Verifying Salary

[mbpharoh]

After my interview with a company, i got a phone call from HR asking me to send them a copy of my last pay stub. Now that I read this, I will never do it again.

[Abvincent1]

An employer can ask you for anything they want to, but you also can tell them to take a hike. If someone asked me for my W-2 I would tell them that I want to see his/her W-2 and when I receive them, I will then provide mine.

What a degrading invasion of your privacy. Contained on W-2s are not just your salary but other personal information they have no right to ask for or see -- how many kids you have, whether you have other income generating investments, whether you get tax breaks for disabilities, etc.

I would tell them those things exactly and then ask again if it is mandatory. If they say yes, I would probably tell them to go you know what themselves. Next they'll want you to down your pants or strip naked so they can judge you that way.

Go elsewhere, a company that thinks that highly of themselves is clearly completely out of touch with reality and will prove to be a miserable place to begin with. You join teams by accepting jobs, these are not people you want on your team. Value yourself and surround yourself with other valuable people, not petulant nobodies who think they can bend you over a barrel of acid because you are desperate.

[Canaletto 1697]

Originally Posted by Abvincent1

An employer can ask you for anything they want to, but you also can tell them to take a hike. If someone asked me for my W-2 I would tell them that I want to see his/her W-2 and when I receive them, I will then provide mine.

What a degrading invasion of your privacy. Contained on W-2s are not just your salary but other personal information they have no right to ask for or see -- how many kids you have, whether you have other income generating investments, whether you get tax breaks for disabilities, etc.

I would tell them those things exactly and then ask again if it is mandatory. If they say yes, I would probably tell them to go you know what themselves. Next they'll want you to down your pants or strip naked so they can judge you that way.

Go elsewhere, a company that thinks that highly of themselves is clearly completely out of touch with reality and will prove to be a miserable place to begin with. You join teams by accepting jobs, these are not people you want on your team. Value yourself and surround yourself with other valuable people, not petulant nobodies who think they can bend you over a barrel of acid because you are desperate.

I've been saying this for years. An attorney friend of mine told me this ages ago and he cited the exact same reasons above that I"ve bolded. His advice was to decline to provide this, as it only serves as a "platform to discriminate" as well as low ball you. And it's a form of covert discrimination because you really can't prove it, especially if you give them the W2 and they later don't hire you.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by High Altitude

Employers can ask you for anything and then it is up to you to decide how to handle it. Personally, I wouldn't provide the information. It is none of their business and it destroys your position when negotiating salary.

Agreed. Employers should pay what the market rate is, not basing prospective salary off current salary.

[lepoisson]

Why do companies want to know your previous salary? So they can f you over?

Let's say they are budgeted up to 70K/year for a position. Your former position only paid 50K/year. So they hire you at 55-60K/year and call it a day?

I work in higher education and I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this sleaziness.

[MSchemist80]

Like I said wage price-fixing.