Source: https://oig.ssa.gov/sites/default/files/audit/full/html/A-03-06-26106.html
Timestamp: 2017-05-23 08:58:56
Document Index: 354891575

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 205', '§ 405', '§ 552', '§ 6103', '§ 1324', '§ 1324', '§ 1324']

A-03-05-25127 - Alternate Format
Employer Feedback on the
Social Security Administration’s Verification Programs
December, 2006 Mission
Conduct and supervise independent and objective audits and investigations
relating to agency programs and operations.
and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in agency programs and operations.
Keep the agency
head and the Congress fully and currently informed of problems in agency
By conducting independent and objective audits, investigations, and evaluations, we are agents of positive change striving for continuous improvement in the Social Security Administration's programs, operations, and management and in our own office. December 14, 2006
I am pleased to provide you with the enclosed report addressing your April
7, 2006 letter, requesting information related to the employee verification
programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). This report contains information related
to the experience of employers who have used the Social Security Number Verification
Service and the Basic Pilot program.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. My office is committed
to combating fraud, waste, and abuse in SSA’s operations and programs. To
ensure DHS is aware of the information provided to your office, we are forwarding
a copy of this report to the Inspector General for DHS. If you have any questions or would like to be briefed on this issue, please
call me or have your staff contact H. Douglas Cunningham, Assistant Inspector
General for Congressional and Intra-Governmental Liaison, at (202) 358-6319.
cc: Jo Anne B. Barnhart
OBJECTIVE Our objective is to assess employers’ satisfaction with the Social Security
Administration’s (SSA) verification programs.
BACKGROUND To assist employers with accurate wage reporting, in
June 2005 SSA implemented the Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS),
which is an on-line program that allows employers to validate the names and
Social Security numbers (SSN) of employees. The
purpose of SSNVS is to ensure employees’ names and SSNs match SSA records
prior to the submission of their Wage and Tax Statements (Form W-2)
to SSA. After applying
to use SSNVS, employers can either verify up to 10 names and SSNs (per screen)
on-line and receive immediate results or upload batch files of up to 250,000
names and SSNs and usually receive results the next Government business day. SSNVS
allows employers to have multiple users registered to use the service on their
behalf. As of Calendar Year (CY) 2005, there were approximately 21,000
registered users of SSNVS representing about 19,600 employers. In CY
2005, SSNVS processed over 25.7 million verifications for about 12,000 employers. See
Appendix B for more information on SSNVS.
SSA also participates with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the
Basic Pilot program, a verification service that validates newly‑hired
employees’ employment-authorization. Participating employers register
on-line with DHS to use the automated system. The information the employer
submits to DHS is sent to SSA to verify that the SSN, name, and date of birth
(DoB) match SSA’s records. SSA also provides DHS with U.S. citizenship
information, as recorded in SSA records. When SSA records indicate U.S.
citizenship and the employee has alleged U.S. citizenship, employment authorization
is confirmed. DHS confirms the current employment-authorization for noncitizens. As
of Fiscal Year (FY) 2005, there were about 14,000 registered users of the Basic
Pilot representing about 8,000 employers. In FY 2005, the Basic Pilot
processed about 980,000 verifications for approximately 3,700 employers. See
Appendix C for more information on the Basic Pilot.
We interviewed program users at 100 employers—50 each from SSNVS and
the Basic Pilot—to assess their satisfaction with the 2 programs. We
concentrated on those employers that submitted a large volume of verification
requests during 2004 and 2005. The
100 employers were in industries such as temporary employment, service, food,
retail, and government. See
Tables 1 and 2 for a complete listing of the industries.
