ICE No-Match Letters
What is a "no-match letter"?
A Social Security "no-match letters" is a notice sent by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to employers and employees to when an employee name or Social Security number listed on the employee's W-2 does not match SSA records. The letter serves to notify employers and employees of the discrepancy, and to advise the employees that they are not receiving proper credit for their earnings, which can affect future retirement or disability benefits administered by the SSA.
A Social Security "no-match letter" is NOT a notice of wrongdoing.
A mismatch does not imply that the employer or the employee intentionally provided incorrect information. There are many ordinary reasons why a no-match discrepancy may occur:
- Misspelled names,
- Transposed numbers,
- Unreported name changes, and
- Employer or Governmental Clerical errors, to name a few.
The no-match letter does not entitle an employer to take any punitive action against the employee.
No-match letters do not come from the IRS. They are not issued from the Federal Immigration Service and, again, are not in any way a statement about the employee's immigration status. A mismatch does not make any statement about an employee's immigration status and is not a basis, in and of itself, for taking any adverse action against an employee. Doing so could subject you to anti-discrimination or labor law sanctions. In fact the no-match letter itself specifically states that employers should not take any adverse action against an employee based on the no-match letter.
Employers need not — and should not — terminate or otherwise discriminate against employees on the basis of a no-match letter.
Employers have 30 days from receipt of a no-match letter to verify that the discrepancy was not due to a recordkeeping error by the employer. If an error is found, the employer must (1) correct its records, (2) inform the SSA of the correction, (3) verify that the information in the employer's file matches that in the SSA records, and (4) document the manner, date and time of the verification. Please give the employee an opportunity to work with SSA to clear up the matter. The employee can bring evidence from SSA that they've applied for a correction in their Social Security Card to correct their records. The letter received from SSA will dictate how long you have to correct the problem. If in doubt, please call HRI.
Ignoring No-Match letters leaves employers criminally liable.
An
employer's failure to respond properly to no-match letters can be construed
as constructive knowledge of hiring undocumented workers. This can be used
as evidence in civil and criminal actions brought by DHS, exposing employers
to sanctions and fines and even imprisonment, not to mention attorney's fees.
Criminal penalties for possession of fraudulent immigration documentation
carry a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000
fine. Under the "RICO" act, ICE worksite investigations
now support felony charges and employers have been charged with felonies
such as conspiracy to transport and harbor unlawful aliens for financial
HRI has prepared a No-Match Response Kit, which will be sent to each of our HR Shield clients.
It will include
all the forms and information employers need to gain Safe Harbor
by helping them properly respond to governing agencies and employees
when a No-Match letter is received. If you are not an HRI client,
you can order one from our No-Match
Letters page.
If you have any questions about No-Match letters, or other compliance
concerns, please give us a call at 925.556.4404. HRI can provide
the tools, solutions, and on-site assistance you need to keep your
business focused and profitable.
