Total Articles: 29
They're Baaaaaack! "No-Match" Letters Resume After Three-Year Hiatus
The Social Security Administration recently announced that it would once again be sending "No Match" letters to employers. "No Match" letters are intended to advise employers that there is some discrepancy in the SSA records between the name of an employee and the Social Security number listed for that employee as of the time that the employer submitted payroll taxes.
SSA Resumes Issuance Of "No Match" Letters
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has resumed sending out No-Match letters to employers. This ends a long break that started when the Department of Homeland Security's 2007 no-match regulation (now rescinded) was blocked by a court. SSA's new letter says that the recipient is not required to respond, and that the letter alone should not be the basis for taking any adverse action against the employee listed. If you do respond to the letter, the SSA may share the information with the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Justice.
Horrors: Return of the No-Match Letter
The Social Security Administration has resumed sending "no-match" letters to employers of workers whose 2010 W-2 contains information that does not match the name, date of birth, and social security number in the "Numident" database used by SSA to track retirement and disability contributions, benefits, and claims. Employers must not ignore these notices and should develop a careful policy for taking action on them.
DHS Throws In The Towel, Rescinds No-Match Rules.
Plagued by controversy and legal battles, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is rescinding the 2007 No-Match Rule in a regulation to be published in the October 7 Federal Register.
DHS Rescinds No-Match Regulation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally withdrawn its Social Security "no-match" regulation, promulgated back in 2007. The no-match regulation set forth a "safe harbor" for employers who receive letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) stating that an employee's Social Security Number (SSN) does not match the agency's records. The safe harbor rule required employers to take certain steps to resolve the discrepancy within a certain period of time or face liability. Shortly after being issued in 2007, the no-match regulation was challenged in court, subject to an injunction and ultimately never implemented. As of October 7, 2009, the rule was formally rescinded.
DHS: Social Security No-Match Regulation Will NOT Happen (But Does It Matter Anyway?)
At the same time the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the agency would follow-through on the federal contractor/E-Verify regulation, Secretary Janet Napolitano stated that DHS would be rescinding the Social Security “No-Match” regulation (see the DHS’ press release). Pro-business and pro-labor groups alike applauded the action. However, the end of the “No-Match” regulation resolves nothing for employers and seemingly returns us to a lack of clarity for employers on what steps to take when a No-Match letter is received.
DHS Tests Authority in Regulating Social Security No-Match Letters.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its final rule making employers accountable for resolving mismatched social security numbers of employees. The regulation, “Safe Harbor Procedures for Employers who Receive a No-Match Letter,” describes the legal obligations of an employer when the employer receives a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or notice from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the internal investigative arm of DHS. It establishes “safe-harbor” procedures that the employer can follow in response to such a letter or notice to avoid being imputed with constructive knowledge that an employee targeted in a no-match letter is a person not authorized to work in the United States.
DHS Issues Supplemental Final Rule on SSA No-Match Letters Aimed at Lifting Court Injunction.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a Supplemental Final Rule (SFR) addressing procedures employers may follow when they receive either a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) (which states that there is a discrepancy between the Social Security Number (SSN) reported for the employee and the SSA's records) or a notice of suspect document from DHS. The SFR makes no substantive changes to the provisions of the Final Rule published by DHS in August 2007. Instead the SFR addresses the issues raised by a federal court in California, which previously enjoined enforcement of the August 2007 Final Rule. The rule has not gone into effect yet and will not become effective until the court lifts the injunction. For now, employers who receive no-match letters must continue to correct their records and ask employees to correct the problem where applicable, within a reasonable time. Thus, the status quo continues without specific time periods or a safe harbor for employers to deal with no-match letters.
The Department of Homeland Security Releases An Updated No-Match Letter Rule.
On October 23, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its supplemental final No-Match Letter Rule and announced that it will take effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on a not yet scheduled date. The supplemental final rule does not substantively change the safe harbor procedures described in the rule as originally written and issued in August 2007 or as supplemented in March 2008. The DHS will seek to lift the preliminary injunction imposed by Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California in October 2007. Once the injunction is lifted, employers who receive No-Match letters issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) but follow the safe harbor procedures described in the No-Match Letter Rule, will be sheltered from a charge of constructive knowledge that the individual named in the letter was not authorized to work in the United States. DHS takes the position that its supplemental final rule addresses the issues raised by Judge Breyer and if the injunction is lifted, will take immediate steps to implement the rule. Judge Breyer has rescheduled a status conference in the case from October 31 to November 21, 2008.
