you filed any claims against a previous employer?” Ask: “Are you available to work on weekends?” (If there is a legitimate business need for this question) Instead of: “What is your religion?” or “Does your religion prevent you from working weekends or holidays?” These questions are examples only, but they provide a flavor as to the types of questions that can be asked during job interviews and questions and subject areas that should be avoided. The specific questions asked in any particular interview should be tailored to fit the position being filled. If you are not certain whether a question you are thinking about asking is proper, remember this: If the question does not relate to the applicant’s job skills and work experience as applied to the position you are filling, don’t ask the question. David Dow is partner in the San Diego office of Littler Mendelson APC, a nationwide firm representing employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. Mr. Dow can be reached at (619) 515-1802 or ddow@littler.com Forward this article to a friend Bruce Bryen, CPA Managing Partner Bryen & Bryen LLP Printer Friendly Version The New Higher Tax Rates and What Dentists Can Do to Overcome Them By Bruce Bryen, CPA Managing Partner Bryen & Bryen LLP Why All the Fuss? Those dentists in the higher federal income tax brackets, as defined by the new rates on adjusted gross income, find themselves with less take home pay from the same or more revenue. Living expenses rarely decrease, so the dentist has less money to live on as of January 1, 2013. What the new tax rates mean, especially to those in states with high income tax rates, is that the effective federal and state tax rate for those dentists in this category is probably above 50%. For self-employed tax payers, the actual federal and state tax rates probably approaches 55% or more. Let’s look at an example of a high income earner who lives in a state like New York or New Jersey with high state tax rates. A self-employed person pays a high state rate, the highest marginal federal rate, and double social security and Medicare by virtue of being self-employed. With an increase in the Medicare tax on certain types of income and amounts, one can understand how the self-employed pay quite a bit more than 50% overall. This is a reason for all the fuss. Are There Options Available to Reduce these High Tax Rates? There are advantages to being self-employed that can assist in substantially reducing the new marginal federal income tax rate as well as simultaneously reducing the amount reported for state income tax purposes. With some sophisticated planning on behalf of the dental practice and the owner or owners, the taxable income from a flow through dental practice entity such as an “S” corporation or an LLC, LLP or proprietorship can be reduced substantially with little effect on cash flow. “C” corporations also have the advantage of lessening their taxable income with some innovative planning. Since the total federal and state tax is so much higher, now is probably one of the best times to go ahead with a more sophisticated qualified employer sponsored retirement plan to reduce the overall tax rate and save more pretax dollars. The discussion between the dentist and his or her advisor may have included a review of the types of retirement plans for the dentist and staff before the new tax rates took effect. It could have been that the dentist felt the more sophisticated types of plans were too expensive or were weighted too heavily in favor of allocations for the employees and not enough for the dentist or other key employees. There are options to consider at this juncture because of the new tax rates that will assist in understanding that it is much cheaper to reconsider the advice or to get this type of advice for the first time about sheltering and keeping more money from their dental practice revenue and their personal filings with the state and federal government.  What are Some Examples of These Sophisticated Retirement Plan Designs? With an expert dental CPA who can assist in constructing the design of the retirement plan, the owner can use legal forms of discrimination based on job description, age, years of service and other areas of classification to restrict the contribution allocated to the employees. An owner can receive an allocation, based on certain factors, of amounts up to and possibly more than $150,000. This takes sophistication on behalf of the advisor and the actuary working in coordination with the dental CPA. The adoption of this type of retirement plan will substantially reduce the taxable income for state and federal purposes to a modest overall tax rate that can be afforded. Typical charges for these adoption agreements and IRS approval letters authorizing the acceptance of the plan design can be in the range of $7,500 to $10,000 for the first year.  After the first year, the fees are more modest with annual administration charges and not an entire design formula that must be presented for IRS approval. What is achieved with the use of these plans, of course, is now much more important at the higher tax brackets than before the new rates and earnings levels were passed by congress to begin as of January 1, 2013. Find the Right Advisors to Obtain the Most Sophisticated Advice A first stop is definitely the dental CPA, who understands dental practices as well as innovation in the design of qualified employer sponsored retirement plans for the benefit of the owner and key people. Bruce Bryen is managing partner of Bryen & Bryen LLP, certified public accountants. Bruce has forty years of experience in assisting dentists with their financial concerns. He has a strong expertise in retirement planning and has testified on numerous occasions as an expert