The University of Pennsylvania Selects the Work Number for Automated, Outsourced Employment and Salary Verifications, Expanding the National Database to More Than 27 Million Salary Records

Business Wire, May 11, 1999

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 1999--

TALX Corp.(Nasdaq: TALX) today announced that the University of Pennsylvania is among three universities to select The Work Number(R) for automated, outsourced salary and employment verifications. These universities will add a combined total of 70,000 employee records to the national database, expanding it to more than 27 million employee records under contract. The database is accessed primarily by mortgage companies for underwriting purposes.

"We chose to outsource verifications to The Work Number because it moves these requests into a secure process which protects our employees' privacy and at the same time eliminates an administrative paperwork process," said Gary Truhlar, executive director of human resources for the University of Pennsylvania. "Plus, our employees can get the information they need when they need it."

"As The Work Number continues to grow it is gratifying to see another industry segment embrace our automated, outsourced solution," said Bill Canfield, president of TALX Corp. "It's really a win-win solution for everyone involved, and we look forward to having other universities select The Work Number."

About The Work Number

Before approving a loan, lenders typically contact the loan applicant's employer to verify the employee's employment and salary. Companies that employ thousands of people are deluged with such requests for information and incur significant administrative costs to process them. The Work Number service offers employers an automated solution that allows them to fed payroll records into a national database. With appropriate security clearances, lenders and other organizations can access the database automatically to verify the information.

The more than 450 organizations outsource salary verifications using The Work Number including: Bell Atlantic, Domino's Pizza, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, the state of Florida, the state of Missouri, Sun Microsystems, Tenet Healthcare Corp., the Department of Agriculture(USDA) and Wal-Mart. A complete client list and additional information about The Work Number can be obtained by calling 1-800-888-8277, visiting the Web site at www.theworknumber.com or sending an e-mail to moreinfo@talx.com

About The Work Number Database

As more employers outsource their verification process by selecting The Work Number, TALX adds records to its steadily-growing proprietary database. This unique, multi-employer database, which TALX began developing in 1995, has grown to more than 27 million salary records under contract, which represents about a 50% increase in records since last year. The Work Number offers verifiers automated telephone access to the database, with some data also available via the Internet.

About TALX Corp.

St. Louis-based TALX Corp. provides software, outsourcing and other services, such as interactive Web, interactive voice response (IVR) and call center solutions, to large organizations such as federal government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. The company offers two branded solutions for the Human Resource, Benefits and Payroll market: The Work Number(R) and Employee Central(TM).

Statements in this press release expressing the expectations of management may be forward-looking and involve uncertainties. TALX investment information is detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.