MADISON – Millions of U.S. Citizens and other legal workers could lose their jobs because of record errors and red tape at the Social Security Administration, according the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.  As small business owners, Wisconsin Restaurant Association members are concerned about being caught in the middle of this bureaucratic mess.

“It’s a farce to say that the new rules issued by the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) will send illegal immigrants streaming out of the country back to their homelands,” said Ed Lump, president and CEO of the restaurant group.  “In fact, a December 2006 report by the inspector general of the SSA says that there are 17.8 million records in the SSA database that contain errors which could result in no-match letters being issued about legal workers.”

Lump referred to new rules issued in August by the DHS, in conjunction with the SSA, that would require employers to fire employees whose names and social security numbers in the SSA database didn’t match up.  An employer would have 90 days after receiving the “no match letter” from the SSA to correct the error and demonstrate the employee is legal, or would have to fire the employee. 

“Getting the error corrected in 90 days is not always possible when you’re dealing with the federal bureaucracy,” said Lump, “just look at the Fond du Lac case reported last Thursday.  Our members from the Fond du Lac area are concerned about how they’re supposed to deal with the no match letters if the SSA won’t answer the phone.”

An article in the Fond du Lac Reporter recently indicated that their reporter could not get through to the local SSA office by phone. This was due to an automated message answering all incoming calls to the SSA office saying that “all phone lines… are busy.”  When the reporter went to the office in person and found three SSA staff members in the office, they placed another call from the office lobby.  Even though none of the three SSA staff were on the phone, the same automated message said all lines were busy.

With estimates of the number of illegal workers in the U.S. ranging from10 million to 12 million and erroneous SSA records estimated at 17.8 million, this means that millions of legal workers, including U.S. citizens, are likely to be “caught” by the new system and potentially fired by their employers in order to comply with the new rules.

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Since 1933, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association has been dedicated to the promotion, protection and improvement of the foodservice industry.  The Wisconsin Restaurant Education Foundation’s mission is to promote food service as a professional career path; attract and educate future industry leaders; and provide quality training for those already working in the industry.