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.
