2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART III - Social Security (§§ 611 — 726f) › Chapter 41A - Social Security Number (§§ 621 — 621b) › § 621b - Public policy regarding use

(a) To set forth the public policy on the use of the social security number as means of identification verification and on the protection of its confidentiality; to set forth the limits and requirements for the use of this information.
(b) The federal social security number shall be used by the agencies, dependencies, and instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, its municipalities, and public corporations, and by the contractors of said government entities within the parameters and for the purposes provided and authorized by federal legislation.
(c) The entities referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall obtain the social security number of persons making official transactions and use the same for the purposes of expediting the identity verification process; verifying the information available internally, or in other agencies or entities including without it being construed as a limitation, tax or personnel administration transactions and investigations, eligibility for benefits, compliance with child support laws, audit reports and criminal investigations; and to standardize the internal procedures of information exchange. This process shall be followed by adopting the necessary administrative mechanisms in order to expedite the documentation and identification process, and to safeguard the confidentiality of the information the State is barred from revealing, and to guarantee the interruption or refusal to render the services or benefits offered to persons who for any reason do not have a social security number, or who object the use thereof, except that its obligatory use is imposed or authorized by federal law or regulation.
(d) The federal social security number shall not be used as a regular identification card number nor be considered proof of citizenship, residence, or of eligibility for services.
(e) Every entity, of those referred to above in subsection (b) of this section, that requires the social security number of a citizen, shall inform him/her the legal authority under which said request is made and indicate to him/her the use intended therefor, as well as whether its disclosure is mandatory or voluntary.
(f) It is hereby prohibited for the agencies of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches, including those instrumentalities that operate as a private enterprise or business, municipalities, and private juridical entities acting as administrators or state or municipal public service providers and that use the social security number of any citizen, including their employees, as a means of identity or record verification, to circulate, display or reveal said number in a document of general circulation or in any article that is accessible or visible to any person, within or outside the entity, which does not need to know this data.
(1) The social security number of an employee, regardless of the nature of his/her position or appointment, nor that of any contractor shall be shown or displayed in his/her identification card. Furthermore, no social security number shall be displayed in personnel directories or any similar list available to persons whose function does not require knowing this data.
(2) The social security number of any user, subscriber, client, beneficiary, or applicant shall not be used as case, claim, client or identification number in any public document or document of general circulation. The citizen may voluntarily offer this data as a mechanism to expedite the obtaining of his/her file, in the case that no other reference is available; however, the same shall not be shown in the documents.
Whenever it is required to make public a document that contains a social security number, the same shall be unreadable, without it being understood as an alteration to the contents of the document.
These protections may be waived voluntarily by the affected person; however, said waiver shall not be imposed as a condition for employment or service rendering. These provisions shall not apply to the use of the social security number in those cases and for those purposes in which it is required or authorized by law or federal regulations, or whenever a special law expressly authorizes it, nor shall be used for internal identity verification purposes, subject to keeping its confidentiality.
(g) The entities affected by the provisions of subsection (f) of this section whose compliance requires changes in their procedures, regulations, information systems, or special budgetary distributions shall have one (1) year after the effective date of the act to certify to the Department of State their compliance with said provisions, or in its defect, to certify the progress of the work plan which is to be fulfilled within the next fiscal year.
(h) The entities referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall incorporate, in their regulations and disciplinary measures, sanctions for noncompliance with the provisions of this section to be applied without prejudice to any possible process that may arise pursuant to any other provisions of law relative to government ethics, omission or negligence in carrying out their duties, disclosure of personal data or violation of civil rights; or to possible actions for damages against officials or employees either personally or officially, or against the entity.
History —Nov. 10, 2006, No. 243, §§ 1—8.