In August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new rule describing the steps an employer must take to verify an employee’s Social Security number (SSN) when it receives a “no-match” letter from the DHS or the Social Security Administration. Under the rule, employers would be required to fire employees—or face government legal action—if the SSN mismatch could not be resolved within three months. The rule was slated to go into effect on Sept. 14, 2007.
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The AFL-CIO and the American Civil Liberties Union quickly filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, asking for a restraining order prohibiting the government from implementing the new rule. They argued that U.S. immigration laws don’t allow the government to require additional verification after hiring, beyond the routine I-9 Form process. The judge granted a temporary restraining order until Oct. 1, 2007. And as that deadline was set to expire this past Monday, the order was extended by 10 days, to give the court time to consider whether an injunction against the rule is warranted. At the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer suggested his inclination to find that the new regulation isn’t authorized by law.
We’ll keep you posted.
Additional Resources:
Immigration: Strict New Rule for Handling No-Match Letters, from the October issue of CEA (Start your guest access and get this now)
Department of Homeland Security Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter