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![handle is hein.sag/sagfl0050 and id is 1 raw text is: Florida Attorney General
Advisory Legal Opinion
Number: INFORMAL
Date: January 12,2012
Subject: Schools, release of social security numbers
Mr. J. Paul Carland, II
General Counsel
The School Board of Broward County
600 Southeast Third Avenue, 11th Floor
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301-3125
Dear Mr. Carland:
On behalf of the School Board of Broward County, you have asked this office
to determine whether the district must release social security numbers of
district employees to the local teachers union. The following general
discussion is provided in order to be of assistance.
You state that the School Board of Broward County has received a request
from the Broward Teachers Union (union), a certified bargaining agent, for
the social security numbers of all members of the bargaining unit,
regardless of whether such individuals are dues paying members of the
union. While the union characterizes the individuals as members of the
bargaining unit the discussion herein will refer to the individuals as
employees of the district, to avoid any confusion as to whether such
employees are members of the union.
The union asserts that it is a commercial entity as defined in section
119.071(5)(a)7., Florida Statutes, in that it will use the social security
numbers in the normal course of its business to verify the accuracy of
information received from the School District, including identification or
prevention of fraud and matching information received from the District to
the union's records.[1] The union also states that historically, when
employees of the district called the union, the social security numbers of
such employees were used by the union to match and verify the employees'
identities and prevent identification fraud.
In enacting section 119.071(5)(a), Florida Statutes, the Legislature has
acknowledged that while social security numbers were never intended to be
used for business purposes, over time they have been used for identity
verification purposes and other legitimate consensual purposes.[2] (e.s.)
The Legislature has further recognized that the social security number can
be used as a tool to perpetuate[3] fraud against an individual and to
acquire sensitive personal, financial, medical, and familial information,
the release of which could cause great financial or personal harm to an](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagfl0050&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)