During CYs 2004 and 2005, the 50 sample SSNVS employers submitted verification
requests ranging from about 65,000 to 5.3 million. In
total, these employers submitted approximately 18.3 million of the 33 million
verification requests, or 55 percent, during the 2-year period. Of the
18.3 million verification requests, about 1.8 million items could not be verified,
and the employers received responses such as “SSN is not in file” or “Name
does Not Match.” Furthermore, the 50 employers had 1 to 12 users
registered to use SSNVS on their behalf. We attempted to interview the
registered user that submitted the largest volume of verification requests
at each of the 50 employers. Table 1: Verification Statistics for 50 Sample SSNVS Employers
(Calendar Years 2004 and 2005) Employer Industry Number
Total Verifications
Total Unverified
4,052,567
3,838,211
1,700,919
1,630,653
9,062,335
8,610,926
2,188,842
18,276,708
17,264,828 1,812,229 Note: Total Verifications do
not equal the sum of Total Verified Items and Total Unverified
Items since (a) death indicator responses are treated differently in the
batch process versus the online process (only the batch process treats a death
indicator as an unverified item) and (b) resubmissions are not included
in the Total Verifications but are included in the other two totals.
During FYs 2004 and 2005, the 50 sample Basic Pilot employers submitted verification
requests ranging from about 2,800 to 65,000. As shown in Table 2, these
employers submitted approximately 485,000 of the 1.7 million verification requests,
or 28 percent, during the 2-year period. Of
the 485,000 verification requests submitted by the 50 employers, SSA verified
384,000 individuals, or 79 percent, as authorized to work. SSA provided
tentative nonconfirmation responses for about 70,000 individuals, or 15 percent. For
these cases, the reported information did not match SSA records due to (1)
invalid SSNs, (2) unmatched names and/or DoBs, (3) dates of death on file,
or (4) citizenship status could not be confirmed. The remaining
31,000 items (6 percent) were referred to DHS for employment authorization. In
these remaining cases, the names and SSNs matched SSA records, but DHS had
to verify the noncitizens’ current work authorization. Further,
the 50 employers had more than one user registered under the Basic Pilot on
their behalf. We found the number of registered users ranged from 3 to
2,433. We attempted to
interview the registered user that submitted the largest volume of verification
requests at each of the 50 employers. Table 2: Verification Statistics for 50 Sample Basic
(Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005)
Employer Industry Number of Employers
Authorized Total SSA Tentative
Non-Confirmation Responses
Total Referred to
DHS Temporary employment
Note: SSA
Tentative Nonconfirmation Responses relate to SSA data only. If
an SSA Tentative Nonconfirmation Response is later resolved by the
employee and the work authorization is still in question, the employee’s
information is referred to DHS for further verification. We provide
more information on the overall verification process in Appendix C. We
discussed the employers’ responses to SSA and DHS nonconfirmation
responses in the body of the report.
Overall, a majority of the SSNVS and Basic Pilot users we interviewed rated
their satisfaction with the programs as “Excellent,” “Very
Good,” or “Good.” In addition, many of the SSNVS employers
verified their entire payroll, which SSA encourages to ensure accurate wage
reporting. However, we found that approximately 42 percent of the Basic
Pilot users we interviewed were not using the program as intended. While
the Basic Pilot requires employers to verify the employment authorization of
newly-hired employees within 3 days after they are hired, some users indicated
their employers conducted the verifications before hiring individuals. Most
of the users in our review stated their employers took the appropriate actions
when they received unverified responses from SSNVS and nonconfirmation responses
from the Basic Pilot, such as notifying affected employees about unverified
results and terminating employees when they declined to contest tentative nonconfirmation
responses or received final nonconfirmation responses from the Basic Pilot. However,
a number of users reported problems in using each of the programs. Finally,
at least 40 percent of the users interviewed under each program indicated their
employers used multiple programs or services to verify the names and SSNs of
THE PROGRAM We found that 92 percent of the SSNVS users and 100 percent of the Basic Pilot
users interviewed rated the programs as “Excellent,” “Very
Good,” or “Good.” In addition, at least 98 percent
of the users from both programs indicated their employers were very likely
to continue using the programs. Social Security Number Verification Service Of the 50 SSNVS users we interviewed, about 92 percent (46 users) rated the
application, verification, and feedback phases of SSNVS as “Excellent,” “Very
Good,” or “Good.” The
users believed SSNVS was an effective and reliable tool for verifying employees’ names
and SSNs. For example, one user stated, “SSNVS was easy to use
and it met their needs.” The remaining 8 percent (4 users) rated
the application or verification phases of SSNVS as “Fair.” One
user representing an employer in the retail industry explained that SSNVS would
have been more beneficial to his company if it allowed batch submissions because
his company employed over 100,000 employees. This user appeared to be
unaware that SSNVS allowed employers to upload files containing up to 250,000
employee names and SSNs at a time for verification.
