Featured Article - Employer Use of Social Security Numbers: Legal Issues
Increasing awareness of privacy issues has resulted in employers questioning the use of social security numbers in connection with record keeping and employee identification. While federal law restricts the government’s ability to use a social security number, there is no federal or New Jersey law that imposes restrictions on the use of social security numbers by an employer. By the same token, an employer may have a duty of care to take reasonable precautions to ensure against identity theft and other invasions of employee privacy. In this regard, it will be useful to have a policy that outlines the company’s efforts to protect private information, including an employee’s social security number. The policy should advise that the company will not place the employee’s social security number in the public domain, including on materials mailed to employees, on the company’s intranet, identification badges and parking permits. The policy should state that the company will use social security numbers for valid business purposes.
While an employer can use a social security number for a legitimate purpose, such as a form of identification, there is also a developing body of discrimination law that may have an impact on whether and under what circumstances an employer can require a person to identify themselves with a social security number. Objections to the use of a social security number as a form of identification have been made on religious grounds. Some sects belief that the devil will identify people by assigning them a number and therefore have refused to be identify themselves with a number. Federal law requires employers to accommodate the religious beliefs of job applicants and employees unless the accommodation poses an undue hardship. Employers use social security numbers for payroll and other purposes and changing these systems may be cost prohibitive. Additionally, employers may be legally required to report social security numbers for tax purposes. Nevertheless, an employer is obliged to consider alternatives before ruling an accommodation out of hand.
Employers should use common sense. With many people sensitive about identity theft there is probably little reason to require a social security number on a job application. If it is necessary for a credit or criminal background check, the applicant should be advised that their social security number will be used only for those purposes. After the job offer, the employer can obtain the social security number and use it for legitimate business reasons. Care should be taken to prevent inadvertent disclosure in the public domain. If employees are sensitive, a written policy outlining the use of social security numbers is not a bad idea.
