AREA: / Employment Verification
REFERENCE: / CWES Bulletin
DATE: / 1/31/08
TO: / All CWES Staff
FROM: / Denise Boland, DEBS Administrator
Background:
The enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) continues to prompt CWES to review and assess its operations and determine if there are new opportunities to improve services and its performance in the areas of participation and the number of clients entering employment. It is sometimes difficult for CWES workers to obtain employment verification from CalWorks participants or employers; therefore an additional tool to obtain this information will be accessible and useful for all CWES staff.
Impact:
Effective January 29, 2008, each CWES district office has been registered with ‘The Work Number’. The Work Number is an income and employment verification service used nationwide. The data from this program comes directly from payroll records of the nation’s largest companies. Currently, there are over 1,000 employers participating in the programincluding:
- Many national employers in high-turnover, low-wage industries such as retail, staffing, hospitality, restaurant and gaming. These employers include: Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, Spherion, JC Penny, Sears, Kroger, Domino’s Pizza, Costco, Marriot International, Adecco, McDonald’s, Station Casino and many others.
- About half of the Fortune 500 employers, including Boeing, Du Pont, Hewlett-Packard, Kraft Foods, and Microsoft.
- 85% of the federal civilian population, including the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service.
- Local employers, including dozens of hospitals and school districts.
The Work Number provides information given by Employers including: Employee Name and Social Security Number, Employment Status, Most Recent Start Date and Termination Date (if applicable), Total Time with Employer, Job Title, Rate of Pay, Average Hours per Pay Period, Total Pay for Past 2 years, and the most recent twelve pay periods of Gross Earnings.
The verification can provide up to 36 months of pay dates, period ending dates, number of hours worked, and gross earnings.
How it Works:
- Get a signed release of information (SC 1838) from your client to check on their employmentthrough this service (SC 1838s are most often signed at CWES Orientation and can be found in IDM/Flap F9……….make sure the release is current)
- Enter your registered fax number on the web page ( or call 800-660-3399 and follow the prompts. You will need your registered office fax number (see below), the CalWORKs client’s Social Security Number, and the Company Code (can get from the internet or by calling the program)for their current or previous employer.
If you do not have the Company Code, ‘The Work Number’ will allow you to request a list of Company Codes for all of their employers.
- Once you enter the correct information, The Work Number will confirm that the verification is being processed, when it will be delivered, and will voice or display a Reference Number for the verification. This Reference Number can be used to check the delivery status or perform quality control audits.
- You will receive a faxed verification in 5 business days
The written employment verification received from this service can be used in lieu of the SC 549 and should be put in IDM. The CWES staff who requested the employment information should follow up until verification is received or notice that it is unavailable is obtained (this should take approximately 5 days).
The following are the registered fax numbers at each office:
Location / Fax # / Fax # / Fax #ECC/1888 Senter Rd / 292-3010
ECC/Las Plumas / 729-5127
ECC/N County / 522-1024
1888 Senter Rd. / 292-3010 / 292-3425
1870 Senter Rd. / 999-6200 / 999-6299
591 N King Rd. / 926-8173 / 928-3593
N County / 650-968-2436
S County / 846-3960
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