The Work Number is an American employment verification database created in 1985 by Talx Corporation.[1][2][3] Talx, (now Equifax Workforce Solutions) was acquired by Equifax Inc. in February 2007 for US$1.4 billion.[4]

Through The Work Number employers can purchase data on a prospective employee including confirmation of an individual's employment records and income for verification purposes. The fee for information provided is given only after the requesting party answers several key questions.[5]

Organizations that have used the Work Number include Fannie Mae,[6] Hilton Hotels,[7] Rent-A-Center,[7] the United States Postal Service,[7] Domino's Pizza,[5] the University of Pennsylvania,[8] and the University of Missouri System.[9]

The Work Number collects and archives weekly salary information. It also collects length of employment, job titles, "location information", and "other kinds of human resources-related information, such as health care provider, whether someone has dental insurance and if they’ve ever filed an unemployment claim."[10]

Equifax sells data to third parties. Companies including "mortgage, auto and other financial services credit grantors" may request pay rate information similar to a credit report. Also, "debt/collection agencies may request employment information" to verify someone's place of employment.[10]

Controversies

Accuracy of information

Consumers have notified Privacy Rights Clearinghouse that The Work Number's data are inaccurate, with outdated job titles and other misreprentations of their work history.[10]

2013 sale of sensitive personal information

It's the biggest privacy breach in our time, and it’s legal and no one knows it’s going on. It's like a secret CIA.

— Robert Mather, Pre-Employ.com[11][12]

In January 2013, The Work Number was criticized for selling access to people's ostensibly private data, especially salary data, to third parties, without the informed consent of the subject.[11][12] Organisations affected included Columbia University, and third parties included debt collection companies.[11][12]

The director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse stated, "I think [this] is something that would be offensive to many people. One typically considers salary information to be shared by your employer just with IRS."[11]

2017 exposure of Americans' salary data

On 8 October 2017, Brian Krebs reported that The Work Number exposed the salary histories for employees of tens of thousands of U.S. companies to anyone in possession of the employee's Social Security number and date of birth.[13][14] For roughly half the U.S. population, both of the latter pieces of data are known to be in possession of criminals, following Equifax's May-July 2017 security breach.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "TALX Surpasses 100 Million Employment Records on The Work Number". PR Web. 9 September 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  2. ↑ "For Talx Corp., the payoff is in its Work Number". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 11 June 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  3. ↑ Yip, Pamela (19 March 2008). "Life At Work: Work Number compiles employment info for firms". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  4. ↑ "Equifax Announces Agreement to Acquire TALX Corporation in a Transaction Valued at $1.4 Billion". PR Newswire. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Domino's Pizza, Inc. Selects The Work Number from TALX Corp. for Outsourced Salary and Employment Verification". Business Wire. 2 September 1998. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  6. ↑ "Fannie Mae Selects The Work Number To Streamline HR Operations Through Automation". Business Wire. 13 July 2000. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Equifax's TALX Unit Adds Major Clients to the Work Number Service". PR Newswire. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  8. ↑ "The University of Pennsylvania Selects the Work Number for Automated, Outsourced Employment and Salary Verifications, Expanding the National Database to More Than 27 Million Salary Records". Business Wire. 11 May 1999. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
  9. ↑ "The University of Missouri Income and Employment Verification". Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 "EXCLUSIVE: Your employer may share your salary, and Equifax might sell that data". NBC News. January 30, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Tape, Red (Jan 30, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Your employer may share your salary, and Equifax might sell that data". NBC News. NBC.
  12. 1 2 3 Fairchild, Caroline (30 January 2013). "Equifax Sells Private Information To Debt Collectors In 'Biggest Privacy Breach In Our Time': Report [UPDATE]". Huffington Post.
  13. 1 2 "Equifax Breach Fallout: Your Salary History — Krebs on Security". krebsonsecurity.com. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Equifax will give your salary history to anyone with your SSN and date of birth / Boing Boing". boingboing.net. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
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