The Work Number is used by many companies to collect and report worker employment data. Equifax owns The Work Number; it is the database. Employers that participate submit worker data into it. HR departments, lenders, landlords, government agencies, and background screening companies are users who pull data from The Work Number.

 

 

Below is the list of companies that have been publicly named as using The Work Number, along with how each one generally includes workers in this system. This list is not claimed to be complete, and I do not have access to a verified full list of all employers. Some sources say there are 212 companies, but that number is unverifiable from public records, and I will not pretend to know it for certain.

 

Companies Using The Work Number

1. Optum — Healthcare Software — Your employer adds your pay rate, hours, and employment dates to The Work Number.
2. Lockheed Martin — Aerospace & Defense — Your employer adds your work data; HR pulls verification for mortgages, loans, and apartment leases.
3. General Dynamics — Aerospace & Defense — Your employer contributes data so they can process verifications for HR and payroll.
4. Maximus — Management Consulting — Your employer adds your employment information to the database.
5. Kinder Morgan — Electricity, Oil & Gas — Your employer stores your work history in The Work Number.
6. Red Lobster — Restaurants — Your employer contributes your pay and hours data.
7. Westaff — HR & Staffing — Your employer uses The Work Number for verification; they can see your previous work history.
8. Ralph Lauren — Textiles & Apparel — Your employer adds employment dates and income data.
9. CACI International — Custom Software & IT — Your employer stores worker data for background screening.
10. SAIC — Custom Software & IT — Your employer contributes employment verification data.
11. Veolia North America — Environmental Services — “Our company uses The Work Number® from Equifax to provide automated employment and income verifications.” Employer Code: 36119.
12. Lehigh University — Education — “Lehigh uses The Work Number to provide automated employment and income verifications for our employees.” Employer Code: 19163.
13. County of Riverside — Government — “County of Riverside is one of over 2,100 employers offering secure, fast employment and income verifications via The Work Number.” Employer Code: 12421.
14. UT System Administration — University System — “Our organization uses The Work Number® to provide automated employment and income verifications.” Employer Code: 13951.
15. Pinellas County Schools — School District — “We are pleased to announce that Pinellas County Schools now uses The Work Number® to provide automated employment, income, and social services verifications for our employees.” Employer Code: 18019.
16. Trinity Health — Healthcare System — Uses the Trinity Health employer code: 14229 to look up records on The Work Number database.
17. Cleveland Metropolitan School District — School District — “The Cleveland Metropolitan School District uses The Work Number® to provide automated employment and income verifications on our employees.” Employer Code: 10298.
18. State of California — State Government — Participating state departments and campuses use The Work Number. Employer Code: 10396.
19. Orange County, California — County Government — “Because your employer has picked The Work Number to provide this …” Employer Code: 157185.
20. Sweetwater Union High School District — School District — Uses The Work Number; employer name/code listed as “Sweetwater Union High School District.”
21. State of Missouri — State Government — “The Work Number is an automated service that provides instant employment and income verification… The State of Missouri Employer Code: 10106.”
22. Buffalo Public Schools — School District — “A third-party verifying organization can call the Work Number to verify information about an employee… Employer Code is 19205.”
23. Washington University in St. Louis — University — Uses The Work Number to provide automated employment and income verifications on our employees.
24. University of Miami — University — “The University of Miami has partnered with The Work Number® from Equifax… to provide secure, automated employment and income verifications.” Employer Code: 25389.
25. University of Southern California — University — “USC has contracted with TALX… the Work Number is an automated service that provides employment and income verification.” Employer Code: 11496.
26. Princeton University — University — “The Princeton University employer code, which is 14343” is used with The Work Number for verifications.
27. University of Iowa — University — “Employers contract with The Work Number to handle employment verifications for all employees paid by that employer, using data from their payroll files.”

 Organizations Historically Named as Using The Work Number

1. Fannie Mae
2. Hilton Hotels
3. Rent-A-Center
4. United States Postal Service
5. Domino’s Pizza
6. University of Pennsylvania
7. University of Missouri System

Government Agencies Using The Work Number

1. U.S. Department of Labor — Uses The Work Number for employment verification when you request mortgages, loans, or apartment leases. Access code: 10915.
2. State of Missouri — Uses The Work Number to adjust food stamp benefits in real-time based on your employment data.
3. Social Services Agencies — Make real-time updates to benefits using your employment data from The Work Number.
   4. Other Users Who Pull Your Data
4. HR Departments — Pull verification from The Work Number for mortgage applications, loan applications, and apartment leases.
5. Background Screening Companies — Access work data such as pay rates, hours, and employment dates.
6. Lending Companies — Check income for loans using data from The Work Number.
7. Landlords — Verify employment for apartment leases using The Work Number.
8. Immigration Attorneys — Use Equifax Immigration Case Management (formerly LawLogix) for visa cases and immigration reporting.
9. Non-Profit Organizations — Monitor immigration cases through Equifax Immigration Case Management reporting tools.

The Work Number is the database. Equifax owns it. The companies listed above are employers that have been publicly named or confirmed as putting worker data into it. HR departments, lenders, landlords, government agencies, and background screening companies are users who pull your information. Immigration attorneys and non-profit organizations are specialized users who access immigration-specific data through Equifax Immigration Case Management.

This system collects large amounts of worker data without consistently checking whether all of it is relevant. Workers have limited control over what options appear on their account and cannot easily remove features that do not apply to them. This is corporate data control without full accountability: Equifax controls the database, many companies contribute worker data, and government agencies, lenders, landlords, and immigration attorneys can pull your information—yet you cannot easily remove irrelevant options.

The broader issue is that employment verification systems are often designed more for institutional efficiency than for serving workers. They collect invasive information (pay rates, work hours, employment dates, and in some cases Workers’ Comp data) while sometimes presenting irrelevant immigration options to non-immigrants. This confusion can harm workers: it makes them question their own status, spreads misinformation, and allows companies to treat everyone as surveillance targets.

We are workers, not immigrants, and we demand that Equifax and all companies using The Work Number:

• Remove the Immigration Letter option for non-immigrants  
• Let workers control what data they see  
• Stop mass data collection without checking relevance  
• Hold Equifax accountable for FCRA violations  
• Immigration attorneys and non-profit organizations using Equifax Immigration Case Management must stop accessing irrelevant immigration data for non-immigrants.
• Government agencies, lenders, and landlords pulling data from The Work Number must stop using immigration-specific information for workers who do not need it.

This is not about immigration. This is about corporate surveillance, government abuse of power to control people, inaccurate data, and private companies controlling workers without accountability. We won’t conform.