Applying for jobs?

[Wolfy]

So I was applying to shoprite and they wanted to know if I've ever changed my name!! I was a tad bit irritated about it because it shouldn't be any of their business. But what I was wondering is, are there any laws to protect transgender people from giving out their previous names?

[wolfduality]

Not really. It's not a way to target trans* people, they just want/need to know your former identity. If you have experience, degrees, ect with your old name, they want to be able to "connect the dots". Theoretically, you can start off "clean" and pretend you don't have degrees/work history but you have to have all your documents match properly. If your DL has one name but your SSN has a different name, things could get sticky.

[Lostkitten]

I do not know (and on these forum can't really ask) what your name is of course, but is it a common name? Often you see transgenders pick a name that brings questions on its own and when applying you will get that back to you. Neither do I know how long you are already transitioning and all that but many names if you use the short version, are androgynous till you are further ahead of it?

As soon you need laws to be protected, you can know for sure you won't get the job.

[Jenna Marie]

Laws depend on location, and you should research that, but citing a law that protects trans people will still effectively out you.  Which sucks.

You should also be aware that once they have your Social Security number - which is legally required by the feds for employment, to prove you're a citizen - a credit check or inquiry to the SSA will reveal any previous names. (Which sucks even more.) Not all employers do that kind of background check, but if they do, they'll find out if you omitted a name.

[tgchar21]

You should also be aware that once they have your Social Security number - which is legally required by the feds for employment, to prove you're a citizen - a credit check or inquiry to the SSA will reveal any previous names. (Which sucks even more.) Not all employers do that kind of background check, but if they do, they'll find out if you omitted a name.

Actually the only way (most) employers can actually "run" your number directly with the SSA is through E-Verify, which if you've changed everything over won't show the old data (now if you've not changed your name and/or gender with them you can expect a "no match" letter which will almost certainly out you). (You may be thinking about the reports you get from the SSA if you request information on yourself - with limited exceptions employers can't obtain those.)

With regards to the "credit check" point, what she's probably referring to is a "Social Security Number Trace" which is a technique used to find other names and addresses associated with a person to more accurately run a background check. Contrary to popular belief this does NOT involve contacting the SSA or obtaining any data from them. The data here is compiled from functions where your name, address, and SSN are recorded together - applying for a line of credit, a lease, or a bank account are big ones, and if your data is submitted others like job or even driver's license applications can also be included. In addition to names you legitimately used for any of those functions, sometimes other peoples' names crossed over due to a data entry error or your records being mixed up with someone else's may show up. Conversely, if your name was changed as a child (e.g. you were adopted) that kind of data generally won't show up because the SSN trace database is based on "adult" functions like the aforementioned ones. (Ditto when it comes to former addresses, but that's not really a concern for transpeople like the name is.) About the only things you can do here to keep from outing yourself are 1) If you're transitioning as a child or teenager get your name changed before doing any of the above things that gets your name recorded, 2) Hope that the SSA will let you obtain a new number, 3) Wait several years and hope the data falls off (often times these traces only go back seven years or so), or 4) Move to another country.

As for whether an employer needs to know your prior name - As wolfduality said if any work/school/criminal/credit/etc. records they want to check are under that name you'll have to disclose it unless you want a response that you never worked or attended classes at said institution, be accused of trying to conceal your criminal history, etc. If you have NOTHING relevant under the old name that they may want to check (and that includes not having even minor offenses for the criminal records check) you can do what I've suggested several times on here before - put down "none that any relevant records are under" or something similar (I know realistically this probably isn't an option if you transitioned anytime past your teenage years, but if it is applicable to you it's an idea).

[Jenna Marie]

tgchar : Interesting. I hear SSA doesn't send no match letters anymore, actually, so that's good news. I was under the impression that SSA checks would reveal previous names, but that might be because it did for me (but I had to do the whole fingerprinting, full background check deal, so I appreciate the correction that this is not true for many people).

I did actually mean "credit check," like when you run your credit reports - mine does show a previous name under that SSA, and my wife's shows three (because married, maiden, and no middle name are all listed separately), as we discovered when we did buy a car last year. It is true that that data is often munged, but it's hard to rely on that to *guarantee* that an employer won't figure out the truth. You're 100% right about the only ways to avoid that particular issue...

I really like your idea of "none that would be relevant" or whatever, as that neatly evades the question of outright denying it (which can be grounds for dismissal just for "falsification of an application") without providing the previous name for them to poke at.

[tgchar21]

I really like your idea of "none that would be relevant" or whatever, as that neatly evades the question of outright denying it (which can be grounds for dismissal just for "falsification of an application") without providing the previous name for them to poke at.

In most cases where that'd be the case (such as if you were adopted as a child) it's usually accepted that you don't even need to bring the name up, but since employers will often find any excuse to fire someone for being trans* I came up with my idea as a CYA tactic.

[ImagineKate]

Is this ShopRite in NJ? They can ask for your name but they can't discriminate against you for being trans. NJ law is strong.

[tgchar21]

@ImagineKate - In most places in the U.S. the accepted precedent (from discrimination cases such as those where immigrants changed their names to help assimilate) is that they can ask you for any other names that your records may be under (phrasing may vary) but they don't need to know names that aren't germane to the record-checking process (and as I said if the latter applies to you a response like that I suggested above is acceptable*).

*Other "sensitive subjects" where an "alternative" response works are if they ask you about your family (you can say that you can meet the requisite work schedule), your age unless they have a reason for knowing your full birthdate (you can say that you're of legal age to work), where you were born (you can say that you're authorized to work in the U.S.), and several others.