IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

Social Security Administration "No-Match" Letter Toolkit  (3rd Edition)

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   The purpose of this toolkit is to provide updated resources to organizers, advocates, and workers as they respond to SSA "no-match" letters and as they launch campaigns across the country to combat misuse of the SSA no-match program and respond to the Dept. of Homeland Security rule published on Aug. 15, 2007.
   Our thanks to the following organizations for contributing to the first and second editions of the toolkit:  The Chicago Workers' Collaborative; SEIU Los Angeles Nursing Home Dignity Campaign; and Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.  Our thanks also to the AFL-CIO, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, UNITE HERE! Local 2850, and UNITE HERE! Local 1.
 


Materials for Advocates, Organizers, and Workers

 

Facts about the Internal Revenue Service "no-match" letter are available in this fact sheet.

 

Facts About the Social Security "No-Match" Letter (2-pager) (rev. 10/09)

 

Antidiscrimination Guidance for Employers Following the Dept. of Homeland Security's Safe-Harbor Procedures (Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, 73 FR 63993-94 (Oct. 28, 2008), below.)

 

Why DHS’s Supplemental Rule Regarding Social Security “No-Match” Letters is Bad for Workers, Employers, and the Economy (see below)

 

Why the Social Security Administration Should Terminate Its Employer "No-Match" Letter Program  (10/09)

 

Litigation/Injunction: 
The "Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter" rule was rescinded via a rule published in the Federal Register on Oct. 7, 2009 (see below).

 

For Workers in a Union

 

For Workers Without a Union


Dept. of Homeland Security Rule: "Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter" [more info]

  2009 | Final Rule Rescinding the "Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter" Rule
  2009 | Proposed Rule Rescinding the "Safe-Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter" Rule
  • Proposed Rule: "Safe Harbor Procedures for Employers Who Receive a No-Match Letter: Rescission," 74 FR 41801-05 (Aug. 19, 2009).  "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulations by rescinding the amendments promulgated on August 15, 2007, and October 28, 2008, relating to procedures that employers may take to acquire a safe harbor from receipt of no-match letters." 74 FR at 41801.  For COMMENTS on the proposed rule to be considered, they must be submitted no later than SEPT. 18, 2009.

  2008 | Supplemental Final Rule (published Oct. 28, 2008)

Background Materials

 

Social Security Fact Sheet: Release of Tax Year 2007 DECOR Letters.  SSA is sending DECOR letters only to workers (see "DECOR employee letter," below), and will not send tax year 2007 EDCOR letters "before the litigation [see above] is settled."

 

Actual copies of "no-match" letters.  There are three types of letters sent by SSA, and one U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "insert letter."

  • DECOR employee letter, or "Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance: Request for Employee Information" (SSA letter sent directly to workers)

  • DECOR employer letter, or "Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance: Request for Employer Information" (SSA letter sent to employers about individual workers) 

  • *EDCOR letter, or "Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance: Employer Correction Request" (SSA letter sent to an employer about a group of workers)

  • *U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) "Insert Letter" (ICE letter included with the EDCOR letter sent by SSA (see above))

*On Aug. 31, 2007, a federal district court issued a temporary order barring the government from sending out the EDCOR and ICE insert letters.  See "Court Halts Government from Implementing Flawed Social Security No-Match Rule." 


Employer Education Materials

 

FORTHCOMING  For Employers: Myths and Facts about the New Department of Homeland Security “No-Match” Rule.  Dispels common myths about the new rule.

 

Potential Liability Employers Face if They Take Adverse Action against Employees Based Solely on a No-Match Letter.  Outlines the current areas of law under which an employer could be found liable if it takes adverse action against workers based solely on a no-match letter.  (5/08; posted 6/30/08)

 

Social Security Administration "No-Match" Letters: Top 10 Tips for Employers (National Employment Law Project, Nov. 2007)

 

"Look at the Facts Not at the Faces: Your Guide to Fair Employment" (Office of Special Council for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices)


Legal Resources

 

FORTHCOMING  Federal Employment Discrimination Laws.  Chart on the Immigration and Nationality Act, Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the Family Medical and Leave Act (3 pages).

 

FORTHCOMING  Checklist for Attorneys Representing Immigrant Workers.  Co-authored with the AFL-CIO.

Additional Resources on No-Match

 

Potential Economic Impacts in Oregon of Implementing Proposed Department of Homeland Security “No Match” Immigration Rules (2008)

 

SSA’s No-Match Program: Implications for Immigration Enforcement and Workers’ Rights (2003).  Summary of a study on no-match conducted by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and NILC.

   

FIND AN ADVOCATE!

To find an advocate in your area, or for additional information on no-match issues, please contact: 

  • Nora Preciado, NILC employment policy attorney, 213-639-3900 ext. 123 

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

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