What information can employers actually verify?

The reliable core

Three fields are verifiable at most employers: employment start and end dates, position or title, and whether the person is a current or former employee. These live in payroll and HR systems of record, and most organizations will confirm them when a proper authorization exists.

The conditional fields

Compensation is disclosed by some employers and refused by others as a matter of policy — and several jurisdictions restrict asking for it at all. Reason for leaving, performance and eligibility for rehire are opinions or policy-bound judgments as much as records; many employers decline them categorically. A verification provider should record these declines honestly, not coax them out or fill them in.

• Compensation: policy- and jurisdiction-dependent; never required
• Reason for leaving: frequently declined; treat any answer carefully
• Performance and rehire eligibility: judgment, not record — commonly refused

What availability depends on

Authorization, permissible purpose, jurisdiction, the employer's disclosure policy, and source availability. The same request can return different sets of fields at two employers, and both reports can be complete — completeness means every field shows what the source did, not that every field is filled.

The honest failure modes

Employers close, records custodians disappear, phone numbers go stale. A serious report distinguishes 'the source declined' from 'the source could not be reached' from 'the values conflict' — because each one means something different for your decision.