Furthermore, 49 of 50 users indicated they were very likely to continue using
SSNVS. Only the user who was unaware that SSNVS accepted batch files
indicated his employer might discontinue use of the program. We informed
this user that SSA accepted batch files and he stated he would investigate
the matter. Although a majority of the users were satisfied with SSNVS, a few users suggested
changes to the program. One user in the retail industry stated his company
would like to be informed when a transposed SSN is submitted for verification. According
to SSA staff, the Agency decided not to provide corrected SSNs through SSNVS
because of the concern with disclosing a valid name/SSN combination on-line.
Another user from a government agency commented that he would like to conduct
a mass correction of employee records related to unverified responses received
from SSNVS. The user explained his employer had received numerous unverified
responses that could not be timely resolved because the employees were located
overseas. Due to the location of the employees, they were not able to
seek SSA assistance in resolving the unverified responses. The
user stated it would be beneficial for his employer to meet with SSA officials
so they could develop a process to resolve these types of discrepancies. Basic Pilot Program
All 50 Basic Pilot users we interviewed rated the application, verification,
and feedback phases of the Basic Pilot as “Excellent,” “Very
Good,” or “Good.” One user commented the program was “great
and it met their needs.” While 98 percent (49 users) indicated
they would continue using the program, only 1 user indicated his company had
decided to stop using the Basic Pilot. The user could not explain why
the fast food restaurant had decided to discontinue using the Basic Pilot,
and we did not find any evidence that the employer was registered to use other
SSA verification programs or services. Furthermore, one user who had rated the Basic Pilot as “Excellent” indicated
that a potential weakness of the Basic Pilot is the failure to detect identity
fraud. The user noted that he did not always have assurance the individuals
who walked into his office were in fact the individuals issued the employment
authorization documents. The user suggested the Basic Pilot program provide
employers with additional information, such as prior employment history, to
assist employers in verifying that the person in front of them is actually
the numberholder and is authorized to work. SSNVS EMPLOYER VERIFication Practices We found 45 of the 50 SSNVS users we interviewed, or 90 percent, indicated
that their employers verified the names and SSNs of their entire payroll. About
two thirds of these users (30 users) stated their employers conducted the verifications
on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. SSA
encourages employers to run their entire payroll to improve overall wage reporting. Moreover,
by verifying the entire payroll, it allows SSA to properly credit employees'
earnings records, which will be important information in calculating their
future Social Security benefits. The remaining five users reported that
their employers used SSNVS to verify the names and SSNs of new or existing
employees, but not both. However, several of these employers used other
SSA programs or services for employer verification, as discussed later in the
report. USE OF THE BASIC PILOT PROGRAM
We learned that a significant number of the Basic Pilot employers in our sample
verified individuals outside the scope of the signed agreement between the
employer, SSA and DHS. The agreement requires that employers use the
program to verify the employment authorization of newly-hired employees within
3 days of being hired, but we found that 42 percent of users reported that
their employers conducted verifications before hiring individuals, and 30 percent
conducted verifications of existing employees. Potential Pre-Employment Screening of Individuals According to 21 of the 50 Basic Pilot users, or 42 percent, their employers
were conducting verifications before hiring individuals, which is a form of
pre-employment screening. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed
by employers, SSA and DHS when the employer agrees to participate in the Basic
Pilot program, prohibits employers from using the Basic Pilot as a pre-screening
tool. Specifically, it states, “the employer agrees not to use
the Basic Pilot procedures for pre-employment screening of job applicants” and “employers
are prohibited from initiating verification procedures before the employee
has been hired.” Seven users from the temporary employment industry
and one user from the food industry admitted their companies would not hire
individuals when their employment authorization could not be confirmed through
