According to the Social Security Administration, a social security number is a non-replaceable, non-destructible, and unique identification number assigned to people residing in the United States with proper legal documentation. Therefore, it is perhaps the most important identification number out there because it symbolizes your eligibility to work for a U.S based employer. In most cases, SSNs are even more important than your typical state-issued driver’s license because it does not only serve as valid proof of your legal working status but are also tied up to your overall creditworthiness. However, although social security numbers are unique, it is generally not a good practice to use them as an employee identification number in a company setting. This is because, from a database design perspective, using a person’s social security number as the employee number could pose many potential complications and risks, and the greatest risk of all is the security concerns. Since employee ID numbers are generally granted a broader scope of company functions within the entity beyond the scope of taxes and payroll, it poses a risk for identity theft. Another reason is that while the numbers are unique in nature, they might not be so unique for a backend database. For example, in the case of an interdepartmental transfer, having social security numbers as employee IDs will cause many headaches for the accounting department as they will have a more challenging time trying to retain the said employee’s older title and salary data. With that said, for these reasons, it is generally not advisable to use SSNs for employee identification and should solely be used for accounting functions for the purposes of processing internal financial data. The company should also grant access to only a specific and restricted number of employees to prevent unauthorized access and data leaks.