Recruiter asking for W2

Hello all,

I have only had a few jobs in IT and most of them dealt with Recruiters, however I have never come across this until today. I applied for a job, interviewed, drug tested, got a start date, and now we're performing i9 work and the recruiting company is asking for my W2 information. I am unwilling to provide this information. They claim its to verify past employment; can't I just give them the phone numbers to my bosses/supervisors who work(ed) at those companies? I have never heard of giving out W2 info to ANYONE.

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TacoRocket

So they can use it for employment verification but I feel like this is more than that. Its also to get how much you were making so that they can give you a rate.

Overall I would not do it. This is a deal breaker to me. This has so much personal info its not even funny. Including your address, name, and social.

Run.

bigdogz

If a recruiter is asking for W2 I would run.They may be trying to use you to gauge the proper pay.

If they have to ask for that, I would not give it to them. Any reason they give you is wrong.

kurosaki00

I wouldnt do it.
Tell them your W2 contains very private information and information from your current employer that you're not supposed to divulge.
Tell them you're more than happy to cooperate with information needed but a W2 is something too private. See if you can just give the info they need without handing out such private docs.
If no, gtfo.

Remedymp

In some states this is actually illegal.

J_86

I have had this come up. The recruiting company did a background check and their background company wasn't able to verify I worked for a certain company. I believe it, because other former coworkers had the same issues. I sent them a W-2, but simply blacked out any information related to how much I was making. They did not have any issues with that, they really were just trying to make sure I worked for who I said I did.

If you don't want to give them a W-2, ask them if there is an alternative way to verify employment; copy of an old offer letter (blacked out salary information), benefits confirmation, basically anything that can show you once worked for the other company.

If they have already paid for you to take a drug screen, chances are they are serious about the position.

Trucido

They already gave me a salary rate. I cant see this as pay rate negotiation unless they think I am lying about what I make.

thomas_

I agree we with J_86, but I would go even further and black out my SSN and address as well. The only thing I would leave is my name, employer's name and employer's address. By blackout, I would make a copy, physically cut out the sensitive info on the copy, make a copy of that paper, and hand that copy in. Yes, I am a little paranoid. If they complain, obviously they wanted it for more than just employment verification.

volfkhat

How desperate are you financially?
If you can afford to take a stand... then fight their @ss.

Trucido wrote: »

They claim its to verify past employment;

If that is "all" they really want to know..... i think that's fair.

So,
All they need to see "for verification" is 1) your SSN# (which i assume they already have), and 2) your former employer's TIN#.

Here's your solution:
Give them a Redacted copy of your W2 :]

Your Salary $$, Tax withholdings $$, etc, can all be BLACKED-OUT.

That's it :]

Be sure to send it via Email. in fact, all future communication should be that way; (for documentation purposes).
Avoid taking their phoen calls. See if you can catch them in writing.
(Maybe you can report them to your STate's Department of Labor?)

Let us know what happens!

TacoRocket

Even then its still way to personal of a document. Also they can always adjust the salary rate before you start. Can't be to careful.

Trucido wrote: »

They already gave me a salary rate. I cant see this as pay rate negotiation unless they think I am lying about what I make.

Trucido

Thanks for the info all!
Im going to do that volfkhat!

JockVSJock

Trucido wrote: »

Hello all,

I have only had a few jobs in IT and most of them dealt with Recruiters, however I have never come across this until today. I applied for a job, interviewed, drug tested, got a start date, and now we're performing i9 work and the recruiting company is asking for my W2 information. I am unwilling to provide this information. They claim its to verify past employment; can't I just give them the phone numbers to my bosses/supervisors who work(ed) at those companies? I have never heard of giving out W2 info to ANYONE.

Nope...I would say no and that the recruiter can call the HR dept to verify past employment and that is the only information they can get. This scum bag is trying to screw you over on something, probably pay, because your earning for last year will be on the W2.

Recruiters are inhuman scum.

Danielm7

Agree with everyone else, if you 100% have to hand it over, make a copy, blank out your salary data and send it to them. "Here, now you can verify that I worked here as you requested".

srabiee

I agree that it likely has everything to do with your past salary info. Proceed with caution.

On a side note, I don't know all of the details of your current situation (experience, education, certs, etc), but it's a really good feeling when you get to a point in your career that you are experienced, gainfully employed, and in fairly high demand, and don't have to play these "salary games" anymore. If a prospective employer demands to know my current salary (so they can tack on a mere 5% salary increase and use that as their offer), I have the ability to either refuse that information, or simply state that I am asking for a minimum of X salary and won't accept anything less. I know some of the other forum members have differing opinions on this topic (some well respected and successful members have no problem divulging currently salary information), but I'm sort of in the camp that you don't want to "show your hand" before they have at least divulged the budgeted salary range for the position. I ask for this information before I even agree to an interview.

But again, if you're not experienced and/or not gainfully employed, this may not be a luxury that you have at this point in your career.

Good luck!

p@r0tuXus

There's a great App for Android called ACR which allows you to record "virtually" every call. So if you call out, they call in, voicemails (whatever). I use that and then you can send them to yourself so you can back-up or archive if you think you'll ever have to rely on that information for legal reasons. Other than that, heavily redacted (invest in an exacto knife) and all comms by e-mail if you can would be the best way to move forward. When in doubt, black it out!

srabiee

p@r0tuXus wrote: »

There's a great App for Android called ACR which allows you to record "virtually" every call.

Be advised,before using such an app, you need to make sure that your state has a "one-party consent" law governing recording phone conversations. If it's "two-party consent," you will likely be in violation of your state's wiretapping law, which is a crime.

