UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Beginning in late June or early July, Penn State will put in place a new, automated service that will allow current and former faculty and staff to have their employment and income verified instantly and securely online. Most commonly, such verifications are required when purchasing a car, applying for a job or refinancing a mortgage.The new service, called The Work Number and provided by nationally recognized firm Equifax Workforce Solutions, will allow current and former Penn State faculty and staff to move ahead quickly with important financial transactions; in the past, the process took several days.“The Work Number is available 24/7, which facilitates on-the-spot financing decisions, and eliminates the need in many scenarios for our faculty and staff to provide pay stubs or other documentation. This is especially beneficial for new hires who are trying to relocate and need to expedite the home-buying process,” said Susan Basso, vice president for human resources.Among The Work Number’s more than 2,700 clients nationwide are half of the Big Ten universities, two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies and 90 percent of federal agencies. Across the country, The Work Number has verified more than 70,000 organizations, including lenders and employers, as trusted partners. Because of the state-of-the-art security and encryption measures taken, not to mention, the convenience it provides employees, and the money and time it saves the University, implementing an automated verification of employment service, is considered best-practice among industry leaders and peer institutions.Penn State’s transition to the service has been fully vetted by the University’s Risk Management Department and University Privacy Office. Current and former faculty and staff must grant permission before a business or institution will be allowed to verify their employment data, a continuation of past practices. The Work Number is subject to the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the same federal law that governs access to consumer credit information. It also carries industry-leading information security certification, known as ISO 27001. For additional information about The Work Number’s information security practices, visit https://www.theworknumber.com/Employees/Why/ and https://www.theworknumber.com/Employees/FCRA/.
The transition to the new service is expected to take place by July. For additional details, visit http://ohr.psu.edu/employment-verification/. Additional questions should be directed to the Office of Human Resources at emplvoe@psu.edu.