Rhode Island § 6-13-17 - Unfair Sales Practices

§ 6-13-17. Requiring consumers to furnish social security numbers.

(a) Unless otherwise required by federal law, no person shall require that a consumer of goods or services disclose all or part of a social security number incident to the sale of consumer goods or services; provided, however, that:

(1) Insurance companies and institutions licensed by the state or federal government for financial services may require applicants for those services to disclose their social security number;

(2) Social security numbers may be required for the providing and billing of health care or pharmaceutical-related services, including the issuance of identification cards and account numbers for users of health care or pharmaceutical-related services; and

(3) Disclosure may be required of a consumer as a condition of applying for a credit card for the purchase of goods or services.

(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500).

(c) In any civil action alleging a violation of this section, the court may award damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs to a prevailing consumer and afford injunctive relief against any person or business that commits or proposes to commit a violation of this section.