Q.  We recently had an applicant omit their home address on our employment application. Nobody has ever done that before. Can we require them to include their address on their employment application?

A.  This is an interesting question that prompted discussion and research among the AIM HR Solutions staff. As best we can determine, Massachusetts state law is silent on the issue of whether to require an employment application to include the applicant’s address.

One question to consider is whether you spoke with the applicant about why they didn’t want their address on the application. There might be reasonable explanations once you understand their reasoning. While an address is necessary once an employee is on the payroll and enrolled in benefit programs, there are several reasons an applicant might want to keep their address off the application, including: 

– Homelessness: The applicant may be homeless and not want to list the address of a homeless shelter, tacitly acknowledging the fact that it may be perceived as a negative factor and a distraction from their qualifications during the application process.  

-Domestic Violence: The applicant could be in temporary housing or a shelter due to a domestic violence-related issue and does not want to disclose that until they have a job offer. The applicant may have a fear that their abuser is following them throughout the course of the workday or may discover they have applied and may pretend to be somebody else looking for the victim’s address.  

-Neighborhood Concerns: The applicant might live in a lower-income or problematic neighborhood and worry it could bias the hiring process against them.  

-Perceived Background Check: Related to the point above, the applicant may view using the address or zip code as a quick and easy form of unregulated background check.  

-Identify Theft: The applicant may have been a victim of identity theft in the past and is fearful that someone can use their name and address and start the process over again.  

-Privacy Concerns: The applicant may believe that under the Massachusetts privacy law, they have a general right to keep their personal information, such as address confidential, and off the application. For those unfamiliar with the Massachusetts privacy law, it states that “[a] person shall have a right against unreasonable, substantial or serious interference with his privacy.” While the law can only be enforced by individuals who believe their privacy was violated, if the applicant were to file a lawsuit alleging invasion of privacy, an employer would need to have an explanation as to why it required the applicant to address them during the application phase of the employment process. 

While there may be legitimate business reasons for requiring an address on an application, it may be more appropriate to ask for it during the interview process.  As far as we can tell, no laws require an applicant’s address before they are hired and complete their Form I-9 and other employee benefit forms. 

Additional Resources 

AIM Members: Have further questions about this? Contact the AIM team via the helpline at 1-800-470-6277 or at helpline@aimnet.org.  

For training and HR services, contact the AIM HR Solutions team at HRInfo@AIMHRSolutions.com or visit our website at www.AIMHRSolutions.com.