For those too young to understand the “Magnum” reference in the title, “Magnum, P.I.” was a hit TV show in the 1980’s starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (or PI) in Hawaii. The “PII” refers to “Personally Identifiable Information” – such as an individual’s name, birthday, and Social Security Number – that all businesses, including background check companies, are entrusted to protect.

Unfortunately, many jobseekers undergoing background checks could use a man of Magnum’s talents to track down the PII they give away in their efforts to find employment. According to reports from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), more than 80 percent of U.S. businesses currently perform some form of pre-employment background check before the actual hire. In a typical background check, applicants agree to give third party background check companies their PII – basically, all the information needed to commit identity theft.

What most job applicants – and even some Human Resources (HR) professionals – do not realize is that there is a good chance that much of the PII collected during a background check will end up far beyond U.S. privacy laws in a foreign call center or data processing location where there is little, if any, privacy protection. Why? Because a number of background check companies routinely “offshore” PII from clients – without informing them of their intentions – in order to cut costs and increase profits.

“Offshoring” is the business practice of transferring jobs, services, and data to low-cost labor markets by using companies internationally to complete tasks formerly performed in house. While offshoring data may help background check firms lower costs and increase profits, these activities bring great risk to the PII of U.S. citizens in the form of lost privacy and identity theft. Although many U.S. state and federal laws protect data privacy, these protections – as a practical matter – cease to exist once background check companies send PII out of the country.

While some countries outside of the U.S. have strong data privacy protection laws, many places where information is sent offshore for processing have little or no practical identity theft protection. As a result, American job applicants have no ability to enforce their privacy rights overseas. With little practical or cost-effective access to foreign courts, it is extremely difficult for a U.S. consumer to contact a foreign police department to lodge a complaint about identity theft or to obtain assistance.

The lack of any meaningful protection once PII is sent offshore is a major hurdle in the effort to combat identity theft and to protect privacy. Some U.S. companies – like Pre-Employ.com, a nationally recognized background check and employer service provider – are taking a stand against offshoring. Pre-Employ.com believes good data privacy and good data security equals good business. Our company policy dictates that we:

• Do NOT practice offshoring personally identifiable information (PII).
• Do NOT resell data to skip tracers, lawyers, or marketing lists.
• Do NOT repurpose data for other uses like marketing purposes.
• Do NOT use foreign nationals abroad to access cases or calls.
• Are NOT owned by a credit bureau or by data aggregators.

To learn more about Pre-Employ.com’s background check, privacy, and PII policies, download our FREE white paper Your Employee Data, How To Prevent Its Reselling and Offshoring, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

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In a sign of what may be in store for many U.S. employers the near future, ArgusLeader.com reports that South Dakota is charging private businesses $150 for every employee to help replenish the state’s unemployment fund.

According to the report, employers will pay an extra $36 million to the unemployment fund in 2010, in addition to contributing $26 million in standard unemployment insurance taxes. Some businesses will pay a surcharge on certain employees – mostly newly hired workers – for 2009's fourth quarter, bringing in an estimated $3.5 million by the end of January.

South Dakota law dictates that once the unemployment trust fund decreases to a specified amount, all private businesses are assessed a per-employee tax to replenish the fund. This is the first time many in the state can recall the statute going into effect.

For example, Midcontinent Communications – a communication company in Sioux Falls that employs roughly 500 people – will pay more than $70,000 to the unemployment insurance fund. Meanwhile, a Sioux Falls car sales executive estimates the surcharge will add about $75,000 in expenses to his company's payroll department.

A big increase in unemployment claims has led to an equally large decrease in the unemployment fund. In 2008, insurance benefits totaled a little over $25 million. This year, the Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that number will more than double to almost $63 million. Also, the number of South Dakotans receiving benefits quadrupled from 1,452 in the third week of June 2008 to 5,839 one year later.

With the cost of labor going up because of increasing unemployment claims, many businesses are using an Unemployment Claims Management Service to deliver a comprehensive program that relieves an organization from the stress of managing unemployment claims while also reducing risks and costs. Unlike other unemployment claims management services, Pre-Employ.com reduces claim-related costs at the initial level rather than at the hearing level, thus eliminating commonly assessed erroneous charges and immediately reducing unemployment claims costs. In addition, Pre-Employ.com offers an Unemployment Tax Service to assist tax and payroll departments in reducing employer tax liability.

