Some employees hold two full-time jobs at once. Neither employer knows.
It costs more than the salary: work that doesn't get done, a team that covers the gap, and your confidential information inside another company. Narq helps employers prevent it, and is building a consent-based way to verify it.
29%
of U.S. hiring managers say they have confirmed at least one employee holding a second full-time job at the same time.
25 in 1,000
When Equifax checked more than 1,000 of its own employees and contractors against payroll records in 2022, it found 25 with a second job and fired 24.
13 jobs
A Maryland man held remote IT jobs at 13 companies from 2021 to 2024 and was paid more than $970,000.
What it costs you
01
You pay for work that isn't done.
The CEO of Canopy, a U.S. software company, dismissed two newly hired engineers, each paid $130,000 to $140,000, who were holding second full-time jobs. In 2025 several startup founders compared notes and found they had each hired the same software engineer. In a federal case, an HR specialist admitted to at least $291,905 in pay she did not earn from six employers.
Benzinga, via Yahoo Finance, February 2025 · TechCrunch, July 2025 · U.S. Department of Justice, April 2026
02
Your team covers the gap.
Missed meetings, slow replies and unfinished work land on the people around them. At Canopy the warning signs were cameras off in meetings, slow responses and late or missed meetings. There is no public number for what this does to a team.
03
Your confidential information sits inside another company.
Someone on two payrolls carries your roadmap, customer list and code to a second employer every day. In 2022 Wipro, an IT services company, dismissed about 300 employees it found working for competitors at the same time. In 2020 a court confirmed a $179 million arbitration award to Google against a former engineer. The panel found he had breached his obligations by starting a rival company and recruiting Google employees.
04
You may not know who is on your systems.
In one year CrowdStrike investigated more than 320 cases of North Korean operatives holding remote IT jobs at companies, up 220% from the year before. One security company's new remote engineer passed background checks and four interviews, then loaded malware onto his company laptop. The man with 13 jobs handed his laptop to workers overseas.
CyberScoop, on CrowdStrike's threat hunting report, August 2025 · CyberScoop, July 2024 · U.S. Department of Justice, April 2025
One case on a $150,000 salary costs about $120,000.
That assumes 60% productivity for eight months, a replacement hired through a recruiter, and four weeks of severance. It leaves out legal, security and morale costs. Change the numbers to match your company.
Cost of one case
- Paid for work not done
- $52,000
- Recruiting fee for the replacement
- $30,000
- Replacement ramp-up
- $24,375
- Severance
- $11,538
- Manager time
- $2,500
Not included: team morale, rework, customer impact, and any legal, IP or security exposure.
Why employers don't see it
01
Screening happens before hiring and stops there.
In a 2026 survey, 63% of managers said their fraud prevention is focused on the pre-hire stage and 6% said post-hire. A background check confirms history on the day you hire and says nothing about a job that continues or starts after.
02
Your systems only see your company.
Payroll, HR and IT can't show that the same person is on someone else's payroll.
03
It looks like an ordinary performance problem.
Managers coach, wait and document, and the months add up. In a Washington State audit, overlapping pay ran six months on average.
How Narq helps
Available now
Outside-Work Policy Review
We review how your policies and agreements handle a second full-time job, tell you where the gaps are, and give you a list of questions to take to your employment attorney. Fixed fee. It starts with a 15-minute call.
In development
Consent-based verification
Narq is building a way for participating employers to confirm, with each employee's consent, that a full-time employee is not also on another participating employer's full-time payroll. We expect much of its value to come before any check runs. A candidate who plans to keep another full-time job is less likely to accept an offer from an employer that takes part in Narq, and someone who already works there is less likely to take a second job in secret.
Every company that requests early access gets a place in line for verification and early-access pricing when it opens.
- Built around telling employees and getting their consent.
- No screen, keystroke, email or location monitoring.
- Outside work an employer has approved is recorded and is not flagged.
- For current W-2 employees.
Max Rosenberg, Founder
Max has spent more than 13 years in B2B software, startups and management consulting. Most recently he was VP of Customer Success at Ordway, a billing and revenue software company. He joined when it had 12 employees and led its post-sale organization while annual recurring revenue grew 20x. Earlier he co-founded a bootstrapped startup that built a dating app, and worked in management consulting at Accenture. He holds an undergraduate degree and a Master of Management Studies from Duke. At the Fuqua School of Business he served as judicial chair, the role that handles honor code cases.
He started Narq after two people at a company where he worked, one of them on his own team, turned out to be holding a second full-time job in secret. Over the past two years he has asked about 250 people whether they had come across it. 85% knew of a case, at their own company or through a spouse or friend. Some of those employees were found out. Some never were.
The stories repeat. One founder learned at an industry dinner that an employee of hers was also working for a competitor, and for a nonprofit on top of that. A lawyer described a firm that discovered one of its attorneys was working for a second firm at the same time.
Questions
What is overemployment?
Overemployment means holding two or more full-time jobs at the same time without the employers knowing. It is most common in remote roles, where nobody sees the workday. It is different from a disclosed side job, which many employers allow.
How common is overemployment?
About 310,000 Americans told the Bureau of Labor Statistics in October 2026 that they hold two full-time jobs. Hidden jobs are undercounted, since the people holding them have reason not to say so. In a 2026 Checkr survey, 29% of hiring managers said they had confirmed at least one case.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, table A-16, October 2026 · Checkr survey of 3,000 managers, September 2026
How do employers usually find out?
Usually by accident. In documented cases the other employer or a colleague raised it, an audit matched payroll records, or the person was named publicly. A Washington State audit found overlapping pay had run six months on average.
Would a background check find a second job?
No. A background check confirms someone's history on the day you hire them. It says nothing about a job that continues, or starts, afterward. In one 2024 case a remote engineer passed background checks and four interviews before the company found a problem.
Is Narq employee monitoring software?
No. Narq does not track screens, keystrokes, email, location or hours. The verification it is building is designed around telling employees and getting their consent, and it answers one question: whether a full-time employee is also on another participating employer's full-time payroll.
What does an overemployed employee cost?
About $120,000 on a $150,000 salary, under default assumptions: 60% productivity for eight months, a replacement hired through a recruiter and four weeks of severance. That leaves out legal, security and morale costs. The cost calculator lets you run your own numbers.
What is the difference between a side job and overemployment?
A side job is disclosed or allowed, and happens outside working hours. Overemployment is a second full-time job that is hidden from both employers and overlaps the same working hours. Narq is concerned only with the second kind.
Does Narq screen job applicants?
No. Narq is for current employees only. Once verification is live, employers will be able to tell candidates they use it, which should discourage anyone planning to keep a second full-time job.
Is Narq's verification available now?
Not yet. It is in development. Companies that request early access get a place in line and early-access pricing at launch. The Outside-Work Policy Review is available today.
Can I refer my employer to Narq?
Yes. Tell us through the early-access form. There is no referral fee today. Once the verification subscription is live, we plan to pay one to employees who introduce their company after it subscribes. Introductions will be made openly, so the employer knows who made them.
Does Narq give legal advice?
No. Narq is not a law firm. An employment attorney should draft or review your policies and agreements.
Request early access
Tell us a little about your company and what brought you here.
- We reply by email to set up a short call.
- A 15-minute call about your company and what you have seen.
- You get a place in line, early-access pricing at launch, and our read on where you stand today.