What is employment verification?

Answer 1

As employment litigation has increased, many, if not most, companies are advised by their lawyers to restrict answers about past employees to simply verifying the dates and perhaps last job title when asked for references. Simply put, if asked that a person ever worked there, Human Resources (sometimes Legal or a high executive or owner or specified individual) will confirm only that record of the job history, often after confirming a sincere interest by verifying a social security number. Sometimes they will require a release from the former employee, sometimes contacting him/her (not often). And, of course, they may flat out refuse, but most consider it a courtesy and prrudent to help in that minimal way lest they play too much of a role in a former employee's denial of a new job. Primarily, if it gets them off any unemployment benefit obligation, they are only too happy to at least verify a past employment.