Faking Your Paycheck

Let me start by saying I in no way approve of this, and am only commenting on the site to shine a light on the practice.  In addition to probably being illegal, the company comment spammed my site to get the word out, which I don't approve of.

What's the site?  FakePaycheckStubs.com.  I won't provide the link, but this site promises to send you W-2 making software that you can use to create your own set of records.  While the site purports to be for entertainment purposes only, the comments I received discuss using the site to trick Human Resources into giving you the salary you want, or tricking the PayDay loan store into giving you more money.

As I said, it's pretty shady - but 55,000 people have already been there.

I see the point - personally, I don't see how it's relevant what you made in your last job, and companies that ask for your W-2 are starting you down the long path of submitting to small injustices to control you.

Like drug tests, credit checks, and filling out applications with the same information as your resume, showing your W-2's is an employment process designed to bring structure to the company's hiring process, all the while reminding you that you are not a special and unique employee.  We don't trust you, or the people who interviewed you, is the message companies send when they ask for a W-2, but considering the statistics on the number of people who lie on their resume, maybe their distrust is warranted.

These scenarios will never happen, but I'd like to suggest two alternatives to creating a fake W-2 for Human Resources.

Fantasy #1:

"Mr/Mrs. HR Manager - I'd be happy to provide you copies of my W-2 records, but to do so, I'll need to see the W-2 records of the last two individuals who held this position in your company.  Seeing as your request to see my personal information is an attempt to verify my statements and make sure you're not overpaying for my work, I think it's only fair to make sure that I'm not being underpaid by accepting this position."

Fantasy #2:

Mr/Mrs/Ms. HR Manager, I'd be happy to provide you with copies of my earnings last year, but on the condition that when you see my records, you agree to pay me a finder's fee of $5,000.  Providing you this information gives you a competitive advantage that you would normally have to pay for.  It seems unreasonable to provide you this information as a condition of employment, seeing as it amounts to me paying the company a bonus for interviewing me.  In addition - the information I provide should also be used as the basis for a salary increase.  A 15% increase over my previous earnings, which you will now know, would make this an equitable trade.

The chances of this happening in an actual job negotiation are slim to none, but this would be what happened if the employee/employer contract was on a more equitable level.  The second scenario is my favorite, because it cuts to the heart of the matter.  If the company doesn't know the proper salary to pay a new employee, and has to check the number against previous earnings, then chances are they're not paying enough.

**and by the way - using past salaries to determine future earnings, when applied to diversity candidates, opens your company up to charges of discrimination.  If an earlier company payed a diversity candidate less than the market rate, your choice as a company to base earnings on their former earnings, can be used to show discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion....