Just wanted to give a PSA to job hunters out there. I genuinely had no idea this existed until I saw a TikTok a few months ago saying you could freeze this info. Basically It’s an employment and income database. SOME employers report your job history and pay info to it. Prospective employers can access this to verify employment history and income.

I checked mine and had jobs from so long ago that aren’t listed on my resume. and some of the dates / info were completely incorrect. You can freeze it on the website theworknumber.com

I’m not sure how many companies verify through this database but it’s worth checking out to prevent any discrepancies in what’s listed on resume vs what’s listed on your work number report

I recently got a job offer (full time) and until then I did not realize how important it was to freeze the TWN, a quick run down on important things ... Save this as this could be handy !

What is TWN

(1) The Work Number - an Equifax company which is a central database of employment history - which companies voluntary report data as well a subscribe data to find out where the employee worked

How to get your report
(1) As a Employee - you can view your report by logging into TWN
https://secure.theworknumber.talx.com/twneeer/Preauthenticated/FindEmployer.aspx

You start off with your employer name and then your SSN/FN/LN/DoB.

For me - it was straightforward - I keyed in my employer name + other info and got the report

For my wife - it was trying to authorize and send the auth codes to my wife's employer phone number which was surprising instead of her phone number, so we could never get it - I am still trying to figure out how to get her TWN report

What does the report contain

(1) Your name, address
(2) Whom are you working with, since when
(3) How much you got paid each year and month - this was a big surprise to me and it was accurate for the most recent company i worked with

Is it Accurate ?
In my case not all was accurate
(a) My current employer and salary history was very accurate
(b) I worked for a company in 2010-2020 - it says that I am still working there, which is not accurate, I am not planning to dispute it, let it remain as an inaccuracy so that I can use it to tell that information on TWN is bad
(c) I had accepted an offer from a Big 4 in 2018 and rejected it, did not join them, but to my surprise this information was in TWN from 2018 even though I did not join them. I told them I am no joining literally 3 days before the start date. The TWN report said it is not active, but still surprised that the big 4 reported it
(d) Not all companies report/subscribe to TWN - I work for another company and they are not even listed in TWN website !

How to put a freeze ?

Easiest way is to put a request on their website - they send a secure email to you with a website link. (about 24 hours) - Watch for that email - it contains a link - login to the website and upload proof of id and address - passport/dl/utility bill ...

How to Unfreeze ?
Within 2-3 days your report will be frozen (yes that fast !) and you will get a physical mail with a PIN number - this is very important - you will need this to unfreeze the report - store it carefully

How to dispute

There is a link to dispute your employment history online (I never used it - as I want a few inaccuracies on my report)

How to call them
I tried to call them with a few questions - but never got lucky - they do not want to talk to employees like us - if anyone had any luck - pls comment below !

Over the last few years, there’s been a rise in the usage of a screening tool called The Work Number. It’s owned by Equifax, and is sold to recruiters and verification services to provide them with your past salary information, employment history, business income, etc. 

Even if you are not lying on your resume or during the interview, all job seekers must stay abreast of what TWN and related services can do to their career. The information will typically be used during a job verification, but has started to be used by recruiters during other times. It can also be pulled and referred to at will, since many of the contracts sold are reportedly flat-fee (or the people pulling it don’t care about budget). This means that even after you start your job, the TWN report can and has been used against employees. 

The best way to avoid this is to freeze your TWN report. Please, everyone, become aware of this report and let’s try to stop it.

~https://backgroundproof.com/twn-compendium/~

Over the past year, there’s been a lot of misinformation being spread online in regards to The Work Number. Yes, a report that provides your past income, employment dates, and even business income does exist. No, it is not often accurate. But recruiters and verification services still use it, to try and poke holes in applicant’s resumes or stories. 

While researching this, we created a Compendium of everything TWN related, including:

• Where does the data come from?

• Step by step instructions on how to freeze your TWN

• Reasons to give when a recruiter asks about your frozen TWN

Please, if you don't know what the TWN is, please learn about it and freeze it! Even if you aren't lying or doing overemployment. For example, they've even convinced QuickBooks to sell them data on how much money your small business makes.

I had no idea this site existed. It has every single job you worked, job dates, termination reason, phone numbers, current address, former address, social security number. All I had to do was create an account and select my employer. It's insane and apparently can be accessed at any time by anyone.

Just found out about The Work Number, a company owned by Equifax that keeps a file on you with your work history, salary, bonuses, and tips. Once a potential employer has gotten your consent to run a “background check” they can access this info if they pay Equifax for the report, so if you’ve left anything off your resume or are negotiating salary, they might already know.

