Illegals and Social Security Card

I had a potential employee apply for a position in our millwork department. Before we hire, we do a background check that also verifies SS#. The SS# was invalid. I have already left a mssge for him stating he needed to get in touch w/ the SS Administration as there seem to be a problem with his number. Am I as an employer liable to do anything else knowing that he is an illegal? Thanks!

Comments

  • 4 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-19-04 AT 03:36PM (CST)[/font][br][br]First of all, you haven't hired him, right? You have an obligation not to hire if you have reasonable knowledge that he's an illegal alien.

    You probably should give him the chance to correct the error, if it's something like a transposed number. Remember that it's also illegal to discriminate on the basis of national origin.

    Frequently you'll find that when you confront the applicant about the SSN discrepancy, you just won't see the applicant again.

    But you don't have any obligation to turn him in to the authorities, if that's what you're asking.

    Edit - we've got a bunch of articles on this in the subscribers area. Go to the HR Answer Engine and search for social security mismatch. You might want to expand your search to all states.

    Brad Forrister
    VP/Content
    M. Lee Smith Publishers


  • I don't see a problem as long as you are verifying SS# for all applicants. If your doing it for hispanics only, you have a problem.
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-19-04 AT 04:37PM (CST)[/font][br][br]HRWOMAN: Welcome to the forum;




    I jumped the gun and should have read further. Just do not call the person an illegal alien. The Social Security mismatch is capable of identifying a person with a date of birth error, a gender error, simply a name spelling error, or a number sequence error. Depending on where you are located you could call the immigration folks to let them know of your suspicions, but unless you are located in a border town noone will do anything with the information.

    PORK
  • Thanks all. We do background checks on everyone so we are not in danger of being discriminatory. I called and left a message for him stating to contact the SS Administration as there seems to be a problem and then to contact me after the problem had been handled. I haven't heard from him and figured I probably wouldn't. Again, thanks for the info!!
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