Employee onboarding import fails with duplicate SSN error during batch upload

HCM ADP Workforce Now
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1

I’m trying to import 85 new hires into our onboarding module (ADP 2023.1) using the employee import template, but keep getting duplicate SSN errors that are blocking the entire batch. The error message is cryptic:


Error Code: SSN_DUPLICATE_VIOLATION
SSN xxx-xx-1234 already exists in system
23 records failed validation

Here’s the confusing part - when I search for these SSNs in ADP, I find terminated employees from 6-18 months ago. Our HR policy requires unique SSNs, but shouldn’t terminated employees be in a separate status that allows rehires? The import template troubleshooting guide doesn’t address this scenario. I’ve checked the SSN uniqueness validation settings but can’t find where to configure exceptions for terminated workers. Has anyone encountered this with rehires or is there a way to handle terminated employee records differently during import?

2

Check your import template configuration carefully. There should be a ‘Rehire_Flag’ or ‘Employment_Action’ column that you can set to ‘REHIRE’ instead of ‘NEW_HIRE’. This tells ADP to look for existing records and reactivate them rather than creating duplicates. We had the same issue last quarter and this solved it. Also verify that your terminated employees have proper termination dates recorded - incomplete terminations can cause weird validation errors.

3

Beyond just the SSN issue, you need to think about what happens to onboarding workflows for rehires. If you reactivate terminated records, their old onboarding tasks might still be marked complete, which could skip important compliance steps. We learned this the hard way when a rehired employee missed required I-9 reverification because their previous I-9 task showed as completed. You might need to manually reset certain onboarding milestones or create a separate rehire onboarding template.

4

The 23 failed records suggest you have a mix of true new hires and rehires in your batch. Split your import file into two separate uploads: one for genuinely new employees (no prior SSN in system) and one for rehires. For the rehire batch, you need different handling. Export the terminated employee records that match your rehire SSNs, update their information with new hire dates and department assignments, then use the ‘Update Employee’ import template rather than ‘Add Employee’. This preserves their worker IDs and historical data while updating their current employment status.