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The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

employees.theworknumber.com

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Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#51

Post by jimz »

b112 wrote: post #18
lotsofpulp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Nowhere in my employment agreements I did explicitly agree to my paycheck information to be transferred to Equifax, and yet, here we go. Nowhere in US law does it say your employer has to keep any of that information private.

Really? Anf if they took your paystubs, and posted them online? No problems? Nary a one? Why is Equifax special?

Because they kind of did what you described and the reason the data never surfaced is either because it's too valuable or too worthless

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#52

Post by ljm »

xnickb wrote: post #33
w3ll_w3ll_w3ll wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corporations want obedient wage slaves, so if they find out that you may have some "Fuck you" money that you can use to stop working for them at your whim, they will avoid you.

I understand what you're saying, but corporation is made of people. How is this communicated to my hiring manager and why do they agree to play this stupid game?

Because hiring managers and HR have different incentives and it's therefore in their interest to play the game.

See: every manager and CEO that gets a bonus from cutting down head count or keeping the hiring budget as low as possible.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#53

Post by unified101 »

xnickb wrote: post #33
w3ll_w3ll_w3ll wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corporations want obedient wage slaves, so if they find out that you may have some "Fuck you" money that you can use to stop working for them at your whim, they will avoid you.

I understand what you're saying, but corporation is made of people. How is this communicated to my hiring manager and why do they agree to play this stupid game?

In complex systems, no one sits down and does this. It's the revealed preferences and aggregate outcome when budgeting decisions, or hiring decisions are made. It's the equivalent of stereotypes in organization behavior.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#54

Post by jwally »

I get the concept and use case - but equifax has a reputation on par with klan members and pedos...at least be self aware enough to know to conceal your true form! Phillip Morris became Altria or whatever.

Plus, I can verify for employers that I am a real human with a real employment history snd I can prove it...by giving them my SSN and Mother's Maiden name? What stops a bad guy from speed rushing the dark web, registering these things en masse and selling access to DPRK?

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#55

Post by tuesdaynight »

mwill wrote: post #9
ventana wrote: post #5

When you apply for a software job in the US and go through a background check, most of your former employments are verified through The Work Number. As an employee, I'm not aware of a way to opt out of this data collection, and I assume if there is a way, it will surely make the future background check harder. Now that they allow to look at your personal report, I went ahead, registered and requested a copy. This is…

Funnily enough, if you go to the FAQ, under the heading "Can I opt out of having my information on The Work Number?" it straight up starts with "No.", full stop and all.

To be honest, at least they are not lying to you. Most big tech companies do the same and lie about it.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#56

Post by jmclnx »

deadfoxygrandpa wrote: post #39
Liftyee wrote: post #19

The US is rapidly catching up with China in the field of authoritarianism.

china doesnt have anything like this

China has something I think is called "Social Credit Score". This seems to be another step towards that direction.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#57

Post by handle584 »

deadfoxygrandpa wrote: post #39
Liftyee wrote: post #19

The US is rapidly catching up with China in the field of authoritarianism.

china doesnt have anything like this

They don't have private companies like Equifax collecting those because it is built into the government.

At the minimum, new employee background check involved providing bank statement + social security contribution + income tax history.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#58

Post by lotsofpulp »

ventana wrote: post #10
lotsofpulp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Nowhere in my employment agreements I did explicitly agree to my paycheck information to be transferred to Equifax, and yet, here we go. Nowhere in US law does it say your employer has to keep any of that information private.

Sure, not all good laws are given. Must take a good public campaign or maybe a big leak for the law like that to appear. I would think California will be one of the first states to adopt a law like that, similar to how they now forbid to ask about your current salary when interviewing you for a job [1]. [1]: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml...

I am a fan of Norways laws to make all tax returns public. Transparency is the best disinfectant.

Plus, now that job listings have to show pay range in many states (including California), it’s not too difficult to now figure out a likely annual payrate for someone.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#59

Post by ventana »

JohnMakin wrote: post #42
ventana wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except in the credit report they only list your lenders and how much money you owe, and your payment history, and it's technically possible to not get any credit and have no information, or at least no recent information, in your credit report. In The Work Number, they not only list your employers, but also all your paychecks, and it's hardly possible to opt out.

Many credit reports contain work history.

Out of my 3 big tech employers, only one reported just a fact of my employment with them to the credit report, but all three reported everything to The Work Number.

Re: The Work Number: credit score but for your employment history – by Equifax

#60

Post by ventana »

thomascountz wrote: post #49

Being an American is so undignified—humiliating, even. I lived in what's known as a food desert. It was a place which required a car to get food. We drove on roads which crumbled and destroyed our car. The insurance (which we paid a pretty premium for) covered the fix. Lucky us! We found a garage, which took some time, but they scammed us. While we waited for the insurance to believe us, and we had no car, we tried t…

Such places definitely exist, but it's a choice to live in a food desert vs live in a city with public transportation and walkability. There definitely exist cities in the US where you can live without a car. It's mostly a question of choosing how many square feet of personal space you want to have; it's not really technically possible to have a big house with a backyard, with all neighbors having the same, and being served by a good public transport at the same time.
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