WASHINGTON The Social Security Administration, which is under a court order not to threaten employers with new sanctions related to discrepancies in workers’ SSA account information, may resume sending advisory “no-match” notices of such records errors next spring, said Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the SSA.
The SSA's decision not to send any legally allowed advisory no-match letters this year was applauded by foodservice industry organizations.
Scott Vinson, vice president of the National Council of Chain Restaurants, called the reported decision "good news."
Sue Hensley, senior vice president of marketing, communications and media relations for the National Restaurant Association, agreed that the SSA's decision would be "a relief to many employers."
Such relief apparently would be felt even though the revised letters wouldn't carry the risk of fines as high as $10,000 per infraction for employers who don't fire workers who are unable to resolve SSA account discrepancies within 90 days of a notification, as the court-blocked letters would have done.
Starting Sept. 14, the Bush administration had planned to send those no-match letters carrying potential criminal liability to employers of as many as 8 million estimated illegal workers, many of whom presumably would have used fraudulent Social Security documents to obtain work.
Under new Department of Homeland Security rules, the letters would have been considered evidence that an employer had "constructive knowledge" that an immigration violation was occurring.
However, a federal court in San Francisco blocked the new no-match program from being implemented, initially in a temporary restraining order issued Aug. 31 and then with a preliminary injunction granted Oct. 10 to a labor coalition that sued Homeland Security and the SSA.
Homeland Security said it would challenge the ruling or attempt to gain authority to implement a revised no-match rule.
The court held that 90 days was not enough time for discrepancy resolution and said evidence that the SSA database was error-ridden made implementation of the sanctions wrong in any case and might cause employers to fire legally employed workers.
Though the SSA was prohibited from sending any threatening no-match letters, it still retained the authority to issue its standard letters asking employers to help correct discrepancies in SSA account names or numbers.
However, the SSA spokesman said there was not enough time left this year to rewrite and send out the letters seeking employers' assistance.
The SSA, which could not be reached for comment at press time, has been issuing advisory no-match letters since 1994. Last year the agency sent 138,000 such letters. It intended to send 140,000 of the now-blocked penalty-backed letters this year to employers who have 10 or more employees with name or number discrepancies.