WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT), and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) sent a letter to Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Andrew M. Saul stating their opposition to SSA’s resumption of sending “no-match" letters. Specifically, the members cite their concerns that the letters may lead to the firing of U.S. citizens and work-authorized immigrants, that they may result in the unauthorized sharing of tax data, and that they are a poor use of SSA’s scarce resources.
SSA started sending these no-match letters (also known as Educational Correspondence (EDCOR) and Employer Correction Request letters) earlier this year to employers who have a W-2 employee name or Social Security number that does not match SSA’s records. This discrepancy may occur for a variety of reasons, including typographical errors, misspellings of complex names, name changes due to marriage or divorce, or with respect to undocumented workers.
SSA had not sent these letters for years because they have been shown to be wholly ineffective in correcting wage records and not a cost-effective use of the agency’s limited resources. Moreover, SSA is prohibited by law from using its funds for any purpose other than administering Social Security, such as immigration enforcement.
“Although the letters explicitly state that workers should not be terminated based on these letters, many employers are confused about their responsibilities and potential liabilities," Neal, Larson, and Lewis wrote. “Especially in the current immigration enforcement climate, employers may mistakenly believe that the no-match letter indicates that workers lack immigration status and will fire these workers - even those who can legally work in the United States. Many workers and employers also are deeply concerned about the potential for SSA’s data relating to no-match letters to be shared with other agencies and used to target immigration enforcement activities, despite the statutory protections under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, which prohibits such sharing of no-match data."
The members urged SSA to stop sending no-match letters immediately, and instead to use its funding to improve the agency’s services and outreach to beneficiaries. Additionally, Neal, Larson, and Lewis requested that within two weeks, SSA provide responses to a series of questions regarding the agency’s rationale for its policy change, the number of no-match letters sent, the cost of sending the letters, the agency’s prior use of the letters, and SSA’s data-sharing practices with other agencies.
