Act confused when they do that and ask if this is some sort of scam (because it is).

"I've never heard of a job interviewer needing my tax records..."

"I heard on the news that job applicants have been victims of identify theft lately, sorry I can't share my personal information like that..."

You can choose to do this or to not provide a (false) salary history in the first place, but just understand that typically what you're actually doing is choosing to not accept a particular position.

I'm in a position now where I could afford to do this. I've also been in positions in the past where I needed a job and did (and would advise others in similar positions) to just play the game and provide the damn pay stubs.

I've also had to pee in cups before that. These sorts of degrading requirements should be banned collectively. It's very hard for an individual who needs a paycheck right quick to personally move the needle on this stuff.

I had to take a drug test once for a development job. This wasn't recently but it was after marijuana had been legalized in several states (but not the one I was in at the time). I reached out to the recruiter who basically said "we have employees who are contracted out to the state. It's a state law that we need to drug test our employees. The law does not require that we report the results or even read them."

In general I don't think drug testing for certain jobs is a bad thing. What jobs get tested, how often, and what drugs get tested for is something reasonable people can disagree about.

I’ve had to do it for low tier stuff when I was younger, like telemarketing. It’s an unnecessary invasion of privacy. If I showed up too stoned to speak coherently fire me for being incoherent. I had to do it when working with some heavy equipment too. The argument doesn’t even work there though. I’d not be hired if I smoked pot two weeks ago, but if I took shots with breakfast that would be fine?

I don’t even do drugs and I rarely drink. I just think your performance on the job should be all that matters. If you drink, sleep poorly, etc, and it affects your performance, that should be observable and reacted to accordingly.

I would not have objected to vision tests and reflex tests, that sort of thing, to be licensed to use potentially dangerous equipment.

> The law does not require that we report the results or even read them.

The best move then would be, of course, be to consume a large amount of marijuana the night before you take the test. If they end up not hiring you because of it, well, do you really want to work for someone who will just straight up lie to your face?

Well, I think it's unlikely I passed the test, and I worked there long enough to get promoted twice. I believe that they didn't care about the results and just had to go through the motions.

I've always heard this, but I've had a dozen jobs in the last decade (not a joke), and no one has ever asked me for previous paystubs. They have asked for previous proof of employment, but that came down to "a letter from my company that confirms I work there", no salary information listed.

It happened to me before. I was kind of shocked. I got a "take it or leave it" response when I complained about it.

I’ve had companies ask me to fill out a paper application. After they received my CV, cover letter and telephone interview. They also gave me the take it or leave it. Thinking to myself if this is how it’s going to be at the interview stage I can’t imagine wasting 40-50 hours/week over the next year for even more bullshit. I left and called my recruiter and told her don’t ever do that again.

I have never seen this happen to myself or anyone else. Nor are you required to give them any pay stubs, as they contain your social security number and personal financial information. That's not something you give to a recruiter. Please be very wary of anyone who asks for a pay stub.

You're not required to give anything to anyone. There are just consequences if you don't. In this instance, that consequence is not getting a job.

It's never happened to me but I do know exactly one person who was required to provide pay stubs exactly one time. She complained about it too and they actually told her that it was their policy not to pay more than 10% above what someone was making at their last position. I wouldn't do it, but some people will. That's why it happens.

I have photoshop installed, no big deal