Human Resource Blog

Required documents during the interviewing process

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

Can an employer require that a job applicant provide tax returns for the past 5 yrs? The posted job requirements for this postion did not state that it was a requirement. And if so shouldn’t every applicant be required to provide the same or can it be a selective request?

Try as we might, we cannot come up with a reason why the employer would need copies of the applicants tax returns for the past five years. Any applicant would be within his or her rights to refuse such a request. The applicant might also want to reconsider whether this is an opportunity worth pursuing. Unfortunately, there are a few unscrupulous individuals out there who use fictitious job interviews as a way to gain access to private information such as social security numbers, date of birth, etc. In some cases, these indivuduals have committed identity theft or fraud after gaining this information.

An employer who wants information on an employees previous earnings, employment history, taxable income, etc. can gain all of that through a background check or credit report. So there is no need for the employer to ask for tax returns, and they should not do so.