Employers asking job seekers for W-2 or tax return [View all]
Kathleen Pender, San Francisco Chronicle / Thursday, May 3, 2012
In a weak job market, employers have been asking job applicants for a lot of new information about themselves including, in some cases, their social media passwords.
But Kevin T. of San Francisco was shocked when a prospective employer asked him to verify his salary by providing a copy of his W-2 form.
"I recently interviewed for an Amazon position and made it through the three-month interview process and was notified that they wanted to hire me. The first step in the offer process, however, was that I had to submit my previous year's W-2 or federal tax return. Without that information, they would be unable to proceed. After providing them with my W-2, they made an offer that was below the salary range they originally quoted," says Kevin, who doesn't want his last name used because he turned down the offer and doesn't want his current employer to know he's job hunting.
Kevin says his sister-in-law, a vice president of an investment firm in the Midwest, told him she has experienced the same thing when she applies for new work. "Another friend is the head of marketing at a local company and says this has become standard practice. How is this legal, and is it widespread?"
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/03/BUMN1OBQJ6.DTL&type=business
According to the article, it's not illegal. Yes, it's widespread. And Amazon declined to comment (of course).
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