semaxwell1
Guest
Is it normal - or even legal - for an employer to ask for your SS# and/or birth date when applying for a job BEFORE any type of interview has taken place?
With identity theft as one of the top crimes, it seems to make it easier for this to happen to you, no matter how secure the application website is. I've read that it is illegal in some states for employers to ask for that information beforehand.
I'm helping my husband with a job search, and it seems about a third of the online applications he's filled out require either his SS# or birth date or both and won't let him continue without it. And of course he's forced to "I agree" a consent form with it.
Why would an employer need this information BEFORE they've responded that they might have the slightest interest in a candidate for any type of interview? Aren't background/credit checks expensive, so why do it on every applicant? Wouldn't it be more efficient to get this information AFTER an interview with a potential candidate? I've never had to release that type of personal information to an employer until after some type of interview.
To me, it screams a red flag of age discrimination. There's no proof the employer will NOT use this information to weed out the too young or too old candidates. Does the employer think this alleviates wasted interviews? The candidate's resume looks good but their background/credit check isn't good so why bother with interviewing them?
I've read on threads where some people will put all 9s in place of the SS# field, and put 99 in the birth year. The online bot may not know the difference, but if any employer HR human eyes see it, it just might disqualify the candidate?
With identity theft as one of the top crimes, it seems to make it easier for this to happen to you, no matter how secure the application website is. I've read that it is illegal in some states for employers to ask for that information beforehand.
I'm helping my husband with a job search, and it seems about a third of the online applications he's filled out require either his SS# or birth date or both and won't let him continue without it. And of course he's forced to "I agree" a consent form with it.
Why would an employer need this information BEFORE they've responded that they might have the slightest interest in a candidate for any type of interview? Aren't background/credit checks expensive, so why do it on every applicant? Wouldn't it be more efficient to get this information AFTER an interview with a potential candidate? I've never had to release that type of personal information to an employer until after some type of interview.
To me, it screams a red flag of age discrimination. There's no proof the employer will NOT use this information to weed out the too young or too old candidates. Does the employer think this alleviates wasted interviews? The candidate's resume looks good but their background/credit check isn't good so why bother with interviewing them?
I've read on threads where some people will put all 9s in place of the SS# field, and put 99 in the birth year. The online bot may not know the difference, but if any employer HR human eyes see it, it just might disqualify the candidate?