Social Security Number

[Attila Iskander]

Your right Instead they'll do a post-conditional-offer employment check with the final offer conditional on the results See how simple that is

What some people seem to forget

[NotMe]

A lot of information is needed to complete the employment process including personal and professional references. I don't and won't supply those unless and until there is a determination of a skill set and other match for the position.

It's unreasonable for an employer to expect that data at the get go.

The name of the game is protecting your information. I have had experience where someone else used my data obtained from a contract recruiter to pose as me including signing my name and professional license number to federal documents.

[krw]

Silly moral relativity answer, not to mention a Godwin call.

Bullshit. Their job. You want it, or not? Your call.

[krw]

I even took a few English courses in grade school.

No, they won't. They'll pass on your sorry ass for someone who will follow instructions.

...that they want a job? You probably have forgotten that.

[NotMe]

Good reason perhaps but justifiable reason is another matter. Some companies have very specific rules about request for personal identification UNTIL the hiring decision is made. At that time the checking begins. FWIW my contract work especially for clients with a national security issues clients do not ask until the deal is done and then the offer/contract is based on supplying and passing a back ground check. This includes clients I've worked with previously.

[Ed Pawlowski]

They don't have a good reason until they offer employment.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Wrong, many applications do not even has a space for it these days.

Until someone is about to hire you, they have no need for your social security number. If they say they need it for a background check, the job offer can be made contingent on a clean report. The BBB suggests that the safest option for job-seeking consumers is this: Never provide your SSN on a job application until you have a verifiable job offer from a company you trust.

would not provide this information on a job application. Keep in mind, though, that on many job applications, you are signing to provide permission to check references, do background checks, allow criminal record checks, and affirming that everything you have provided on the application is the truth. If you do not supply the social security number on the application, you will likely have to make another trip to the company to fill it in, if the employer wants to offer you a job. With all of the new laws about guarding employee and applicant information security, no client with whom I work, asks for this information until the person is hired any more. No one wants to be responsible for guarding this information for the year that it would be accessible in a file.

employment application should request only information directly related to an applicant?s ability to perform a specific job. As a general practice, employers should request SSN information only when absolutely necessary, e.g., in conjunction with a background check, completing a W-4, or when enrolling the employee into benefits plans. This information should be requested separate from the employment application, and safeguards should be in place to protect and keep this information confidential. Employers should also implement procedures for safe disposal of this information once an employment decision has been made. Some states require security measures to be in place if applications asking for SSN information are transmitted over the Internet, or sent by mail when not in a sealed envelope.

[George]

A big box or megacorp definitely would because they are looking for bodies to meld into their system at the cheapest price. A smart small business might appreciate that the person has a brain.

[George]

Exactly, too much potential for litigation. My niece is the HR manager for a ~ 800 employee company and one of her staff spends a good portion of her time keeping up with various regulatory and compliance stuff involved in running the business.

[George]

Times change, an employer would be quite clueless to do things the way they used to.

Remember: Until someone is about to hire you, they have no need for

I would not provide this information on a job application. Keep in

[George]

And they typically ask for your national ID card (used to be a drivers license but became a defacto national ID card). There is no prohibition on that.

[Attila Iskander]

Oh dear. A spell flame Someone is getting desperate

I didn't study Englsih or in English until High School. And I'm willing to bet if it came to a showdown, that I have a larger vocabulary and a beter grasp of grammar and syntax than you.

You really should stop making stupid presumptions about others

Indeed. From age 25 on, I had people calling me to offer me work. Nice when you can get it.

Just goes to show that you should avoid making stupid presumptions about others.

[trader4]

e:

So then you have to ask yourself. How lucky to you feel today? Is it worth having the prospective employer throw the application in the trash because you didn't supply the SS#? With unemployment at 8% I know what my answer would be. But on the other hand when you can collect unemployment for 2 years, food stamps, free healthcare, I guess that changes the equation. In fact, maybe leaving it off is a good idea. One way to go on those job interviews and make sure you don't get the job.

[trader4]

I agree with you on this one. Especially with 8% unemployment and if you want a job. So many places have your SS# anyway and like you say, why would you want to work for an employer that you don't trust with a SS#?

As for the argument that it makes no difference to make the offer, then get the SS# and do a background check, how about this:

You're the hiring guy. Which scenario would you prefer? A guy fills out the application with his SS#. You use it to run a background check and it turns out he's a member of the Cripts, convicted of drug dealing and multiple drive-bys. You tell him you filled the position internally and thanks for applying.

Scenario two. You don't get the SS# until you've extended your job offer, contingent on him supplying the SS#. Now you have to call him and tell him he's not getting the job you offered him 2 days ago and why.

[Attila Iskander]

snip of repetitions

You have already asked the question in a slightly different form Are you stupid enough to imagine that repeating it multiple times will somehow make your very limited scenario more right ? Clearly you operate at the warm body level of the hiring scale And clearly that requirement is applicable at that low level

Let's hope that you don't get promoted to hire people operating at a higher level You would fail miserably at the job

[gfretwell]

You may not have all the government red tape an employer has here.

Most employers would look at a blank SSN as a person trying to hide something and with the typical stack of applications they will get for any job, why even go any farther. Chuck it and look at the next one.

[Attila Iskander]

Why don't you stop claiming that you are speaking for "most employers" You are not

[clare]

There ARE employers ( and others) out there who will ask for information they A) don't need and B) have no legal authority to ask for and will be pricks when told politely they are not getting it.

There are people who will give it to them.

They deserve each other.

There are also those who will ask for it, and when told, politely, that they do not need it at this point and will not get it until they DO need it, will agree and continue on. When they hire the person who protected themselves, they get a good employee/customer/whatever.

With today's privacy issues and litigation situation, ANYONE who has custody of sensitive information without good reason is exposing themself to way more serious risk than is warranted.

[krw]

*EVERY* one I filled out last year required my SSN, including ones online before the interview.

Perhaps you don't think they have a need but they do. You're looking, they're hiring. Ask yourself, "do I want to piss of the HR droid?".

Good luck with that anymore.

[clare]

Their loss. We have enough hiring red tape up here - why open yourself to legal problems that would exist if the information was leaked - even by someone else - and you were the one found with it in an unsecured for - and not NEEDED.