The Office of Human Resources is now offering an automated service that will provide faculty and staff with fast, secure employment and income verification. The University has selected The Work Number, which is managed by the TALX Corp. (a locally owned and operated company), to provide these automated services for faculty and staff. This became effective July 1.

More than 50,000 verifiers (including banks, mortgage companies and other lenders) currently use The Work Number, which handles nearly 88 million employee records nationwide.

"There are several reasons we have chosen to use The Work Number," said Ann B. Prenatt, vice chancellor for human resources. "The most important one, however, is the improved service to our faculty and staff. With The Work Number, faculty and staff have a quick and convenient way of having their employment and/or income verified. They also have more control over who has access to their personal information and for how long.

"An added benefit of using The Work Number is that there is a savings to the University in terms of time and resources. There is no cost for this service to the University, faculty or staff, and the resources that used to be spent on completing these verifications can now be used to perform other tasks."

Faculty and staff will benefit by having control of the process of authorizing others to access information, and the organization verifying employment and/or income will have the convenience of having 24 hours a day, seven days a week to access information.

Organizations needing proof of employment and/or income should be directed to The Work Number at theworknumber.com or (800) 367-5690.

For easy step-by-step instructions on how to use The Work Number, go online to hr.wustl.edu. For more information, call 935-5990.