7 ms·

I tried to look myself up, and indeed they don't have my current employer (a small startup). My guess is that only larger employers participate. More important

I tried to look myself up, and indeed they don't have my current employer (a small startup). My guess is that only larger employers participate. More importantly, this raises significant privacy issues. How can a current or former employer make sensitive data like salary information easily and publicly accessible, without permission? That ought to be illegal. I agree that it's really wrong to lie about one's salary; the best answer is to not disclose that, and probably to point to available information like glassdoor, or just be honest about your expectations.

joezydeco 11y ago
My take (as it was explained to me by HR) is that currently it's used as a way to let decisionmakers (landlords, bank loan officers, court systems, etc) get verification of employment and/or salary via mutual agreement. You, as the wage-earner, grant an access key to a landlord for example. He then can get quick verification of your application information without wasting HR's time. But I trust the credit bureaus as far as I can throw them. This will certainly morph into other uses for the data, like this: Hiring Company: "Did Joe Pastebin earn $100,000 last year?" Equifax: "Nope." And out goes the bong letter.
- SilasX 11y ago
  Then why do they require copious documentation of your wages (sorry, salaries) when you apply for a mortgage if they can just look it up?
  - srtjstjsj 11y ago
    My mortgage lender asked me for my access code to Work Number. What shocks me is that Work Number is legally allowed to publish data without the individual's authorization
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - joezydeco 11y ago
      They won't release it without your authorization - thus the access code request.
  - mixmastamyk 11y ago
    Your lender may be or have been behind the times.
- MCRed 11y ago
  How is equinox getting the data? Is it from self reports? (EG: you apply for credit, say you work for XYZ and make $QWR -- that goes in your credit report.) Or are employers turning over this information to equifax? By what right can they do that? Seems a violation of the privacy act to me.
  - joezydeco 11y ago
    The employer is giving (selling?) the data. http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/exclusive-your-employer-may-share-your-salary-equifax-might-sell-1B8173066 http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/exclusive-your-employer-ma... In the US the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives collection firms the ability to access this data. In other uses (like the landlord example) the access is granted by the employee.
    - MCRed 11y ago
      I believe turning over this data by the employer without the employees consent is illegal, forbidden by the FCRA and privacy acts of 1974. I know the article you linked to claimed it was legal, but what this is telling me is that I should get employers to sign an NDA (not that they would, of course.) So, yet another argument for starting a startup rather than being an employee.
      - joezydeco 11y ago
        Talk to someone that's in the public sector. Maybe a local public works employee or the teacher at your local high school. Their salary is public record and has always been that way. It was just a lot more difficult to find it until recently. As for private businesses, I've never been aware of a law that says they can't hand the information out. They tend not to do it because of internal reasons like not letting the competition see it or keeping everyone from arguing about each other's comp all day instead of working. The FCRA allowed debt collectors a way to tunnel through companies that resisted cooperating.
pc86 11y ago
> How can a current or former employer make sensitive data like salary information easily and publicly accessible, without permission? Presumably it's a condition of employment. I mean most people sign a couple dozen forms when starting a new job, all it takes is one sentence on one form that says the company may share your employment-related information.

joezydeco 11y ago

My take (as it was explained to me by HR) is that currently it's used as a way to let decisionmakers (landlords, bank loan officers, court systems, etc) get verification of employment and/or salary via mutual agreement. You, as the wage-earner, grant an access key to a landlord for example. He then can get quick verification of your application information without wasting HR's time. But I trust the credit bureaus as far as I can throw them. This will certainly morph into other uses for the data, like this: Hiring Company: "Did Joe Pastebin earn $100,000 last year?" Equifax: "Nope." And out goes the bong letter.

SilasX 11y ago
Then why do they require copious documentation of your wages (sorry, salaries) when you apply for a mortgage if they can just look it up?
- srtjstjsj 11y ago
  My mortgage lender asked me for my access code to Work Number. What shocks me is that Work Number is legally allowed to publish data without the individual's authorization
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - joezydeco 11y ago
    They won't release it without your authorization - thus the access code request.
- mixmastamyk 11y ago
  Your lender may be or have been behind the times.
MCRed 11y ago
How is equinox getting the data? Is it from self reports? (EG: you apply for credit, say you work for XYZ and make $QWR -- that goes in your credit report.) Or are employers turning over this information to equifax? By what right can they do that? Seems a violation of the privacy act to me.
- joezydeco 11y ago
  The employer is giving (selling?) the data. http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/exclusive-your-employer-may-share-your-salary-equifax-might-sell-1B8173066 http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/exclusive-your-employer-ma... In the US the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives collection firms the ability to access this data. In other uses (like the landlord example) the access is granted by the employee.
  - MCRed 11y ago
    I believe turning over this data by the employer without the employees consent is illegal, forbidden by the FCRA and privacy acts of 1974. I know the article you linked to claimed it was legal, but what this is telling me is that I should get employers to sign an NDA (not that they would, of course.) So, yet another argument for starting a startup rather than being an employee.
    - joezydeco 11y ago
      Talk to someone that's in the public sector. Maybe a local public works employee or the teacher at your local high school. Their salary is public record and has always been that way. It was just a lot more difficult to find it until recently. As for private businesses, I've never been aware of a law that says they can't hand the information out. They tend not to do it because of internal reasons like not letting the competition see it or keeping everyone from arguing about each other's comp all day instead of working. The FCRA allowed debt collectors a way to tunnel through companies that resisted cooperating.

pc86 11y ago

> How can a current or former employer make sensitive data like salary information easily and publicly accessible, without permission? Presumably it's a condition of employment. I mean most people sign a couple dozen forms when starting a new job, all it takes is one sentence on one form that says the company may share your employment-related information.