Why YSK: If you are a US Resident, don’t lose your Social Security card more than 10 times, or else you might need to respawn 💀
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 CFR 422.103, the number of replacement Social Security cards per person is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime.
Editing comment for clarity.
All employers in the US need proof of two things: proof of identity, and proof of employment eligibility. A passport takes care of both.
But most people in my experience provide a state ID/driver’s license (identity), and either a social security card or birth certificate (employement.)
So, you can be on your high horse all you want, but you’re gonna provide the documents above if you want to work legally.
The employer can view a social security card or birth certificate, but they DO NOT need to retain a copy of it. And you can provide a number of documents in place of a social security card. It is absolutely not legal to require a social security card for work eligibility, it’s simply one of the options an employee may present. And if presented in person, they are not obligated to retain a copy of it.
I have worked many jobs legally in the U.S, several of which required extensive background checking and identity verification. Never once have I been required to present a social security card. They can only ask for the number itself, if they’re using E-Verify.
We’re splitting hairs here. It is a legal requirement to provide work elibility. If you provide a passport, or if you provide an ID and birth certificate, that sufficies. But many people choose ID and social security card. And yes, employers keep copies of work eligibility on file.
So I guess my question is, is your objection really to the act of asking for a lightweight cardboard card?
Then I would suggest you not try to split hairs. It is not a legal requirement to provide an employer with your social security card, and they do not need to keep copies of any of your identifying documents on file. These two preceding statements are objectively and inarguably true. Any argument of “Well you can always CHOOSE to provide them” is neither here nor there. I can choose to provide my social security card to a crackhead on the street corner, but that has nothing to do with legal requirements either.
I have never provided a social security card to an employer and can never be made to. This will never result in an inability for me to work legally, nor anybody else in this country lol.
I guess my confusion comes from why you are so adamantly against specifically providing the social security card, when providing proof of employment eligibility is a legal requirement. Clearly, you have no problem providing employment eligibility, why do you have such strong feelings about providing the social security card specifically?
And while agree, the fact that other documents can be provided to prove employment eligibility means that technically providing the SS card isn’t required, I’d caution you against saying “never” in our current political environment.
Because the context of the thread here is a scenario where you’ve lost your social security card.