Fax them a copy of the signed application authorizing you to verify employment history and salary and they should cooperate. To protect the applicant’s privacy, you could make the authorization a separate page. Or just include a sentence on the application that a copy can be sent to the employer for verification.
I’m finding when I call companies to verify tenant employment that they tell me they can’t provide that info to me due to Privacy Laws. I’m seeing this more and more. Other than getting paystubs from a prospective tenant how can one verify their employment if you can’t call the employer and get a confirmation?
Different companies have different protocols. Usually if the tenant works for a mom and pop, the process is pretty informal, and probably unreliable. If it’s a large firm with HR, and legal departments, the verification would have to be done more formally.
Normally, if it’s a large firm, I ask the tenant to find out which department to call, who to speak to, what “request forms” they need, fax numbers to fax it to etc. I tell the tenant if they want to place, do it quickly, and they can usually work something out by speaking to the person in charge saying, “can you verify this and that for me”, and I can get it done quickly.
Sometimes, if I’m suspicious, I call the company anonymously, just to confirm the person I’m talking to is who he or she is supposed to be. And yes, I’ve spoken to “phoney” supervisors, and have turned down renters as a result.