NWR - employer wants my tax returns?

"I would be happy to provide references. The contacts will be able to verify employment, pay and character. I will not provide personal tax documents. I don't see how this information is helpful to you and you haven't given an explanation as to why you legally need them. Please let me know if you would like to move forward with the interviewing process. Best regards - "

@Nicole, I have offered to give notarized references or contact info for a couple people I worked for and she said that wouldn't work because it could be fudged, as in, I had friends do it or something. Ridiculous.

@futuremrsD, yep they knew when I applied that he worked there because I used him as a character reference, plus other managers of his I have met and they were helpful in putting a good word in for me, so definitely no nepotism clause.

@earias, that's what it feels like to me. Fishing. My previous income would hold no ground here, I have also never been married (yet) and have no children so I don't see that being the issue.

@vicki, very true. It's so odd to me especially since other people I know, including FH, that work there did similar off the book jobs during college and were never asked to provide tax returns. It's weird.

I plan on blacking out my SSN and any actual amounts of money listed, it's not their business. The other stuff is irrelevant given that I have no kids and no prior spouses. FH also got me the number for the head of HR (since I've gotten hired I have only had contact with one of their other HR gals and the background check company) and he actually talked to her and asked about it and she even seemed confused as to why this was necessary and said she would contact them to find out. The background check is being outsourced through another company, and that's who is wanting my tax returns.

@earias also, I'm just in a state of like... why? I don't know what about me gave them a reason to want to go "fishing" to get around asking those illegal questions, I have nothing to hide in regards to those questions it's more of a.. why are they choosing me to deal with this and go through this hassle and not anyone else? Someone else mentioned above that if they want to rescind their offer they should just do it, Nebraska is an at will state and they can rescind for any reason that isn't illegal. I don't get it. Why waste my time if you don't want to hire me.

In California it's illegal to rescind the offer for discriminatory reasons, which I would argue could apply here. For instance, we just passed the Equal Pay Act which makes inquiries into past salaries illegal now. The rationale is that historically women have earned less than men so if an employer bases a woman's salary on her prior salary history the employer is basically perpetuating the unequal pay.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

I wouldn't fight it as discrimination. First of all, this is the definition of employer discimination: "Employment discrimination is a form of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity by employers. Earnings differentials or occupational differentiation is not in and of itself evidence of employment discrimination." I think you'd have a hard time finding an attorney who would represent you on a contingency basis (a situation in which a lawyer agrees to charge you only if you win the case -- and that's a percentage of your winnings or settlement). Otherwise, you'll probably have to find someone who wants a retainer and follow up payments. And honestly, is it worth it?

Secondly If you go to court, you have to meet the doctrine of clean hands. Basing a discrimination argument on the fact that you didn't want to provide information because you were not paying taxes for four years on your income is not coming to court with clean hands (and at some, point, you will be asked if you paid taxes during those four years, and you'll under oath). Some employers take a dim view of tax free income -- and that's what being paid unreported cash/under the table is. I guess their point is that if you didn't report that income to the government, you can't claim it on a resume/CV. Can they ask? I don't know -- what I do know is the government is now allowed to take lab tests to see what you do or do not consume on your own free time, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is legal.

I'd walk. They've already made it clear that they believe notarized statements can be fudged, so apparently they care about transparency. And most importantly, the last people I'd want issues with work at the IRS.

It's getting ridiculous...running credit checks (and I do understand that garnishments are a pain in the ass for employers), hair and urine tests...what happened to investing a solid 40 hours, doing your job, and having a private life that has nothing to do with your employer. Run a criminal background check and call it a day.

@Rachel, I did claim taxes on that income, even though I didn't *have* to since it was so little, my mom has always encouraged that I do it just to keep myself in the clear - so for that I wouldn't have dirty hands as far as not reporting it. I think where the discrimination comes in is that they have hired numerous other people who were in similar situations as I, and they were never asked for this information. It's hard not to feel picked on or discriminated against when they seemingly chose me to go through this extra stuff, and that I know they cannot legally do - I don't think. If they did it to everyone, of course, that would be different and I'd be like "well, that's unfortunate, but I can't do anything about it".....

Just tell them you were a full-time student.

Rachel, I have NO problems with employers running drug tests, either urine or hair. Everyone deserves a safe workplace, and a criminal background check can hurt those who had problems years ago, but let current substance abusers in. But I see no legitimate use to tax returns. Employers can have you sign a release to see if you filed.

No and start looking for a new job.

Super personal and unnecessary. I don't even have my tax returns from the last 4 years lol. I mean I could get them but that's not needed for a job.

It sounds like they're looking to see if you're married and if you have kids. It sounds like they do this to women and not men. I second talking to the union rep and HR.

@NevadaCityBride: exactly. They're trying to get in the backdoor what they can't get in the front door. There's a reason employers aren't allowed to ask questions about marital and child status. But this information is on the tax return. Previous work history does not show on a tax return, hence the employer's claim being bogus and smells like a fishing expedition.

I'm wondering *if* I do decide to send them, with information about specific amounts blacked out what they will end up doing. I already know it doesn't show previous employment history, so I'm imagining she'll just get back to me and want something more? If it really is a fishing loophole, there is nothing that can be used against me - no kids, no prior marriages, so do you think they'd drop it if I sent it? That's where I'm at, I don't want to send them, but I have nothing to hide so it's almost like, okay, if that's what you really want I'll send them to get you off my back because I know they won't find anything to use against me.

I talked to the head of HR and she was supposed to be calling the background check company to see what was going on, so hopefully she will call on Monday and say she took care of it and not to worry, but who knows.

@rebecca yep! I put out some applications yesterday just to be safe. I don't want to deal with this for another three weeks only to have them rescind. Especially since I turned down two other reasonably good offers because this company said "yay you're hired, contingent on a background check and drug screen", and I was 99% sure I had nothing to worry about, I definitely didn't expect that they'd come after me about some odd jobs I held during college.

If you are going to provide them, and I don't recommend that you do, you need to black out: SSN, filing status, dependants, exemptions, deductions, and any number not related to income earned from odd jobs.

I would just tell them you can't provide them, and ask if you could provide references as proof, instead! That's a little weird that they want your tax returns!

I wouldn't give a potential employer my tax records! I don't even think that's legal.

The best thing for you to do is to call your local Wage and Hour Bureau and ask them if this is legal in your area.

They should be able to tell you if this is something that is allowed.

My employer requested tax returns when a restaurant I had worked for 5 years previously couldn't verify my employment. Depending on the job this can be a requirement. In my case we do some government work and integrity is critical. One way to check someone's integrity is to verify the work history that they claim on their resume.

Can you scrub off sensitive information like SS # and give them what they want? Do you have any other proof, like payment receipts, invoices, human references, business license, etc?