Update on No-Match Regulations.
On March 21, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security released a Supplemental Proposed Rulemaking for the no-match rule previously published in August 2007 (the 2007 Final Rule). Interested persons have 30 days to submit comments on the supplemental regulation. The 2007 Final Rule proposed amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act by establishing safe harbor procedures for employers who receive Social Security Administration "no-match" letters.
DHS Issues Supplemental Proposed Rule Regarding “Safe Harbor” No Match Regulation.
As discussed in our August 14, 2007 Legal Alert, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its final rule setting forth a safe harbor from liability for employing unauthorized aliens for employers who follow certain procedures in responding to a Social Security Administration (SSA) No Match Letter or a DHS Notice of Suspect Documents (Safe Harbor rule). That rule subsequently was enjoined by a federal district court in California and currently is not in effect.
Status of "No-Match" Letter Regulation and Compliance with Continued Immigration Enforcement Efforts (pdf).
This edition gives a status report on the Department of Homeland Security's rule, announced in August 2007, addressing what employers should do upon receipt of a "no-match" letter from the Social Security Administration. Implementation of the rule was recently enjoined by a federal judge, and DHS is working on a revised rule. The article goes on to provide pointers on what employers can do in response to no-match letters pending publication of the revised rule.
DHS Appeals Injunction to Social Security No-Match Rule.
On December 5, 2007, Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") Secretary Michael Chertoff released a statement confirming that DHS filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that the court lift the injunction against implementing the DHS no-match rule. On October 10, 2007, a federal court in California issued a preliminary injunction preventing DHS and the Social Security Administration ("SSA") from implementing the rule entitled Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter. The court enjoined SSA from sending out the no-match letters because the letters were to include DHS language threatening possible criminal and civil liability for employers that failed to respond to the letters.
Responding to the SSA’s “No Match” Letters: A How-To Guide.
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) currently issues “no-match” letters to employers who submit more than 10 W-2s in a wage report that do not match SSA’s records and the no-matches exceed at least half of one percent of all the W-2s in the wage report. Prior to the current policy, the SSA was issuing “no-match” letters to all employers whose wage reports contained one or more no-match record. The change in policy has resulted in fewer “no-match” letters being sent to employers. In 2003, when the current policy was first implemented, SSA issued 125,000 no-match letters to employers, 770,000 less than in 2002.
Judge Suspends Social Security No-Match Regulations.
On October 10, 2007, a San Francisco district court judge granted an order preventing the implementation of the new Social Security No-Match regulations. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer halted over 140,000 no-match letters from being issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to employers relating to approximately 8 million employees. This order was granted in connection with a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and other organizations on the grounds that the new regulations could lead to mass layoffs in low-wage industries. The order is in effect until a final decision can be reached in the case (which could be many months).
Back to the Status Quo: DHS "Safe Harbor" Regulation Temporarily on Hold.
Based upon a recent decision by a federal judge in California, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot take steps to enforce its new “safe harbor” regulation regarding Social Security Number (SSN) mismatches until legal challenges to the regulation can be resolved. See American Federation of Labor v. Chertoff (N.D. Cal. October 10, 2007). Thus, while the new regulation’s 90-day time period for resolving SSN mismatches currently is not in effect, employers are still required, as they have always been, to respond to no-match letters in a reasonable manner. Employers will not likely receive any further clarification from DHS regarding specific steps required to resolve no-match letters until a court resolves the legal challenges to the new regulation.
Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction in No-Match Litigation.
On October 10th, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") rule that would use Social Security mis-match records as a tool for immigration enforcement.
New "No-Match" Regs Signal Increase in Immigration Enforcement & Require Employer Action (pdf).
On September 14, 2007, new regulations were scheduled
to go into effect that would directly impact many employers
throughout the United States. These regulations defi ne
when an employer has “constructive knowledge” that
an employee lacks authorization to work legally in the
United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) has stated that employers who fail to comply
with the new rule may be found to have constructive
knowledge of hiring an unauthorized worker and may
face substantial penalties.
