From the New York Times:
The Trump administration is notifying tens of thousands of employers that the names of some of their employees do not match their Social Security numbers, a move that is forcing businesses across the country to brace for the loss of thousands of workers who lack legal status.
The Social Security Administration has mailed “no-match letters” to more than 570,000 employers since March, sending shock waves through the hospitality, construction and agriculture industries, which rely heavily on undocumented workers. The letters have left many employers conflicted, uncertain whether to take action that could result in losing workers or to risk fines down the road. ...
“There is a high level of anxiety over these no-match letters,’’ said Angelo Amador, regulatory counsel at the National Restaurant Association, which represents about one million food-service establishments. He said the association has been barraged with emails and phone calls from concerned companies. ...
The government officially suspended the use of no-match letters in 2012, although the practice had actually been discontinued years earlier, after the government faced litigation. The resumption appears to be a response to the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order signed by President Trump to protect American workers and reduce illegal immigration. ...
Mark Hinkle, the Social Security Administration’s acting press secretary, did not respond to a question about whether the administration was sharing its data with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ...
13 comments:
See section B.2.c of the following
https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0203313095
Educational and decentralized correspondence letters
DHS has responsibility for making determinations regarding an employee’s legal status. We do not disclose information regarding our W-2 suspense file or any information concerning whether a particular employer would have received, did receive, or was qualified to receive, an Educational Correspondence (EDCOR) letter or a Decentralized Correspondence (DECOR) letter identifying employees whose names and SSNs may not match our records. For general questions relating to EDCOR, consult the Business Services Branch (BSB) in the Office of Central Operations (OCO) at the phone number provided in the EDCOR letters, 1-800-772-6270 (TTY 1-800 325-0778). DECOR letters are currently suspended. For additional information on these letters, see RM 01105.027 - Educational Correspondence (EDCOR) and Decentralized Correspondence (DECOR) Letters Mailed when Names and SSNs Do Not Match Our Records.
@6:25
On one hand, if the employee has stolen someone's identity, SSA clearly has an interest in terminating benefits, but I'm unclear what business it is of the employer. SSA's goal of reducing fraud could just as easily be accomplished by notifying the recipient first and requesting they provide additional documentation to SSA. If the employee chooses not to respond, suspend benefits until they do. If SSA intends to seek an overpayment, then contact the employer as at that point the employee at least has had the chance to respond. On the other hand, if it is a just a typographical error, these sort of notices disclose to the employer their employee is on public benefits. Depending on the employer, that could be a problem.
8:50 AM. WTF???? The only thing that makes any sense is that you have no idea what you are talking about . The No Match letters mean that the name the employee is using is not the same as the number they are using . While it is "possible" to be an error, the vast majority are either illegal aliens (most) or someone working under the table (much rarer). The people who are receiving benefits that someone else is illegally using their numbers could be victims by having their benefits stopped. This could also affect people with their tax returns.
The entire reason for this letters is to let employers know their is an issue. However, most of these people are "known" to be illegals by their employers.
You have no clue on what you are talking about. These people are not collecting benefits. They are using someone else's SSN because the either can't get one or they are ill legal aliens. Of course it matters whether businesses are following the law. The real reason businesses do this is so they can pay lower wages
@1:42
Can you point out what you take issue with in regard to my comment?
I'll spell it out:
Option 1 (Current System): SSA contacts employer first.
Result 1: It was an error, and SSA just disclosed personal information to an employer which is a violation of the employee's privacy.
Result 2: It was not an error, and SSA just disclosed some stranger's personal information to the employer. While not particularly intrusive given there isn't a relationship between the stranger and the employer, there are better alternatives (see option 2).
Option 2 (Alternative System): SSA contacts the employee first.
Result 1: It was an error, but no personal information is disclosed to the employer.
Result 2: It is fraud, no personal information is disclosed to the employer. It is disclosed to the identity thief, but they already had that.
How is option 2 objectively not a better solution? You also mentioned the people's whose identity was stolen could be victims by having their benefits stopped, I agree. Not sure your point there. I never suggested SSA shouldn't investigate these discrepancies, I said they should contact the employee first.
As to the vast majority of those impacted being illegal aliens, that could be true, I'll even say that's probably true. Not sure why that matters though. Option 2 is still better. Option 1 can result in disclosure of personal information, option 2 cannot.
Also, you mentioned in some cases this will help in regard to people being paid under the table. No, that's absolutely not true. If you are being paid under the table, by definition you aren't reporting taxable earnings to SSA, meaning there won't be a discrepancy.
@4:08
Or the payroll department misspelt the employees' name, transposed two figures in an SSN, or any number of other minor errors that could now result in a violation of your privacy. I never said it doesn't matter whether businesses are following the law. As to "these people are not collecting benefits," I meant that in the event benefits were also being paid on the employee's SSN. If the employee is not receiving benefits, I actually am uncertain what interest even SSA has in investigating it. In that situation, all the identity thief is doing is poring money into a system they cannot ever collect from.
"Under the Table," means UNREPORTED wages, ususlly paid in cash. What I am referring to is using a fake name/number when receiving benefits . I am sure this is really rare. Make no mistake... The vast majority if these are clearly illegals.
