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In Florida Division of Workers' Compensation v.
Cagnoli, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the
Florida appellate court finding that a state statute requiring that
injured workers list their Social Security numbers (SSNs) violated
section 7 of the federal Privacy Act of 1974, at 5 USC section 552a
note.
In Cagnoli, the Florida Division of
Workers' Compensation had dismissed the claimant's petition for workers'
compensation benefits because he failed to include an SSN on the claim
form as required by a Florida statute. Cagnoli challenged the final
order dismissing his workers' compensation claim in the Florida First
District Court of Appeal. The issue before the court was whether the
Florida statute violated section 7 of the federal Privacy Act. The
court in its decision cited relevant parts of section 7, which makes it
unlawful for any "Federal, State, or local government agency to deny any
individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of
such individual's refusal to disclose his social security account
number." This section does not apply to any federal, state, or local
agency maintaining a system of records in existence prior to Jan. 1,
1975. The appellate court found that section 440.192, Florida Statutes,
requiring that injured workers list their SSNs, enacted in 1980,
violated section 7 of the Privacy Act. The court held that the
compensation claims judge erred in dismissing Cagnoli's claim and
directed that it be reinstated. See Cagnoli v. Tandem Staffing,
888 So. 2d 79, 80 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004).
This is an important
victory for civil liberties and for immigrant workers. It provides
another tool for state and local advocates to work with labor and
employment agencies, like those enforcing the workers' compensation
laws, to ensure their claim forms do not require workers to list SSNs.
The National Employment Law Project, the Farmworker Coordinating Council
of Palm Beach County, and the Coalition of Florida Farmworker
Organizations, Inc., appeared as amici curiae in this case.
Florida Division of Workers'
Compensation v. Cagnoli,
30 Fla. L. Weekly S 747 (Fla. 2005).
By
Monica Guizar, NILC
employment policy attorney, and
Marielena Hincapié, NILC director of programs
guizar@nilc.org; hincapie@nilc.org
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