History

Based out St. Louis, Talx was founded in 1971. Talx's primary business involves contesting unemployment claims. During the late 1990s, Talx launched The Work Number

The Work Number

The Work Number is a user-paid verification of employment database created by TALX Corporation. TALX was acquired by Equifax Inc. in February 2007....

, a pay service for employment and salary verification at the request of one of its clients. Due to the success of this service, Talx shifted its business strategy and opted to specialize in information gathering and distribution. The company sold off its employee benefit unit and opted to focus its growth within the information industry.

The company grew rapidly throughout the early 2000s and it acquired a number of businesses. The most notable purchase was the acquisition of the Frick company which gave Talx its entry into the unemployment tax management field. UC Express (as the unit is now known) is currently the industry leader in this field. Talx itself processes about 30% of such claims in the United States. The unemployment industry has expanded rapidly since the onset of the great recession and the competition among tax management firms has as well.

In addition to The Work Number

The Work Number

The Work Number is a user-paid verification of employment database created by TALX Corporation. TALX was acquired by Equifax Inc. in February 2007....

and UC Express, Talx has since added or created a number of other HR related employer services including W-2 Management, I-9 Management, Tax Credit and Incentive Management, and Online Paperless Pay along with several other products. Talx has also successfully partnered with several major payroll and benefit providers to package customized suites of services under several alliance banners.

In 2008, Talx was purchased by Equifax, one of the big three credit reporting agencies. As of 2010, integration was completed and Talx now officially operates as a division of Equifax.

Criticisms of TALX

In April 2010, The New York Times published an article about TALX. In short, TALX was accused of contesting unemployment benefits claims regardless of their merit in an effort to reduce the funds their clients—the employers—would have to pay to state unemployment insurance pools. The article pointed out that some unemployed persons were denied benefits as a result of TALX's actions. The company maintained that the article contained inaccuracies and published this statement:

"The New York Times published an article about TALX on April 4, 2010. Many of the points within the article were inaccurate. As a result, readers may have drawn conclusions that are not fact-based. TALX stands by our outstanding employees and expertise as well as the important role that we play in the unemployment insurance industry". The full article was written on 04/03/2010 and can be found on the New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/us/04talx.html

The full response was issued on 04/07/2010 and can be found on the Talx Blog: http://blog.talx.com/CategoryViewcategory,UnemploymentCostMgmt.aspx