You can confirm a current job without calling the current employer. Use documents, a payroll database, references from past roles or a contingent offer, and get written consent before any check runs.
The short answer
Four options work. Ask for a pay stub, W-2 or offer letter. Use a vendor payroll connection or The Work Number. Speak to former managers and colleagues. Or make the offer contingent and verify after the candidate gives notice.
Why candidates ask you not to call
Contact can cost them the job. SHRM quotes Les Rosen warning that contacting a current employer without express permission could result in the person being fired. SHRM's reference-check guidance says checkers should not contact references from a current employer without express permission, and should not contact anyone the candidate asked them to avoid.
Treat the request as normal.
Four ways to confirm the current job
Documents. Checkr lets US candidates block contact for current employers and can verify through a payroll-provider connection, or request W-2s, 1099s or pay stubs that candidates have up to seven days to upload. HireRight says that when the employer requests current-employment verification, it will try to verify without direct contact and may request documentation.
W-2s and pay stubs carry legal risk. SHRM quotes attorney Nathaniel Glasser saying no federal law bars an employer from requesting a W-2, but he generally recommends against it, and SHRM notes state and local salary-history bans. Redact pay where those bans apply.
Scope varies by vendor: does HireRight check employment history sets out what that service verifies. Contract and freelance work needs different proof, and can a background check verify contract work covers the documents and contact routes that hold up.
Payroll databases. The Work Number is a commercial database of employment and income data supplied by employers and payroll providers, updated each payroll cycle. Access requires a permissible purpose and credentialed-verifier status. Only employers that use the service appear in it, so a miss does not mean the job is fake. Does Sterling contact your current employer covers how one vendor handles the same request.
Former managers and colleagues. SHRM says HR can ask a former manager for another person to speak with, subject to the candidate's general permission and do-not-contact requests.
A contingent offer. Ask the candidate to delay current-employment verification until after a written offer. Offer letters contain contingent language that lets you withdraw if problems surface. This is practitioner guidance, not law.
What keeps it lawful
Give a clear, conspicuous written disclosure in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, and get written authorization before you procure a consumer report (15 U.S.C. 1681b(b)(2)(A)). The Work Number says the FCRA governs it and that a reporting agency may not give information to a potential employer without the candidate's written consent given to the employer.
Respect do-not-contact requests, and check salary-history rules for the candidate's state and city.
Where AI candidate evaluation fits
Verification should confirm a decision you already made on skills. Tools such as AI Candidate Evaluation score every candidate on the same criteria before the check starts, so a slow current-employer step does not decide the hire.
State and city rules vary, and this is not legal advice.