employment
Can I refuse to upload my personal ID and picture into a website that my boss wants me to book a reservation in?
<p>Can I refuse to upload my personal ID and picture into a website that my boss wants me to book a reservation in?  </p>

<p>I just started this job a few months ago and my boss wants me to secure AirBnB and VRBO reservations for our guests.  however, in order to make reservations, the websites ask you to upload a government ID and a "selfie" in order to secure certain properties.  When I got the job, these type of reservations were not in my job description.  She just sprung it on me later.  Saying "you will be handdling the AirBnB/VRBO bookings.  I don't know anything about AirBnB/VRBO bookings but thought I would give it a try.  Then I came across having to enter this information.  I explained that I am not comortable doing that.  So she gave me access to her account.  I was booking a reservation in her account but it asked me to upload a government ID and selfie again.  I forwarded the message to her since it was in her account.  And now she is questioning why I do not want to upload my pictures, asking what is the big deal.  I feel like she will fire me for this.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!</p>

<p>Presumably you mean, can you refuse and successfully sue the boss for firing you, if she does. It is not necessary that you be informed of every fact about a job when you're hired, so there's no legal requirement that the boss inform you in advance that you will have to make AirBnB reservations. It is certainly legal and wise for a rental facility to require some form of advance photo-ID (especially when we're talking about people's homes).</p>

<p>If your boss is not persuaded by you saying "I am not comfortable doing this" (especially explaining why you are uncomfortable) and she is adamant, then your refusal would surely constitute sufficient grounds for termination.</p>

<p>There may be labor / privacy laws in some countries other than the US which allow you to refuse to supply a copy of the ID card except to specified authorities, but in general a business in the US can require showing a government ID (and commonly do do so for accepting checks and checking into motels). There are limits on what information state governments can reveal about individuals.</p>

<p>A number of states require registering with true names, e.g. <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section27" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Massachusetts</a> anyone renting a room "shall keep ... a register in which shall be recorded the true name ...and the residence of every person"; a government ID is a reasonable way to comply with the law. This is usually handled at the desk, but AirBnB type places don't have a "desk", so one should expect to have to provide ID in advance, as <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1237/how-does-providing-identification-on-airbnb-work#privacy" rel="nofollow noreferrer">the AirBnB page</a> says.</p>
