
Quoting
cbg
Not the same thing. The employer, rightly or wrongly, is treating him as a contractor. They may be right, they may be wrong, but they are acting under that belief. They paid him, and they now wish to make the appropriate reports to the appropriate agencies. They quite rightly contacted him for his SSN, which they have every right to ask for, and they are asking for it at the time when an employer would normally ask for it. In other words, from their perspective, it's just another day in paradise.
If the OP fails to respond, they're unlikely to let it drop. Since they're not trying to hide anything, they'll notify the IRS that they have been unable to obtain an SSN but here are the rest of the particulars on this individual. The IRS will know what to do with it. The worst thing that can happen to the employer is that they *might* say, Oh, btw, you should have treated him as an employee. Here's a slap on the wrist - do it right next time.
If the poster responds now, and self-reports his error to the UI, the UI is unlikely to do anything more than say, Okay, you owe us back for x amount - how do you want to pay it? But if they find out through the IRS that the poster did not report these earnings, they're going to take a much harder line. As will the IRS.