Benefits July 1, 2014

Social Media Presence Hurts Some Job Applicants

July 1, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – More employers are using job applicants’ social media content to help them decide whether or not he or she will be hired, says a new CareerBuilder survey.
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The survey finds 51% of employers who research job candidates on social media said they have found content that caused them to not hire the candidate. This is up from 43% of employers that said the same in 2013, and 34% in 2012.

According to CareerBuilder, 43% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 39% in 2013 and 36% in 2012. Additionally, 12% of employers reported they plan to start researching candidates on social media. Employers are also using other online means to research job candidates; 45% of employers use search engines such as Google, with 20% saying they do so frequently or always.

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Employers said the most common reasons they pass on a job candidate, after researching them, include the candidate:

  • Posting provocative or inappropriate photographs or other information (46%);
  • Posting information about them drinking or using drugs (41%);
  • Bad-mouthing their previous company or a fellow employee (36%);
  • Having poor communication skills (32%);
  • Having discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion etc. (28%);
  • Lying about qualifications (25%);
  • Sharing confidential information from previous employers (24%);
  • Was linked to criminal behavior (22%);
  • Screen name was unprofessional (21%); and
  • Lying about an absence (13%).

However, employers researching job candidates also reporting finding positive content about them online. One-third (33%) of employers said they have found content that made them more likely to hire a candidate. Nearly one-quarter (23%) found content that directly led to them hiring the candidate, up from 19% in 2013.

Some of the most common reasons employers hired a candidate based on their social networking content include:

  • Got a good feel for the candidate’s personality, could see a good fit within the company culture (46%);
  • Candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications for the job (45%);
  • Candidate’s site conveyed a professional image (43%);
  • Candidate was well-rounded, showed a wide range of interests (40%);
  • Candidate had great communication skills (40%);
  • Candidate was creative (36%);
  • Candidate received awards and accolades (31%);
  • Other people posted great references about the candidate (30%);
  • Candidate had interacted with prospective employer’s social media accounts (24%); and
  • Candidate had a large amount of followers or subscribers (14%).

As part of the survey, employers shared the strangest things they have discovered on a job candidate’s, or a current employee’s, social media profile:

  • Candidate posted a photo of a warrant for his arrest;
  • Candidate featured a pig as his closest friend;
  • Candidate posted his dental exam results;
  • Candidate bragged about driving drunk and not getting caught on several occasions;
  • Candidate was actively involved in a demonic cult; and
  • Candidate posted Sasquatch/Bigfoot pictures he had taken.

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll, on behalf of CareerBuilder, among 2,138 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 3,022 workers ages 18 and over between February 10 and March 4.

Administration July 1, 2014

ABC Says PBGC Report Shows Premium Increase Not Needed

July 1, 2014 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A report from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) provides evidence premium increases are not needed, said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein in a statement.
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“The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s (PBGC) Fiscal Year 2013 Projections Report will help Congress understand the clear distinction between single-employer and multiemployer pension plans, and confirms that premium increases for the single-employer program are not needed,” said Klein.

“We commend PBGC for this report, so Congress can pursue policies that are appropriate for each of the two guarantee programs that PBGC administers,” he added.

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The PBGC’s “FY 2013 Projections Report” finds the financial condition of agency’s insurance program for single-employer plans, which covers about 30 million participants, is likely to improve over the next decade. Under current estimates, the fiscal year 2013 deficit of $27.4 billion is projected to narrow to, on average, $7.6 billion by fiscal year 2023.

The PBGC announced premium increases for 2014 last November, which employers are trying to have halted. “The enormous change in just one year underscores the inherent risk of evaluating long-term obligations, such as pensions, at a single point in time. Inevitably, a snapshot perspective skews the outlook, either positively or negatively,” Klein noted.

President Obama's proposed FY 2015 budget, and some lawmakers, also propose increasing premiums on single-employer plans. The Council recently commissioned an independent research report, which concluded “premium increases threaten the long-term viability of the defined benefit pension system and PBGC’s plan termination insurance program by driving away employers that present no risk to the system.”  

While the PBGC noted it is highly unlikely the single-employer program will run out of funds in the next 10 years, its report shows multiemployer plans covering about 1.5 million people are severely underfunded, threatening benefit cuts for current and future retirees (see "PBGC Foresees Increased Risks to Multiemployer Plans").  

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minnesota) and Senior Democrat George Miller (D-California), and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-Tennessee) and Senior Democrat John Tierney (D-Massachusetts) issued the following joint statement: “The latest PBGC report confirms in stark detail the significant challenges confronting the multiemployer pension system. The systemic crisis we face threatens countless workers, employers, and retirees, and could ultimately harm American taxpayers, as well. We have an obligation to advance reforms that will modernize the system, encourage employer participation, protect taxpayers, and offer new tools to help rescue troubled plans. We continue to work together to find common ground and a responsible legislative solution. The American people deserve nothing less.”

Lawmakers have received suggestions for improving the multiemployer pension plan system during hearings held in the past year.

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