You can freeze your report like a credit report, so employers can’t see your info until you lift the freeze. Just wanted to share this because I had no clue this was possible!

EDIT: This is NOT the same as freezing your credit report. This is your work history report!

YSK about Equifax’s The Work Number that tracks your work and income history as a service for employers and creditors. The Work Number shows hire dates, pay, insurance, workers comp information, termination dates, and even reasons for terminations.

Why YSK: Multiple reasons you should know this but consider how your HR can easily lie to you because of this third party service. Your employer might say something to you like “we don’t disclose that information after you leave.” regarding terminations, pay, etc.. But your employer will use The Work Number and they will disclose that information and a lot more.
You can download your Work Number report for free and opt out by emailing them.

What should I do and what will happen next?

Our office was unable to verify this employment due to the fact that the company listed utilizes The Work Number and the candidates account is unable to be accessed. The candidate will need to contact The Work Number (Equifax) to have the hold removed and allow us to access any available records.

Ijust got an interview, and the job gave me a link the work number to sign in. I input all my information, social, number email and then it prompted me a verification code. The verification methods are not my number nor email. It has locked me out. I'm not understanding why it's showing a different number and email. I've called the customer service number and it's a just a bot that hangs up once they try to transfer.

I verified my social security number to make sure nobody was using it for employment. It's not being used. So I can't register an account. Has this happened to anyone?

And I say that having watched offers get pulled for things candidates genuinely didn't think anyone would find or bother to check.

People actually think a background check is about is criminal history, and that's part of it, but it's actually one of the smaller concerns for most white collar roles unless the conviction is directly relevant to the job. What ends up causing the most problems are the things people put on their own resume. Employment dates that are off by a few months to cover a gap, a title that was slightly inflated, a degree that's listed but was never finished.

The background check providers have access to a database called The Work Number which holds over 800 million payroll records, and when your dates don't match what's in there the screening company flags it immediately.

Reference checks are part of the same process and I've personally watched a reference check reverse a hiring decision that was already leaning toward an offer. Candidates pick people they're friendly with without thinking about what those people will actually say when someone calls them and starts asking specific questions about performance and work style.

Credit history gets pulled for roles that involve handling money or financial data, driving records for anything involving company vehicles, and in some cases social media gets screened too, specifically for evidence of behavior that contradicts what someone presented in interviews.

If they find discrepancies, they treat it as a character issue and the conversation ends.

If you have anything on your resume you're uncertain about or you're heading into a process where a background check is coming, make sure you double check.

There is no reason whatsoever to give companies unfettered access to this information.

https://employees.theworknumber.com/employee-data-freeze/

If you are applying for a job and are told your employment cannot be verified, you can provide a paystub or W2. Do not mention anything about having your data frozen. Just play dumb.

I'm curious what data can employers can see and how they can search on TWN reports. Can you pull the data from anybody just using their SSN? Can you see the entire history or only especific things?

HR Director here in MD, I work for a small company and we can't justify paying for employment verifications through the Work Number, but it seems like nearly all major companies use it and have no alternative way to verify employment. All I want is dates worked and job title, but it's $120 per check with TWN.

Has anyone else had this issue since it's such a pervasive service? It's literally keeping me from doing my job because I'm unable to perform verifications before hiring people, so we're just hoping for the best and getting burned occasionally.

TWN just seems like a ridiculous gatekeeper for an extremely common and basic need that most employers have.

Just got a new J. I've seen you guys advise on freezing the work number. I've never done that before and I'm in the background check phase right now. I had to provide employment history (name, position, contact name, contact phone, employer address, dates of employment, reason for leaving). The background check is in progress.

my q is the title

It had every job (outside of smaller companies such as startups or SaaS), my title at the job, what insurance I had at the job, what my pay rate was, my start and stop dates, my pay dates, the amount on each paycheck, how many hours I worked each pay period, etc. If I was a temporary employee, it had what the business paid as my salary and not what I took home. Ex: I was making 13/hr. but the company was paying 19.50/hr.

I was able to see my payrate working at 7/11 in 2004 for 7.25/hr. and how many hours I worked each pay period.

There was also a letter posted by at least one previous employer about my immigration status, although I'm not an immigrant and I assume they do it regardless since it is a company based outside the U.S.

If you are out here trying to get a new job with better pay and an employer pulls this, you're getting low balled or eliminated from the candidate pool based on your previous employment tenure/title/payrate. I highly advise that everyone pull their data and have it frozen. Lastly, when you pull your report, you'll be able to see who all pulled it within the last 24 months.