48-237. Employer; prohibited use of social security numbers; exceptions; violations; penalty; conviction; how treated.

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) Employer means a person which employs any individual within this state as an employee;

(b) Employee means any individual permitted to work by an employer pursuant to an employment relationship or who has contracted to sell the goods of an employer and to be compensated by commission. Services performed by an individual for an employer shall be deemed to be employment, unless it is shown that (i) such individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of such services, both under his or her contract of service and in fact, (ii) such service is either outside the usual course of business for which such service is performed or such service is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed, and (iii) such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business. This subdivision is not intended to be a codification of the common law and shall be considered complete as written;

(c) Person means the state or any individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint-stock company, trust, corporation, political subdivision, or personal representative of the estate of a deceased individual, or the receiver, trustee, or successor thereof;

(d) Temporary employee means an employee of a temporary help firm assigned to work for the clients of such temporary help firm; and

(e) Temporary help firm means a firm that hires its own employees and assigns them to clients to support or supplement the client's workforce in work situations such as employee absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal workloads, and special assignments and projects.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, an employer shall not:

(a) Publicly post or publicly display in any manner more than the last four digits of an employee's social security number, including intentional communication of more than the last four digits of the social security number or otherwise making more than the last four digits of the social security number available to the general public or to an employee's coworkers;

(b) Require an employee to transmit more than the last four digits of his or her social security number over the Internet unless the connection is secure or the information is encrypted;

(c) Require an employee to use more than the last four digits of his or her social security number to access an Internet web site unless a password, unique personal identification number, or other authentication device is also required to access the Internet web site; or

(d) Require an employee to use more than the last four digits of his or her social security number as an employee number for any type of employment-related activity.

(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of this subsection, an employer shall be permitted to use more than the last four digits of an employee's social security number only for:

(i) Compliance with state or federal laws, rules, or regulations;

(ii) Internal administrative purposes, including provision of more than the last four digits of social security numbers to third parties for such purposes as administration of personnel benefit provisions for the employer and employment screening and staffing; and

(iii) Commercial transactions freely and voluntarily entered into by the employee with the employer for the purchase of goods or services.

(b) The following uses for internal administrative purposes described in subdivision (a)(ii) of this subsection shall not be permitted:

(i) As an identification number for occupational licensing;

(ii) As an identification number for drug-testing purposes except when required by state or federal law;

(iii) As an identification number for company meetings;

(iv) In files with unrestricted access within the company;

(v) In files accessible by any temporary employee unless the temporary employee is bonded or insured under a blanket corporate surety bond or equivalent commercial insurance; or

(vi) For posting any type of company information.

(4) An employer who violates this section is guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.

(5) Evidence of a conviction under this section is admissible in evidence at a civil trial as evidence of the employer's negligence.

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