witness regarding partnership disputes, business valuations and divorce proceedings. Email Bruce at: Bruce@thedentistsnetwork.net or call 800-988-5674 ext. 112 His web site address is www.bryen-bryenllp.com Forward this article to a friend Dr. Lorne Lavine Dental Technology Consultants Printer Friendly Version Digital Radiography By Dr. Lorne Lavine, Dental Technology Consultants As dentists continue to improve the technology systems in their practices, there are few areas generating as much interest as digital radiography. The benefits have been outlined in previous articles: the elimination of chemicals and processors, the reduction in radiation, and the ability to include the patient in the diagnostic process are all reasons in and of themselves for dentists to consider adopting one of the many digital x-ray systems on the market. Unfortunately, the process of choosing the right sensor for each dentist can be an exercise in frustration. All of the systems are capable of diagnostic images, so how does an office choose? While many of the vendors would recommend that you look at the resolution, there are many other factors to consider. Since the process of purchasing a digital system often requires the same amount of thought as buying a diamond, I think this would make a good analogy. As many of you know, shopping for diamonds requires you to consider the “4 C’s”: Carat, Color, Cut, and Clarity. There are also “4 C’s” for choosing digital radiography: Comfort, Compatibility, Company, and of course, Cost. Comfort While some companies would have you believe that the thinner the sensor, the more comfortable it is, this doesn’t seem to hold true in my experience. Many of the complaints we see from patients are from using thinner sensors, while the thickest sensor on the market is often rated as the most comfortable. There are a few factors responsible for comfort. The edges of the sensor are something that should be evaluated, as this is what patients tend to feel. Also, since sensors require unique positioning systems, these can have more of an effect on comfort than anything else. Almost all systems come with a RINN-style positioner, but there are other systems, such as Wingers and Trollbyte. Compatibility Many offices are already using image management software for storing images, such as from intraoral cameras, digital cameras, or scanners. Some of these are integrated with the practice management software, and some are free-standing. It is crucial for an office that is considering digital radiography to choose an image management program before they choose a sensor. Many dentists prefer to have all their images stored in the same software. Therefore, if an office is already using an image program, they will be limited to whichever system is compatible with that software. In a perfect world, it would be easy to switch to another image program if you want…but this is rarely easy. To do so would require conversion of the images into the new program, and this is often difficult if not impossible. So, dentists choosing digital radiography systems will need to evaluate their software situation before picking a digital x-ray system. Company Primarily due to the growing popularity of digital radiography, there has been an explosion in the number of companies offering sensor systems, and this number is still growing. While some are backed by large dental supply companies like Carestream Dental, Schein and Patterson, many are from smaller companies with less financial resources or track record. There is nothing wrong with purchasing a system from a small company; the service and support is often excellent and their products are on par with any others out there. However, some companies have gone out of business in the past few years and dentists should understand all of the risks of buying a lesser known product. Another good sign of a company’s ability and willingness to support their products is the length of the warranty. While a few are only one year, some vendors now offer warranties as long as five years. As a caveat, though, these warranties usually only cover manufacturer’s defects, not damage, and should be supplemented with the office’s equipment insurance policy. Cost Finally, cost cannot be ignored…it’s typically given as the main reason why offices have chosen to not purchase a digital system. A basic single-sensor system starts at around $5,000 and can be as high as $14,000. Phosphor plate systems run from about $10,000 to $20,000. Often overlooked, however, is the infrastructure needed to run these systems. Besides computers in the ops, dentists will need to consider a dedicated server, monitors, monitor mounts, wireless keyboards and mice, inkjet printers, backup devices…the list is almost endless. Offices need to be aware of all the anticipated costs of “going digital” as the cost of the sensors is usually less than the hardware needed to run these systems. By taking the time to review the different digital radiography systems, dentists can avoid a very expensive mistake. Lorne Lavine, DMD is the Founder and President of Dental Technology Consultants. Dr. Lavine holds two prestigious certifications, the A+ Certified Technician designation and the Network+ Certified Professional. These designations demonstrate proficiency in computer repair, operating systems, network design and installation. Dental Technology Consultants provides dentists a full range of services relating to the implementation of technology. Interested in having Dr. Lavine speak to your dental society or study club? Click here. Dr. Lavine can be reached at drlavine@thedentistsnetwork.net Hear Dr. Lavine’s FREE podcasts at The Dentist’s Network - HERE Forward this article to a friend

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