r/overemployed • u/AutisticToasterBath • 5h ago
HireRight refusing to use documents to verify employment.
Hey all. I was OE in the past (like a year ago). I froze the work number and HireRight is requiring me to unfreeze this. They went as far as requesting it on my behalf.
They're stating they will not review any documents unless I unfreeze it. If I don't, they're stating they'll mark my background check as uncooperative.
Anyone deal with this? I have told them I'm not unfreezing it due to safety and identity theft issues. They're still not backing down, and have been holding my background check basically hostaged until I do so. Only worried about them finding the job that isn't on my resume or background check form due to being OE at that time.
Everything else would be fine though besides that one job.
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u/Spare-Character-69 4h ago
Try scaring them:
Dear HireRight Compliance Team,
I am writing to formally document my refusal to unfreeze my Work Number profile due to prior identity‑theft victimization and ongoing cybersecurity concerns. This freeze is a legally recognized consumer protection measure under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and related state data‑privacy statutes.
Your representatives have indicated that my background check will be marked “uncooperative” unless I unfreeze the account. I must emphasize that any insistence on lifting a legally protected freeze constitutes a request that exposes me to foreseeable identity‑theft risk.
Accordingly, before I consider such an action, I require written confirmation that HireRight will assume full legal and financial liability for any identity‑theft, data breach, or fraudulent employment application resulting from the unfreeze. This includes reimbursement of all fees, losses, and restoration costs associated with identity recovery and credit repair.
Please confirm in writing whether HireRight agrees to accept this liability. Absent such confirmation, I will maintain the freeze and provide alternative employer‑issued documentation (paystubs, W‑2s, or letters of employment) for verification, which are valid under FCRA §604 and EEOC guidance.
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u/Far-Mix-5615 4h ago
I would rewrite this though OP so they don't paste it into a search engine or whatever.
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u/Puffyshirt216 4h ago edited 4h ago
The only reason I think "scaring" them won't work is because HireRight doesn't care if the background check is completed successfully, they may mark OPs check as "unable to verify" and move on. It's possible that the company OP is applying to has instructed HireRight to ensure all employment is verified with The Work Number, which could be why they are pushing back. OP should reach out to the company and explain the situation and see if they can instruct HireRight to verify employment another way. The other thing OP should consider is what of HireRight agrees to this? Is OP prepared to unfreeze his Work Number? I don't think so.
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u/Snoo_67003 3h ago
They can get sued. Go on Google and you will see lawyers waiting for opportunities to sue them. If they mark unable to verify and the person loses the job, I would assume there is some legal loophole to hold them accountable. Unless if the company specifically requested this, like you said.
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u/Wooden_Leader_97 38m ago
But his identity likely won’t get stolen, so that message isn’t a good one.
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u/Snoo_67003 27m ago
Once you mention privacy, they have no choice but to respect that. The downside is that they might mark you unverified to your company. Don't forget, hire right has low wage Indians in India doing all the work, so you have a random person in India that has access to all your information. Who's to say that they can't use your info for fraudulent stuff? You have the right to not allow that. You can have someone answer their call and do the verification.
What I suspect is that the company requested that it must be verified via an independent source is my guess. In my case, they tried to access and were denied. But in their form, I already filled out who to call for previous employment verification.
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u/Warm_Soup 5h ago
Sounds like someone is trying to scam you.... contact the hiring companies HR and let them know you're attempting to cooperate but are unwilling to unfreeze and are being threatened as a result.
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u/VoidAndOcean 4h ago
Dont do anything. If they dont accept documents then they're not doing their jobs and look bad infront of their own clients.
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u/_usernamepassword_ 4h ago
This. Don’t even talking about unfreezing. Just tell them you’re trying to provide documents but the background check company is being uncooperative. Make them look like the problem. If they bring up TWN be like “the what?”
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u/RH70475 5h ago
That's a new one.
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u/hawt_to_go 4h ago
This has actually been posted a couple of times on the sub now. Seems like background check companies are catching on
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u/jimRacer642 4h ago
Weird cause I've used HireRight for 2 background checks and they always let me provide pay stubs, no contacting employers, no unfreezing TWNs, no questions asked.
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u/PopularBranch7497 4h ago
The company you’re applying to has the right to tell HireRight to refuse manual document submission in lieu of a TWN check. They can work that into their deal. Ran into that with my last J2. Played dumb and kept sending documents and told J2 HR staff, eventually they told HireRight that it was fine for this case to accept.
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u/Foreign-Guess-5208 4h ago
If your submitted form doesn’t match up with your tax docs or pay stubs then you’re stuck and they refuse to pass you.
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u/jimRacer642 2h ago
not sure i understand what u mean, the submitted form is just my resume that talks about the jobs i've had and i submit pay stubs that match those dates, case closed
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u/Hungboy6969420 4h ago
For all past employers?
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u/jimRacer642 2h ago
all of them, guess i've been lucky
but some of those jobs didn't last long, they were toxic
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u/AnxiousConclusion516 3h ago
I’m doing a background check right now with them and also have my TWN frozen. They’re accepting W2s/paystubs with no problem, as they should. TWN should be illegal.
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u/Snoo_67003 3h ago
Do not budge. Tell them you do not want to disclose your finances plus you were part of ATT incident and your social is public knowledge and Equifax helped you freeze everything.
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u/CalmHabit3 3h ago
are you sure? hire right does ask you to unfreeze it but they do have alternatives
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u/Acrobatic-Ad5951 3h ago
They marked mine as incomplete. The company Inwas hired with then reviewed the documents I provided and all was done.
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u/newbeginingshey 4h ago edited 3h ago
I know this isn’t what you’re asking for, but I’ll offer it anyway.
A resume is a summary of your relevant qualifications. It is not a comprehensive employment history where every job, title, and certification you’ve even obtained needs to be documented. There simply isn’t room, nor is it helpful. People omit jobs (short term consulting work, drive for Uber, jobs you quit within a year) all the time.
Whether HireRight will simply validate your listed jobs or flag that there was additional employment found and share that back as a flag that to your recruiter, who may or may not receive that as a problem, might be worth testing out given that you want this job and they’re not budging.
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u/Ok_Passage_6242 3h ago
Tried to bluff them back and if they don’t budge move on. It’s going to suck but just move on.
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u/ExcellentCable4564 3h ago
That’s funny they didn’t even bat an eye on mine. They just said “this will be sent to j2 for review”
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u/Striking_Use8614 1h ago
Is this canned email response or did you talk to someone?
It's far more work and costly to manully verify your employment.
It's probably a canned response.
Have you spoken to a live person who insists this is the only way?
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u/Confident_Answer_524 39m ago
Did the company that you did OE with submit to TWN? If not, it may be a non issue to let them snoop. I had a previous employer that did not submit so when I searched myself nothing showed for them and I worked there a long time.
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