November 16, 2007

SSA's No-Match Letters Not Expected to be Sent Until 2008

As an update to Greenberg Traurig’s News Flash of October 10, 2007 [link to prior news flash], the Social Security Administration (SSA) stated that it would not be sending no-match letters to employers during 2007. It is likely that the SSA will not issue no-match letters to employers until spring of 2008. However, the SSA has sent personal notices to employees this spring as part of their efforts to correct data, and in some instances employers may have received a no-match letter where the letter was returned to the SSA as non-deliverable to an employee.

This year will be the first year the SSA does not send out no-match letters to employers since it implemented the issuance of no-match letters in 1994. The non-issuance of no-match letters to employers this year is predicated on the pending lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final no-match rule and the preliminary injunction barring the SSA from sending out no-match letters containing language threatening employers who do not comply with the no-match letters with criminal and civil liability. The DHS's final no-match rule, if it takes effect, will require employers to resolve the discrepancy between the employee’s name and social security number within 93 days of receiving SSA’s no-match letter, or otherwise terminate the employee. As a result of this preliminary injunction, successfully obtained with the assistance of Greenberg Traurig who represented several business plaintiffs [link to November 2007 GT Article written by Montserrat Miller on Regulatory Flexibility Act], the SSA would currently be required to remove the DHS no-match rule language prior to sending out the letters.

Greenberg Traurig will continue to monitor this lawsuit and provide timely updates.