The Unemployment Claims Management Service and Unemployment Tax Service are both part of Pre-employ.com’s fully-integrated suite of human resource (HR) solutions that includes background checks, drug tests, applicant tracking, job board systems, and I-9/E-Verify compliance. For more information on implementing a cost-saving program for managing unemployment claims, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821 to speak with a service representative.

View Archived Webinar: "5 Secrets to Gaining the Advantage in UI Claims."

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Containing information that Human Resources (HR) leaders dealing with tough economic times should find interesting, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – the world's largest association devoted to human resource management – recently released new data detailing the thoughts of employees on everything from job risk in the current down economy to overall job satisfaction and employee benefits trends.

The findings – from two surveys and one poll – were highlighted at the 61st Annual SHRM Conference & Exposition in New Orleans and included the following data.

SHRM Employee Benefits Survey:

• 60 percent of HR professionals say the recession has caused their organizations to scale back or hold steady on benefit offerings.
• Compared to 2008, fewer organizations in 2009 were providing housing and relocation, business travel, and other employee benefits.
• HR professionals reported fewer companies offering companywide performance awards, community volunteer program benefits, and discount ticket services, while some planned to reduce or eliminate holiday parties, company picnics, and company-purchased tickets to events during 2009.

SHRM 2009 Job Satisfaction Survey:

• 58 percent – a majority – of employees reported the current economy had no effect on their overall job satisfaction.
• HR professionals (72 percent) and employees (63 percent) both placed job security at the top of the "very important" aspects of job satisfaction.
• HR professionals (69 percent) and employees (60 percent) also ranked benefits high as an aspect of job satisfaction.

SHRM "Continued Economic Downturn: Employee Perspective" Poll:

• The number of workers who believed their job is "not at risk" dropped slightly to 47 percent compared with 51 percent roughly six months ago, while those who think their job is "significantly at risk" held steady at six percent.
• The percentage of employees who described their job as "slightly at risk" rose from 31 percent in January to 35 percent in June while those who believed their job to be "moderately at risk" held steady at 13 percent.
• If the economy continues to decline over the next six months of 2009, 35 percent described their job as "not at risk" compared with 36 percent who said "slightly at risk." Seventeen percent reported "moderately at risk" and 11 percent reported "significantly at risk."

Pre-Employ.com – a nationally recognized background check and employer services provider – understands the myriad of problems and increased amounts of stress HR professionals face in this uncertain economy. The company offers a suite of flexible and cost-effective services to assist HR departments with pre-employment screening including background checks, drug test, and fingerprinting, as well as talent management, tax credits/incentives, unemployment claims, “green” initiatives, and FREE incoming employment/salary verifications.

For more information, download Pre-Employ.com's complimentary white paper "Your Employee Data, How To Prevent Its Reselling and Offshoring," visit http://www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821. For HR professionals attending the 2009 Annual SHRM Conference & Exhibition from June 28 to July 1, 2009, in New Orleans, LA, visit Pre-Employ.com at Booth #1951. To read SHRM surveys, visit: http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Pages/default.aspx.

Press Release: Pre-Employ.com Alerts HR Leaders To Dangers Facing Data Privacy At 2009 SHRM Conference

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During a typical employer background check – which more than 80 percent of U.S. businesses currently perform according to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) – the job applicant voluntarily gives Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as name, birth date, and Social Security number (SSN) – basically, everything needed to commit identity theft.

What most job applicants fail to realize is the likelihood that much of the PII collected during a background check will travel far beyond the security of U.S. privacy laws to a foreign call center or data warehouse with little to no standards for privacy protection. Why would a background check company offshore personal and secure data without permission from the rightful owner?

The most obvious reason is that the rightful owner of the Personally Identifiable Information does not even have to be notified when it is sent outside of the country, even though the protection of PII collected with background checks – or through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or Job Board System (JBS) – should be stressed given the importance of personal data privacy.

Still, many background check companies and ATS/JBS providers continue “offshoring” personal data to low-cost labor markets by using companies internationally to increase profits. While offshoring may help some U.S. background check firms and ATS/JBS providers lower costs, these activities bring great risk to the PII data of U.S. citizens in the form of identity theft.

