Quick Hits - August 9, 2017 - American Society of Employers - ASE Staff

Quick Hits - August 9, 2017

Most employees believe employers should not ask about salary history:  According to a new survey from Glassdoor, more than half of U.S. workers (53%) believe employers should not ask candidates about their current or past salary history when negotiating a job offer. This survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Glassdoor among more than 1,300 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, comes at a time when new laws are being adopted to address this inherent gender bias in long-standing hiring practices. Several states and cities are currently considering laws that would ban employers from asking about salary history, following similar laws recently passed in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Massachusetts, Delaware and Oregon, among others. Significantly more working women (60%) than working men (48%) believe salary history questions should not be asked. On average, women in the U.S. earn about $0.76 for every $1.00 men earn on an unadjusted basis, according to Glassdoor Economic Research. This documented pay gap, compounded by the fact that more than two-thirds (68%) of women do not negotiate pay compared to half (52%) of men, can quickly put women at pay disadvantages, especially when prior salary history is used to determine starting pay in job offers.  Source:  CCH

Retirement matches are increasing:  In an effort to recruit employees in competitive fields and help motivate older workers to leave the workplace when they hit retirement age, companies are becoming more generous with their retirement savings plans.  After pulling back on the extras during the recession, companies are devoting more to 401(k) matches.  Including the money they put toward 401(k) matches and benefits such as profit sharing, the average company contributed 4.7% of each employee's salary toward retirement savings in 2016, according to a study by the Vanguard Group, a mutual fund company. That was a notable increase over 2015, when companies contributed only 3.9% of each employee's salary. The most common match, according to Vanguard, is 3% of an employee's salary. To qualify for it, most employees would have to contribute 6% of pay to the workplace retirement plan. The employer would then match 50 cents of every dollar the employee stuffed into the 401(k). The next most common approach is for employers to match every dollar an employee contributes up to 3% of a person's salary, and then do 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% of pay, Vanguard found.  Source:  Chicago Tribune 8/5/17

Are you too automated in the recruiting function? According to a Randstad study, while most candidates find value in technology, they are frustrated when it supersedes the human aspect of the process. In fact, 82% of respondents agree they are often frustrated with an overly automated job search experience. Respondents weighed in on the specific role technology should play during the job search process:  95% of workers agree technology should be used to aid the recruitment experience, not replace it. 87% of respondents agree technology has made the job search process more impersonal.   According to the survey, the top two aspects of the respondents’ last job search that contributed to a positive impression of a potential employer centered on personal interaction. Respondents named “the degree of personal, human interaction during the process,” and “the recruiter/hiring manager I worked with,” as having most influenced their positive impression.  Source: Randstad US 8/3/17

Veteran unemployment rate at 3.5%: In July 2017, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.5%, down from 4.7% in 2016, and the lowest July rate since 2001 (not seasonally adjusted, 20 years and over). In comparison, the non-veteran unemployment rate for July 2017 was 4.2%. This 0.7 percentage point difference between the veteran and non-veteran rate is the largest July difference since 2012.  ASE will be co-hosting a Veteran job fair on August 24th at the Southfield Pavilion.  For more information, click here.  Source:  DOL 8/4/17

NLRB now has two republicans: The United States Senate has narrowly confirmed former counsel to the Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Marvin Kaplan to one of two vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board. Kaplan’s confirmation leaves one vacant seat on the five-member Board.  Once management labor lawyer William Emanuel is confirmed for the other open slot on the NLRB, it will have three republicans and will be able to roll back the Obama era NLRB rulings.  Jackson Lewis 8/3/17

“Fake” job fair attracts hundreds of attendees: It’s true that anything posted online is there forever.  Recently, an employer learned this firsthand, as a job fair posting from 2015 resurfaced and attracted 300 people to the company. Back in 2015 The Witchita Eagle reported on a job fair that Spirit AeroSystems was holding.  Fast forward two years and the story resurfaced when someone shared the story on social media.  It obviously came up in a search for job fairs, and she failed to check the date it was published before sharing.  The newspaper reported that the 2015 article had been getting lots of traffic recently, with people clicking on it almost 30,000 times. They tried running an article saying there was no job fair, but clearly, the damage had already been done.  300 people showed up for the job fair – two years late.  Check the dates before sharing timely articles!  Source:  HRDailyAdvisor 8/1/17

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