Back to your point of contacting the employee. Only makes sense IF it is an error. As for giving "personal information" to an employer... People do that when they apply for the job. So, if it is an error or fraud, contacting the employer makes total sense. Make no mistake... Illegals using fake names/numbers is fraud. The letters are sent to "fix" the issue. Obama didn't want them sent because he didn't want to "fix" the problem.
Wow. I have to admit the Times article is pretty clear about this but a previous commenter seems obsessed with a privacy violation that doesn't exist.
These letters have nothing to do with benefits being paid (but are intended to ensure future benefits that are paid are paid in the right amount to the right person by making sure what is reported on an SSN actually belongs to the person who "owns" the SSN.) It's true that a person getting benefits could have wages reported to their account that they didn't earn because of an employer error or an employee misusing the SSN of another, but fixing it is the same - fixing the error introduced by employer mistake or employee "mistake".
These letters have to do with SSA pointing out to employers their obligation to report wages correctly for their employees. SSA is telling the employer that there is a discrepancy between SSA's records and what the employer is reporting on it's wage reports and is advising the employer it should clear things up.
So yes, if someone is "stealing" an identity (and all they may be doing is using someone else's SSN as their own, not pretending to be the "real owner" of the SSN) the employer has to be told in order to make a good faith effort to identify what is going on so the wages earned by the worker get reported to the right account. Remember, these W-2s with possible errors affect income taxes in the present and SSA benefits at some point down the road and both need to be reported correctly. So there is an obligation on the employer to ensure the data is correct or corrected if in error. See https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15#en_US_2019_publink1000202306 which is from the IRS Pub 15.
Now as to personal information? The letter says that the SSN that the employer provided to SSA doesn't match with the records SSA maintains (is that part any clearer now - the employer sent the report in that SSA is responding to so the data is data the employer already knows - no privacy violation). The employer already knows the name, address and SSN of the employee they sent the W-2 in for. So how is SSA asking them to check the employees data revealing anything not already known or violating privacy?
One can argue over the side effects of these letters on employers and employees but those impacts are unavoidable when the SSA system depends on accuracy from the employer to calculate future benefits. Just because someone used my SSN to report and thereby increase my wages by $30,000 doesn't mean I get to use that money to calculate my benefits.
It's not a hard concept.
At least the illegals are working.
@11:11
Thank you for responding.
I'm not suggesting illegal aliens using fake names/numbers is not fraud. That's obvious. Again, I agree a great many of these cases are probably illegal aliens using stolen SSNs. I only hesitate to say the majority are, since I have seen no data to support that claim. I imagine the vast majority of illegal aliens who are working are in fact, not reporting earnings as they are working under the table meaning there will not actually be any discrepancies detected, because again they are not reporting anything to SSA. Regardless, I agree that the point of the no match letters being reintroduced is to address illegal aliens using other individuals' SSNs.
I think I figured out where I was getting lost. Obviously the employee has the personal information, regardless of whether it is fraud or error. The employer does as well, however, given the employee reported that information to them. So in either case, the employer has the information. I had the erroneous belief that some additional information was being disclosed by SSA to the employer through the no match letters. That does not appear to be the case, so there is no additional potential harm to contacting the employer versus contacting the employee. If there was additional information, regardless of fraud or error, that would be a violation of privacy of the numberholder.
In regard to using a fake name/number when receiving benefits, I agree that is probably pretty rare. It also wouldn't be detected through the no match letters, it would be detected through other means. As soon as the actual numberholder reported earnings, or applied for some form of benefits, it would look like either the numberholder who was receiving benefits had returned to work, or the numberholder who was applying for benefits was also continuing to work, a pretty massive red flag to SSA, which would trigger notices being sent to the numberholder. As the fraudster doesn't have control over the numberholder, that would be a pretty dumb situation to place themselves in.
Feel like this a much better idea than some B.S. wall. I really do not blame someone trying to make a living.
But I do blame the employers who take advantage of this cheap labor. Out here in California, I see it all the time especially in the agricultural industry. They treat their employees horribly. The actress Eva Longoria, believe it or not, has highlighted this well.
And Heaven forbid they get injured on the job. Their employers nickel and dime them for workers comp (Yes you can get California workers comp even if working illegally).
It is kind of like the illegal drug industry. Most of the illegal drugs are produced outside the U.S. but consumed inside it. It is a 2-way problem.
Eliminating employers employing illegals will discourage those coming here for a better life.
Actually receiving benefits using a fake SSN would be well nigh impossible. Part of the application process is essentially ensuring that the person before you is the person who belongs to the SSN. One looks at wages and at proofs (birth certificate, marriage cert etc) so going to be a sophisticated fake to get past all that. Impersonating someone would also be hard to accomplish, given the need for proofs.
E-Verify exists to stop this at the front end. It is illegal to knowingly hire an illegal, but usually the employer doesn't suffer much if at all. It is also an administrative nightmare to try and correct earnings years after the fact, so having employers address discrepancies, regardless of cause, helps keep the suspense file smaller.
Yes, it is against the law to hire ill legal aliens but businesses to it all the time. The way to stop it is to take away their business license if they continue to flaunt the law.
@718 SSA just tells the employer that the name/SSN don't match. They don't tell the employer the name and number that go with the SSN being used. Wrong SSN, try again with perhaps corrected name/SSN.
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