Employee personal data can also be “repurposed” by background check companies and ATS/JBS providers to be used in another format or product, and also resold to skip tracers, lawyers, data aggregators, and marketing lists to be bought and sold again and again. The growing popularity of offshoring, repurposing, and reselling of PII data has led to identity theft and lost privacy.

Unfortunately, protection against identity theft through U.S. laws ceases to exist once PII is sent overseas by background check firms. While some countries outside of the U.S. have strong data and privacy protection laws, such as the European Union (EU) states, many places where information is sent offshore for processing have little or no practical identity theft protection.

As a result, U.S. citizens are unable to enforce their privacy rights overseas. It is neither practical nor cost-effective to access foreign courts, contact foreign police, lodge a complaint, or obtain assistance about identity theft. The lack of any meaningful protection once U.S. data is sent offshore by background check firms is a major hurdle in the effort to combat identity theft and to protect privacy.

Pre-Employ.com – recognized nationwide as one of the premier background check companies and employer service providers – is concerned with the privacy and protection of Personally Identifiable Information. It is Pre-Employ.com’s company policy and expectation that NO PII is to be resold, repurposed, or sent offshore for processing purposes without expressed written consent.

Pre-Employ.com also offers a “Personal Employee Information Protection Certification” where respondents answer the following five questions pertaining to data privacy and data security of PII:

• Has your background check/ATS/JBS provider suffered any breaches in data privacy or data security involving PII in the last 5 years?
• Does your background check/ATS/JBS provider “offshore” (send outside of the United States) PII data to a foreign land to be processed in any way beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. Privacy laws?
• Does your background check/ATS/JBS provider repurpose (convert for use as another format or product) PII data for other uses such as marketing purposes?
• Does your background check/ATS/JBS provider resell PII to skip tracers, collection agencies, lawyers, or marketing lists?
• Does the parent company or any subsidiaries of your background check/ATS/JBS provider resell information for marketing purposes or sell information for profit? 

If your background check/ATS/JBS provider is Pre-Employ.com, the answer to all of these questions is NO. For more information on data privacy, download our complimentary white paper "Your Employee Data, How To Prevent Its Reselling and Offshoring", or visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

2009 SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition Attendees: Please visit Pre-Employ.com at Booth 1951 in Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA, from Sunday, June 28 to Tuesday, June 30! Thanks!

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According to a recent survey from an online payroll provider as reported by Occupational Health & Safety, three out of four small business owners say they have hired at least one employee they later wished they had not, and more than one in ten (12 percent) of small business respondents indicate the hiring mistake resulted in a significant financial loss of over $10,000.

The survey reveals a growing trend in hiring mistakes caused by the difficult economic times which have placed many eager and competitive candidates into the job market. While businesses of all sizes are seeing more applicants lying on résumés or exaggerating skills in order to find work, small business owners in particular must be vigilant when hiring new employees in a bad economy.

According to the survey results, many small business owners are overlooking critical steps that can reduce the likelihood of a hiring mistake, the most of important of which is the pre-employment background check. Bad hiring decisions often result from a failure to accurately assess an employee's personality, character, and skills – information that can be uncovered during a background check.

By ignoring background checks and relying on “gut feelings” to determine if the candidate is qualified, business owners risk losing time and money on the recruitment and training of bad hires – and on the people needed to replace them – instead of generating revenue for the business.

Small businesses also cannot blame hiring errors and a lack of background checks on time constraints. Whatever time or money is spent on proper background check procedures will help save more time and money later if a person hired too quickly steals from the company and has to be fired and replaced.

Small business owners have less time and money to waste than their larger competitors. The best way to avoid making a bad hire is to conduct a background check, a proven and objective screening method that includes:

• Background Checks: They ensure that the applicants hired are who they claim to be, and not criminals, sex offenders, or drunk drivers.
• Drug Screening: Experts in toxicology research state that 75 percent of illegal drug users are employed, and many work for a small business.
• Resume Validation: According to Human Resources studies, nearly half of all small business job applicants submit résumés with false information.

For small business owners especially, the economic strain of making a hiring mistake due to a missed background check can be a huge burden on the company. These hiring mistakes can be reduced or avoided altogether by implementing proper precautionary measures such as background checks.

Pre-Employ.com – a leading background check and employment services provider for Fortune 1000 companies – also offers flexible and cost-effect background check solutions for any small business. For more information on Pre-Employ.com’s background check services for small businesses, visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

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