Within the next week, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to issue final regulations that will toughen its enforcement of employment eligibility verification requirements. These new regulations will require employers to terminate workers who rely on false social security numbers in order to establish their right to work in the U.S., and will crack down on employers who fail to do so.
What Are "No-Match" Letters?
Employers are currently required to verify that their workers are lawfully present in the U.S. and authorized to work. The new regulations will affect employers who receive so-called "no-match" letters -- notices issued by the Social Security Administration stating that an employee's listed Social Security number comes up under a different name in government databases. Nearly 140,000 no-match letters will be sent to U.S. employers this year.
What will the new regulations require of employers?
The regulations are expected to impose stricter obligations on employers when a records mismatch is detected and reported back. Workers identified through the no-match process will have to produce birth certificates or other official records within a specific timeframe to confirm their identities. Employers will be required to work with the Social Security Administration to either confirm the existence of a clerical error or prove that they terminated any employee who cannot establish proof of identity.
Employers that fail to comply with employment eligibility verification requirements would face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. The Department's enforcement efforts are expected to increase in conjunction with issuance of the new regulations.