I have to PAY to work here? (Temps question)

I am currently working a part-time temp job to earn extra money. The office where I'm working is really paranoid about security (I think they work with the government or the military in some capacity -- I never cared enough to ask). So now they're redoing their security badge system, and to register for the new badge required to get in and out of the facility, I have to provide proof of citizenship, in the form of a birth certificate or passport. A simple I-9 won't do it, nor will a Social Security number.

somehow or other, I have gotten through several decades of life without having a copy of my birth certificate. I can get one for $22, which is about half of what I make in a typical part-time shift there.

Am I wrong for thinking that if a temp agency's client requires said document from one of the agency's employees, that either the agency or the client should be willing to either pay for it or reimburse me for my payment?

I'm afraid to bring it up with the powers that be, lest I sound like a whiner. But I feel like I'm being held up for $22, which to me right now is a not insignificant amount of dough.

Should I just keep quiet about it and put it on a credit card or something?

CanadaRAM said:

Nope, it's your obligation to keep your personal documents up to date.

It would be a different story if they were asking you to pay for a proprietary ID card or for a drug test or something.

But you are presumed to have a birth certificate and other regular personal ID.

Click to expand...

OK, that explains it. In the past when I've done background checks and things, the agency always paid. But those are a proprietary requirement. Gotcha.