Homeland Security issues revised safe-harbor rules

Journal of Property Management, Jan-Feb, 2008

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its final rule on safe-harbor procedures for employers who receive a no-match letter, which is a correspondence that an employer receives from the Social Security Administration (SSA) stating that the SSA is unable to match the name and social security number (SSN) provided for a specific employee. IREM submitted comments to DHS regarding the proposed rule last summer.

The revised regulations advise employers to take the following steps after receiving a no-match letter:

1. Check employee records to determine if there was a discrepancy. If so, correct the records and contact the appropriate agency. If not, then contact the employee.

2. Ask the employee to confirm the records are correct. If the employee finds an error, the employer should correct it and contact the appropriate agency. If the employee confirms they are correct then the employer should ask the employee to contact the local SSA office.

3. If the discrepancy referred to in the letter is not resolved, and the employee's identity and authorization cannot be verified, then the employer must choose between terminating the employee or risk violation. The DHS may find the employer had constructive knowledge that the employee was an unauthorized alien, and therefore broke the law by continuing to employ the alien.

Employers may verify a SSN with SSA by calling (800) 772-6270 on weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST. Or, they may visit www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnvadditional.htm.>

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