What do employers need to update when an employee's name changes in California?

Employees commonly change their names when they get married, divorced or enter into a domestic partnership. Sometimes an employee will decide to change their name for other reasons, which is legal to do in most cases.

Employers can't discriminate or retaliate against an employee who updates his/her personal information based on a lawful change of name, Social Security number, or federal employment authorization document.

I-9 Employment Form

Do not update an employee’s I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form based solely on a change of name.

Supplement B of the I-9 (for "Updating and Reverification") is completed only when:

• Reverifying employment eligibility at the time an employment authorization document is expiring;
• An employee is rehired within three years of when the form was originally completed.

You may want to attach a memo to the I-9 noting the employee’s new name to avoid confusion in case of an audit.

Social Security Administration

Your employee must notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) of a name change to ensure her earnings are properly recorded. According to the SSA, if an employee has not notified the SSA of the name change, then an employer should continue to use the old name for payroll and tell the employee to contact the SSA to obtain an updated card. Using a new name before your employee updates SSA records may prevent the posting of earnings. Change your payroll records only when the employee obtains an updated Social Security card with the new name.