Can/should an insurance carrier/TPA verify social security numbers as part of the workers’ compensation claims process?
Editor’s comment: We were asked this important question by one of our clients and we want to provide a detailed response for all of our readers. The short answer is yes. We first point out it is not illegal for anyone to verify a social security number to determine whether someone is using a correct and accurate SSN or social security number. By making the statement “not illegal,” we point out there is no law, rule, ordinance or guideline that renders verification illegal—what isn’t illegal is therefore legal.
Why would an insurance carrier/TPA want to verify a social security number? Well, it is becoming more and more common to learn that an injured worker is not legally in the country. Estimates vary but in a country of about 300 million people with a total workforce of about 154 million, there are approximately 12 million illegal workers or slightly less than one in every ten workers.
If you are not aware of the ruling, in Hoffman Plastics v. NLRB, the U.S. Supreme Court clearly stated it was a violation of federal law to knowingly apply for work as an illegal alien, just as it is illegal to knowingly hire an illegal alien. We assure our readers, the federal authorities are very gradually getting more aggressive about actually enforcing this federal law.
But why is the Supreme Court ruling important at the IWCC? Well, they are a government agency—regardless of their political views one way or the other, the Commission won’t knowingly violate federal law nor will they openly require an Illinois employer to violate U.S. law. This is critically important in the biggest of Illinois workers’ compensation claims—wage loss differential and total and permanent disability. In both such claims, the injured worker’s employability following recovery from injury is vitally important. For example, if an injured worker has a heavy position; say a job that requires lifting up to 75 pounds on a regular basis and they suffer an injury creating a permanent 25-pound lifting restriction, the ability of the employee to find a new position that pays him/her about what they made prior to injury is the measure of either wage loss differential or what is sometimes called “odd-lot” total and permanent disability status.
If the employer learns the employee cannot legally be hired in the U.S. due to illegal alien status, it becomes difficult if not impossible for the employee to show what they would have been able to make in a reasonably stable labor market around their home because there is no “labor market” for someone who cannot legally work where they are living on an illegal basis. We caution our readers we have heard of a decision by an Arbitrator where he/she refused to require vocational counseling be provided for an illegal alien. We have not yet seen a decision by the Commission or reviewing courts on the issue. We certainly hope the Commission will never consider “wage loss differential” based upon what an illegal worker can earn in a country outside the United States.
Either way, an inquiry to verify a social security number is legal and a valid concern for any Illinois employer along with its insurance carrier/TPA at the time of any workers’ compensation injury. To verify a social security number, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/ssnv.htm. The Social Security Administration requires you to register and indicates you can:
Verify up to 10 names and SSNs (per screen) online and receive immediate results.
Upload overnight files of up to 250,000 names and SSNs and usually receive results the next government business day.
The second option is ideal if you want to verify an entire payroll database or if you hire a large number of workers at a time.
We invite your thoughts and comments on the content of this article. If any of our readers is aware of any proscription against checking a social security number as part of the workers’ compensation process, please send a reply.
