Shouldn't PII laws in North America preclude services like Equifax's "Work Number"?

Not looking for individual legal advice, just curious. Linking for context: https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/1wssf4u/ysk_about_the_work_number_especially_if/

Working for tech companies for the last 20 years or so, I deal with annual trainings on how I should be cautious with PII to avoid liability for said company. Wouldn't Equifax allowing a public database of my work history for the last 20 years be a gross violation of said PII laws? Am I missing some loophole (and if so, doesn't this render PII laws more or less useless?)