Addendum - 0960-0660

Addendum to the Supporting Statement for the

Social Security Number Verification Services

OMB No. 0960-0660

Revisions to the Collection Instrument

Revisions to TNEV:

The Telephone Number Employer Verification (TNEV) automated telephone application provides employers/third-party submitters who call the National 800 Number Network (N8NN) and the Office of Central Operations (OCO) Employer Reporting Branch (ERB) the option of verifying up to 10 employee SSNs using speech recognition technology. Only authorized callers for SSNVS are able to use the automated telephone process. The TNEV application does not replace any existing processes for employer SSN verifications.

On July 2008, SSA Commissioner Astrue signed a decision memorandum to discontinue telephone manual verification of SSNs. Starting fall 2009, N8NN and OCO telephone agents and Field Office staff will no longer provide manual SSN verifications via the telephone, except in certain scenarios. Employers are required to verify employee SSNs through SSNVS, TNEV or EVS.

SSA has identified certain scenarios when an employer or third party is unable to request an SSN verification via the TNEV application as well as the approximate number of anticipated calls for each scenario. In these cases, the system will transfer callers to an N8NN or OCO agent for assistance. Agents will follow specific criteria (script parameters) for each scenario before verifying SSNs over the telephone. The criteria listed under “agent interaction” are only guidelines for this clearance. The script parameters will be available to agents prior to implementation.

• Scenario 1A: Employer requested, but has not received their SSNVS activation code, but needs to verify new employees immediately.

Call transferred to: N8NN or OCO agent

Agent interaction: An agent will verify SSNs if we mailed an SSNVS activation code to the employer. If the employer has requested a role and thus we mailed an SSNVS activation code, then the agent will verify SSNs for a limited time. After the time period expires, the employer will then need to verify SSNs through either SSNVS or TNEV. If the employer did not request an SSNVS activation code, then the agent will not verify SSNs. The employer will need to request an SSNVS activation code.

Scenario 1B: Employer has not received their SSNVS activation code and it has expired. They need to verify new employees immediately.

Call transferred to: OCO agent

Agent interaction: The OCO agent will re-request the SSNVS role for the user. The OCO agent will verify SSNs for the employer for a limited time to allow for receipt and activation of the code.

Approximate calls for 1A and 1 B per year: 10,000

• Scenario 2: Employer has a telephone but does not have immediate access to a computer to register for SSNVS and has a dire need to put a new hire to work; i.e. farmer, day worker, etc.

Call transferred to: OCO agent

Agent interaction: The OCO agent can register employer for SSNVS over the telephone and verify SSNs for a limited time until the employer receives their SSNVS activation code.

Approximate calls per year: 5,000

• Scenario 3: Employer is registered but locked out of the Integrated Registration Services (IRES) system and an Employer Reporting Technician (ERT) is unable to unlock them because of systems problem.

Call transferred to: OCO agent

Agent interaction: If an OCO agent is able to unlock employer, then the OCO agent will not verify SSNs. The OCO agent will advise the employer to use either SSNVS or TNEV to verify the SSN. If OCO agent is unable to unlock employer, then the OCO agent will verify SSNs until the unlock issue has been resolved.

Approximate calls per year: 2,000

• Scenario 4: Employer has requested a new Business Services Online (BSO) temporary password and has not yet received it; however, employer has an active or pending SSNVS role.

Call transferred to: N8NN or OCO agent

Agent interaction: An agent will verify the employer requested an SSN if a temporary password and they have an active SSNVS role. After the time period expires, the employer will verify SSNs through SSNVS or TNEV. If the employer did not request a temporary password, then the agent will not verify the SSN.

Approximate calls per year: 5,000

• Scenario 5: SSA electronic verification systems (TNEV/SSNVS) are down and unavailable to the public (in this scenario, the employer has an active SSNVS role).

Call transferred to: N8NN or OCO agent

Agent interaction: An agent will advise the employer of an estimated time for when the system will be back up, if known. Employer will need to use the verification system at a later time. Agents will not verify any SSNs in this situation unless there is an immediate need to verify an SSN.

Approximate calls per year: 3,000

• Scenario 6: An employer is a small business and does not have a computer and access to the Internet.

Call transferred to: OCO agent

Agent interaction: An agent can register employer for SSNVS over the telephone and verify SSNs for a limited time until the employer receives their SSNVS activation code. SSA will mail the SSNVS activation code to the employer. In order to use SSNVS or TNEV, the employer must use a computer to activate the SSNVS activation code. The OCO agent may suggest locations such as a library or community center to complete the registration process. Once an employer has completed the SSNVS registration process, the employer can use SSNVS or TNEV to verify future SSNs.

Approximate calls per year: 5,000

In the above scenarios, agents will ensure employers are properly authenticated (e.g., valid user, employer EIN, other pertinent information) before verifying an employee’s SSN over the telephone. If the employer has an active or pending SSNVS role in the IRES system, the agent will verify SSNs. However, if the employer does not have an active or pending SSNVS role in IRES, the OCO agent will assign the SSNVS role and verify SSNs. If the caller is unwilling to accept the SSNVS role, the OCO agent will not verify SSNs.

The agency has added a “Yes/No” dialog module to the TNEV call flow (see #1 in TNEV call flow document) that separates callers who want to validate their own social security number from those who want to validate the social security number of an employee. The purpose of TNEV is for employers to verify employee SSNs and not for individuals. If individuals want to verify their own SSN, they need to visit their local Social Security Field Office.

The agency has a marketing plan to make employers aware of the new automated telephone process regarding the SSN verification process. The Agency expects to start marketing to employers in mid summer 2009.

Revisions to EVS:

With the implementation of the decision memorandum to discontinue the EVS Phone verifications except in certain scenarios, SSA will only complete EVS phone verifications under the scenarios listed above.