Social Security Number Policy

JEA collects social security numbers from customers for the purposes of opening credit accounts, evaluating customer creditworthiness, and for credit reporting as allowed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (2003) and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (2009).

Per Federal regulation, JEA may only collect social security numbers from customers for the following purposes:

• Classification of accounts 
• Customer identification and verification 
• Creditworthiness 
• Credit reporting to credit bureaus

Social Security Number Requirements

You are not required to give JEA your social security number. If you choose not to provide your social security number, JEA will be unable to perform a credit check for purposes of waiving your deposit and you may be required to pay a deposit in accordance with our service policy. 

Employee Access to Social Security Numbers

JEA is committed to the protection of your Personally Identifiable Information. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to prevent the unlawful disclosure of customers’ social security numbers and other confidential information. In compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (2003), employee access to customers’ Personally Identifiable Information, including full social security numbers, is limited to those employees with legitimate business reasons to access such information or documents.

Social Security Number Disclosure Notice

As per the applicable state and federal law/statutes, JEA is required to protect social security numbers as confidential and limit any release. However, these laws also allow for exceptions and provisions for release. The following exceptions apply:

1. The disclosure of the SSN is essential to the business process and is in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA, 2003) and is used to investigate or prevent fraud, conduct background checks, collect a debt, obtain a credit report from or furnish data to a consumer reporting agency pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq.. 
2. The disclosure of the social security number is expressly required by federal or state law or a court order [Authorized by Fla. Stat. § 119.071(5) (a) 6]
3. The individual expressly consents in writing to the disclosure of his or her social security number [Authorized by Fla. Stat. § 119.071(5) (a) 6]
4. The disclosure of the social security number is made to a commercial entity for the permissible uses set forth in the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2721 et seq.; the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.; or the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 6801 et seq., provided that the authorized commercial entity complies with the requirements of Fla. Stat. § 119.071(5) [Authorized by Fla. Stat. § 119.071(5) (a) 6]