Illegal Immigrants In The Workplace

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has imposed tough new rules to crack down on businesses that employ illegal immigrants. The DHS will allow employers 30 days to respond to a notice of a discrepancy regarding an employee's legal working status, otherwise known as a “no-match” letter.

When an employer sends an employee's W-2 form to the Social Security Administration (SSA), the employee's name and Social Security number are checked against the SSA records. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also verify the accuracy of information on the I-9 forms. If either or both the SSA or ICE cannot verify the employee’s

information, a “no-match” letter is sent to the employer, indicating that the employee's name or Social Security number did not match government records. The employer then has 30 days to correct any errors.

If you, as an employer, receive a “no-match” letter, it is important that you do not disregard the letter. The letter is an official notification of a problem that could have significant legal consequences for you and your employee. If you disregard the letter and it is determined that the employee was not authorized to work, the DHS could find that you have violated the law by knowingly continuing to employ unauthorized persons, which could lead to civil and criminal sanctions.

Instead, you should take reasonable steps to resolve the discrepancy. It is possible that a mismatch was the result of a clerical error on the part of the employee, the employer, or the government. As such, you should not take immediate action against the employee.

A “no-match” letter is only an indication that the employee's information did not match government records, and it does not necessarily mean an that the employee is ineligible to work in the United States. You must allow the employee an additional 93 days to confirm that the information provided on the I-9 forms and W-2 form is correct. However, if the discrepancy cannot be explained, the employee must be terminated.

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