# How do you verify employment at a company that no longer exists?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 12, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887 "2005-04-12T01:06:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/1 "2005-04-12T01:06:57Z")
I’m currently in the hiring process for a new job and they require employment verification for all of my past jobs. Unfortunately, one of the companies I worked for went out of business and no longer exists. This is becoming a major sticking point as I have no contact information for any supervisor there because there is nobody there, and the HR person from this new company adamantly refuses to budge from their policy. Does anyone know of any alternate way to provide proof of employment in such a situation?
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### Author:  [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/2 "2005-04-12T01:08:33Z")
Do you have copies of any payslips, tax certificates etc from your former employer?
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### Author:  [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/3 "2005-04-12T01:15:13Z")
I definitely still have my W-2 tax forms from them, I think I have some copies of pay stubs also. Thanks, I’ll suggest this and see if that satisfies their requirements.
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### Author:  [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/4 "2005-04-12T01:18:08Z")
A W-2 from a former employer is prima-facie evidence of employment. I’d black out the amounts as that’s not their business, but show an EIN and address, and you should be fine. Thinking back-if I needed to verify that stuff, it would be a tall order. Previous employers (7) back to 1975 are all defunct. :eek:
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/5 "2005-04-12T01:23:52Z")
Are you still in contact with your old supervisor from the defunct company?
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### Author:  [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/6 "2005-04-12T01:48:38Z")
> [@Krokodil](#):
>
> Are you still in contact with your old supervisor from the defunct company?
No, I’ve lost contact with all of my former colleagues save one, who was on the same level as me and wasn’t in any sort of supervisory position.
BTW, it really isn’t _all_ former employers, **danceswithcats** , just those covering the last 10 years, though in my case that happens to be all of my former employers (not counting the part-time jobs I had in high school and college, but those fall outside the 10-year window anyway). It’s the oldest one that’s the problem.
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### Author:  [@wonderwench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderwench)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/7 "2005-04-12T01:58:59Z")
That HR practice would be a royal pain in the ass in the SF Bay Area. Considering all the bones in the DotCom graveyard, an enomous number of people have at least one defunct company on their resumes.
The W-2 should be sufficient.
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### Author:  [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/8 "2005-04-12T02:05:29Z")
Think of it as a good opportunity to massage your resume.
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### Author:  [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/9 "2005-04-12T14:52:49Z")
If possible, make sure the person hiring you knows this problem exists and the information you’re providing to HR. They may be able to expedite stuff through HR as well.
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### Author:  [@cheezmonger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheezmonger)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/10 "2005-04-13T04:17:04Z")
JetJaguar, sounds like you’re going for a position of “national trust,” so to speak. If so, make sure to do your best to remember (they check everything), but you aren’t “bad” in their terms for not knowing. “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer, as long as it isn’t meant to be evasive. They’ll figure it out.
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### Author:  [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/11 "2005-04-13T14:23:36Z")
Why don’t you ask the HR person what would be acceptable to them? They’re the person with the issue, so they should really have a suggestion for how to solve it.
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### Author:  [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/12 "2005-04-13T14:30:25Z")
If you can remember the names of any of your supervisors, there’s always the phone book — you could always try to track them down that way. It might not work, but it’s worth a shot.
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### Author:  [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/13 "2005-04-13T15:12:39Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#):
>
> Think of it as a good opportunity to massage your resume.
Wow, what GREAT advice.
/sarcasm
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/14 "2005-04-13T16:21:15Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#):
>
> Previous employers (7) back to 1975 are all defunct. :eek:
Are you known as “The Company-Killer” in HR circles or something? 😃
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### Author:  [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/15 "2005-04-13T18:47:32Z")
I had the same problem when I started my new job. As some of you know I used to work at the Biosphere 2 project but it underwent so many management changes that no one there had a record of me working there. My current company’s HR folks wouldn’t authorize my application until I had a former supervisor contact them.
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### Author:  [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/16 "2005-04-13T19:03:52Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#):
>
> Previous employers (7) back to 1975 are all defunct. :eek:
I’ve only killed four and sent one division offshore. But I’ve only had since 1996 so give me few years. 😉
Stranger
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### Author:  [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/17 "2005-04-13T21:42:03Z")
You can request from the Social Security Administration a list of all your employers, their addresses, the years for which you worked for them, and the amount you earned each year from each employer. Obtain the Form SSA-7050-F4 (Request for Social Security Earnings Information) at any Social Security Administration office, or download the form as a PDF file [here](http://www.ssa.gov/online/ssa-7050.pdf).
(Note: That form is not the same as Form SSA-7004, Request for Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement.)
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### Author:  [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/18 "2005-04-13T22:41:04Z")
> [@scout1222](#):
>
> Wow, what GREAT advice.
>
> /sarcasm
It was sarcasm to begin with.
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/19 "2005-04-14T13:30:35Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Are you known as “The Company-Killer” in HR circles or something? 😃
No, no. The “Company Killer” was Norm Peterson.
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### Author:  [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)
#### Post date: [April 14, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-verify-employment-at-a-company-that-no-longer-exists/298887/20 "2005-04-14T15:10:22Z")
Just a quick update: After going back and forth between the HR lady, her supervisor, and the hiring manager, they’ve decided that a copy of the W-2’s satisfied their requirements. Thanks for the advice!