"No-Match" Rules Blocked

New "No-Match" Rules Blocked

Court Prevents Implementation of Burdensome New Rules

(Washington, D.C., October 15, 2007) - Recent rules issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would require employers to take certain actions upon receipt of Social Security "no-match" letters have been blocked by a U.S. District court. The government is expected to appeal the decision. Under the ruling, employers will not be required to take new extraordinary actions or be subject to severe penalties unless the ruling is overturned in the future.

The ruling was based on a lawsuit brought by the AFL-CIO and the Essential Workers Immigration Coalition (EWIC), of which AH&LA is a member. The lawsuit alleges that DHS exceeded its authority to enforce immigration laws and was misusing a Social Security database in a way that could lead to workplace discrimination against countless law-abiding workers. In addition, the lawsuit contends that the rules did not comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act because the government failed to complete an economic impact assessment when a new government rule is likely to impose significant costs on businesses with fewer than 500 workers.

The new rules that were blocked would have implemented significant changes, including mandatory procedures employers would have to follow after receiving Social Security "no-match" letters and penalties if they failed to do so. DHS sought to require employers to take certain actions upon receipt of a "no-match" letter. Under the blocked rule, if the employer did not take these actions, or if the employee continued to work without correcting the discrepancies, the employer may have been considered as having knowledge of employing someone not authorized to work in the United States and be subject to prosecution.

The Social Security Administration has long emphasized that a "no-match" letter "does not imply that you or the employee intentionally provided incorrect information. These letters do not make any statement about an employee's immigration status and are not a basis, in and of themselves, for taking any adverse action against an employee."

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has information relating to this issue at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/finalsafe.pdf.

A summary of the blocked initiative can be found on the White House Website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html.

For more information, contact AH&LA Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Shawn McBurney at (202) 289-3123 or smcburney@ahla.com.