New Regulations Impose Obligations on Employers Who Receive "No-Match" Letters (pdf).
Regulations that become effective on September 14, 2007 will require employers to become active participants in
verifying the identity of employees whose social security numbers do not match government records. The regulations
issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are intended to ensure that only persons authorized to work in
the United States become and remain employed. Employers who do not comply with the new rules can be considered
as having “knowingly” hired an illegal worker and can face substantial fi nes.
Immigration Enforcement: Mismatch/No-Match Letters and the New Safe Harbor.
Although Congress came close to passing an immigration reform bill this term, there has been no substantive change to the immigration laws. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (ICE) have increased enforcement of the existing law’s employment provisions. Thus, the former agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), filed 25 complaints against employers for employing undocumented aliens in 2002, which was the INS’s last full year of existence. ICE filed 716 complaints in 2006. Some employers faced jail time for these criminal violations, including managers of employment services and the owner of a chain of donut shop franchises.
Immigration Alert - No-Match Regulations Placed On Hold Until October 1.
On Friday, August 31, a federal district court judge granted a nationwide temporary restraining order placing a hold on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new Social Security No-Match regulations. The final regulations were scheduled to take effect on September 14 (see the Ogletree Deakins’ E-Alert dated August 10, 2007.) The ruling also puts a hold on the federal government’s plan to start sending out No-Match Letters today.
DHS Issues Regulations Addressing "No Match" Letters from SSA.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued new regulations providing guidance to employers who receive a “no match” letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA) indicating that the employer has submitted a W-2 form in which the combination of name and social security number does not match SSA records. The regulations also address the situation in which the employer receives a letter from DHS called a “Notice of Suspect Documents,” indicating that DHS has been unable to confirm that an immigration status document or employment authorization document used by an employee in completing an I-9 form was assigned to that person.
DHS Mismatch Letter Published Today (pdf).
The final mismatch or "no match" regulation appears in today's
Federal Register. Thus, the rule will be in effect September 14,
2007. Employers need to get ready now.
New Regulations Issued Regarding Social Security No-Match Letters.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented new rules regarding Social Security No-Match Letters. Under the regulations, new specific legal obligations are imposed on employers that receive the so-called "no-match" letter from the Social Security Administration (SSA). A no-match letter may be issued when an employee's social security number does not match the employee's name in the SSA database.
DHS Safe Harbor Rule for SSA Mismatch Letters (pdf).
Today,the Department of Homeland Security announced publication of a final rule establishing safe harbor procedures for employers who receive an SSA mismatch letter or notice from
DHS that an individual lacks authorization to work.
Responding to the SSA’s "No Match" Letters: A How-To Guide.
The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) currently issues “no-match” letters to employers who submit more than 10 W-2s in a wage report that do not match SSA’s records and the no-matches exceed at least half of one percent of all the W-2s in the wage report. Prior to the current policy, the SSA was issuing “no-match” letters to all employers whose wage reports contained one or more no-match record. The change in policy has resulted in fewer “no-match” letters being sent to employers. In 2003, when the current policy was first implemented, SSA issued 125,00 no-match letters to employers, 770,00 less than in 2002.
No Match Is No Problem If You Know What To Do (pdf).
Many employers who receive a “no match” or “mismatch” letter from the Social Security
Administration (“SSA”) question what it means and how to respond. A “no match” letter
simply means that an employee’s name or social security number on a W-2 does not match
the SSA records. An employee’s mere appearance on a “no match” letter does not mean
the employee is not authorized to work in the United States. Indeed, there could be many
reasons for the “no match” that have nothing to do with an employee’s work status, such as
a name change, marriage, etc.
What Should You Do If You Get a Social Security Administration No Match Letter? [PDF File, p.8].
In 2002 the Social Security Administration (SSA) began issuing Social Security number (SSN) “no match” letters to all employers whose wage reports contain even one SSN or employee name that does not match their records.
RESPONDING TO THE SSA's "NO MATCH " LETTERS.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently changed its policy regarding issuance of letters to employers for employees whose social security numbers (SSNs) did not match the SSA's records when reported on W-2s.