Trucido

srabiee wrote: »

Be advised,before using such an app, you need to make sure that your state has a "one-party consent" law governing recording phone conversations. If it's "two-party consent," you will likely be in violation of your state's wiretapping law, which is a crime.

I use a recording app that does just that. I wonder if Ohio has any restrictions on it, I havent checked. Didnt know it was a crime, I always considered it to be admissible in court since I never say "hey this call is being recorded" lol

Edit: Ohio's wiretapping law is a "one-party consent" law. Ohio law makes it a crime to intercept or record any "wire, oral, or electronic communication" unless one party to the conversation consents.

So "one party" equals myself, right? ha

Also this is only a crime if you intend to use it or it would be a crime if any authority found out you had phone calls recorded?
*cough cough the NSA does this cough cough Snowden*

volfkhat

If Ohio is a "one-party consent" state; then you are good to go :]

jeremywatts2005

I've had to do it to speed up a background check or two. A lot of employers are lazy as crap and will not return calls on background checks. I only do it though after I have an offer on the table with a contingency I pass the background check. That means salary, benefits and so on are all in writing and agreed upon. The background check is the last hurdle and then the offer becomes valid. I also have noticed that more and more employers are not asking for references. Same problem you try to call and call the supervisor and they refer you to HR. Which in turn states you worked there and will not provide any dates of employment or anything about a two week notice.

ande0255

I'd be cautious if they jumped straight to a W2 rather than your current pay stub or one from your most recent employer.

From someone who has had their identity stolen and run into the ground, never give out your SSN unless absolutely necessary (like to turn on utilities at a new house).

TechGromit

Trucido wrote: »

I have never heard of giving out W2 info to ANYONE.

If your just starting out in the IT field, it's something your probably going to have to suck it up and provide it to them, as others said just black out the salary and deduction info. Most of the senior level IT folks would tell them where to shove there W2 request, because we can.

powerfool

I have had requests like this to verify income, which I refuse to do. For one, my income is my business... you are either willing to pay me what we agreed to or not. Secondly, it wouldn't even necessarily be an accurate description... when you have insurance, FSA/HSA/HRA, retirement contributions, and other forms of compensation (retirement matching contributions, retirement profit sharing contributions, PTO, flexibility, reimbursements for various expenses). I know that my taxable federal income from my W2 is about $20k less than my gross income.

So, yeah, I have refused on a number of occasions. If they are truly looking to just verify your employment, this can be without value, as well. I have worked for numerous companies where the official company name had no resemblance to the DBA name. Like parent company initials followed by a number representing which holding company it was. But, if that is what they are looking to do, offer it up redacted.

paul78

volfkhat wrote: »

If Ohio is a "one-party consent" state; then you are good to go :]

That's only true if the call is intrastate. Otherwise it's a bit more sticky.

@OP - what @powerfool indicated is very true. It's risky for any company to ask for a W2 - primarily because it could reveal information protected by other statutes. You mentioned a recruiter asked you? Are you saying it's a third-party recruiter or the hiring company? Frankly I would never respond to such a request from a third-party. While it may be common in sales roles to ask for verifiable income because it confirms performance - frankly it just seems lame whenever a company ask for such tax information.

Clm

I would give it to them and mark out all my pay information and anything you don't feel comfortable with and just leave your name and last company information and they should be satisfied

clarkincnet

Personally, as a job applicant, your salary information and history is no one else's business. If you have the experience and credentials that match what the company needs then the only thing that matters is what you are looking for in terms of compensation for delivering said experience.

You're not responsible if the recruiter is too lazy to tell handle their client properly. When you hire a plumber, don't you ask for their rates? If the rate is too high then you look for someone else. Another way to look at it is do you expect the company to tell you how much they pay their other employees in similar positions?

I realize my position on this may not be mainstream and that's ok. I just don't waste time on recruiters or HR gatekeepers that have a hang-up on this. After all, my intrinsic value is not determined by an arbitrary data point in time.

This is like a company asking for my social media and email passwords...

aGordeno

I don't find it odd or something, just a standard procedure to verify that your incomes from the previous place were legal. The hard part is, if you don't have copies or weren't storing them online with the services like this for the W-2 form online so you possibly will have to fight your employer to get them

scaredoftests

hmm..sorry I hardly know you to click on this link..LOL Yes, it is odd to ask for a W2.

TechGromit

Trucido wrote: »

I have only had a few jobs in IT and most of them dealt with Recruiters, however I have never come across this until today. I applied for a job, interviewed, drug tested, got a start date, and now we're performing i9 work and the recruiting company is asking for my W2 information. I am unwilling to provide this information. They claim its to verify past employment; can't I just give them the phone numbers to my bosses/supervisors who work(ed) at those companies? I have never heard of giving out W2 info to ANYONE.

If you got hired, I assume you know how much you will be making already. Sometimes they use this information to see how little they can get away with paying you, but if you already been hired, I assume you agreed on a rate, so I don't see what the down side of them knowing this information. I would be very surprised if they said something like, after seeing your W2, were cutting your hourly rate, cause we know you'll work for less.

paul78

aGordeno wrote: »

I don't find it odd or something, just a standard procedure to verify that your incomes from the previous place were legal.

That's not true. In many states, there are restrictions on salary history verification. Specifically, CA, CT, DE, HI, IL, KY, LA, MA, MI, NY, etc.

You claim to live in NJ. NJ prohibits state government entities from asking about and investigating prior salaries of applicants.

I assume your simply reviving an old thread to spam.

cyberguypr

"just a standard procedure to verify that your incomes from the previous place were legal"

That makes absolutely no sense. Why would someone care if your previous income was legal or not? Companies just care about you being able to legally work in the US. Whoever requests this is most likely to penny pinch and devalue you as an employee.

I vote for trying to drive traffic for whatever tha link is.