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Former Employment Verification

Draws on the previous employer’s knowledge of the applicant during the period of employment specified in the application. Most employers nowadays will only verify straight-forward factual information that cannot be disputed, like dates of employment and position held claimed by the former employee.

The reasoning behind this is that companies do not want to expose themselves to anything negative that they might “officially” say about former employees.

Because of that, companies may outsource their personnel records to national clearinghouses (i.e., The Work Number, Equifax Verification Services, etc.). These clearinghouses relieve HR departments of constantly responding to former employment verification requests. In addition, it protects them from an employee giving out “too much” information that can be considered derogatory or biased.

HR Managers and background check companies (CRAs) must pay a fee to access those personnel records.

Turnaround time: anywhere from 1 hour to 3 business days. Price: $18 +third-party fees in the event that employer outsources HR personnel records to Equifax Verification Services, TrueWork, Vault Verify, etc. Those 3rd party fees can range from $50 to $100

See also Automated Reference Checks

The main reason to use a third-party verification company is to insulate the employer from potential bias liability litigation by not having an HR person search on their own. Just look at all the multi-million settlement awards caused by misinformed HR managers thinking they were heroes by saving their company $25.

Sample Former Employment Verification

Past Employment Verify
Name Searched
Charles Templeton
DOB
11/24/****
SSN
155-55-****
Search ID
386975
Date Ordered
06/30/2019
Date Completed
06/30/2029
Status
Complete
Information Provided
Company
uStayWell Health Associates
Company Phone
864-555-1515
Company Location
Greenville, SC
Company Contact
Not Provided
Position Held
Physician
Start Date
6/2010
End Date
3/2019
Permission to Contact
Yes
Information Searched
Company
uStayWell Health Associates
Company Phone
864-555-1515
Company Location
Greenville, SC
Information Verified
Position Verified
Physician – Contracted Non-Employee
Start Date
Contracted as needed from 2010
End Date
Contracted as needed. Last contracted 2019
Optional Answers to Standard Questions
Attendance
Good
Eligibility for Rehire
Yes
Works well with Others
Yes
Work Habits
Excellent
Written/Communication Skills
Excellent
Disciplinary Action
None
Overall Performance(1-10:best)
9
Reason for Leaving
Relocation
Additional Comments
This person was a contracted physician, not
an employee of the center.
Verified by Ron Gutsey – Director of HR.