the Basic Pilot. A similar finding was reported in a January 2002 Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS) evaluation of the Basic Pilot program. The
report noted that some employers were using the Basic Pilot to pre-screen job
applicants. The report stated that 28 percent of individuals who had
received a tentative nonconfirmation from the Basic Pilot program did not receive
a job offer from the employers. Verification of Existing Employees
About 30 percent (15 users) of the Basic Pilot users we interviewed admitted
they had verified the employment authorization of existing employees. Users
in the temporary employment industry stated their companies’ policies
were to re-verify the employment authorizations of existing employees after
a certain period of time (6 months to 2 years). A user in the service
industry admitted his company verified the employment authorization of its
clients’ existing employees as part of background investigations. The
MOU prohibits employers from verifying the employment authorization of existing
employees. Specifically, it states that “the employers agree not
to use the Basic Pilot for re-verification or for employees hired before the
date of the MOU is in effect.“ We could not determine whether these employers misunderstood the Basic Pilot
requirements or just simply ignored the policy. DHS tried to address
employers’ confusion about the Basic Pilot requirements when they developed
a web-based tutorial. As employers register for the Basic Pilot, they
must review the tutorial to help them become familiar with the program’s
policies and procedures. However, to ensure compliance with the Basic
Pilot requirements, DHS would need to monitor employers’ use of the
program. If DHS determines
this practice of verifying pre-employment individuals or existing employees
should be allowable, DHS may need to seek legislative changes to include this
practice. UNVERIFIED RESPONSES
Many of the users we interviewed stated their employers took appropriate actions
from the Basic Pilot. We found 40 of the SSNVS users we interviewed,
or 80 percent, indicated they verified unmatched data with employees, compared
unmatched data with personnel records, or contacted SSA to resolve the unverified
responses as instructed by SSA. Additionally,
43 of the Basic Pilot users we interviewed, or 86 percent, asserted they notified
employees about tentative nonconfirmation responses or contacted SSA to resolve
tentative nonconfirmation responses. In
addition, the majority of the Basic Pilot users stated their employers terminated
employees if the employees decided not to contest tentative nonconfirmation
responses or if they received final nonconfirmation responses, as
is allowed by law. See
Appendix E for a full explanation of employer steps under each program.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH THE PROGRAMS About 14 percent of the SSNVS users and 10 percent of the Basic Pilot users
we interviewed reported they experienced minor problems using the two programs. In
most of these cases, the users reported that SSA and/or DHS staff were able
to resolve their problems. SSNVS users reported: (1) difficulties uploading response data into the company’s
system; (2) rejection of data files; and (3) erroneous expiration of passwords. For
example, an SSNVS user in the service industry stated that he had received
a message from SSNVS that his password would expire in 2 weeks, but in fact
the password expired within a couple days. The user notified SSA about
the problem and an SSA official informed him that this occurred because of
a system glitch. According to the user, SSA immediately provided him
with a new password and he was able to access the system.
Basic Pilot users reported: (1) periodic lack of access to the Basic Pilot
system; (2) password problems; and (3) lack of a timely system response from DHS. For
example, a user in the food processing industry stated that DHS had taken more
than 14 days to confirm the work authorization of an employee. The user
notified DHS about the delay and the issue was timely resolved. EMPLOYERS USING OTHER VERIFICATION SERVICES
Many of the users stated their employers used more than one type of program
or service to verify employee identity and/or employment authorization. Of
the 50 employers using SSNVS, 30 used SSNVS exclusively while the remaining
20 used 1 or more additional verification services (i.e. SSA’s EVS
for Registered Users, telephone or fax service, and/or third-party providers
for employee verification). For example, an SSNVS user at a temporary
employment agency located in Oklahoma indicated his company also used EVS for
Registered Users, the Basic Pilot, and SSA’s telephone service for employee
verification. Of the 50 employers using the Basic Pilot, 30 used
the Basic Pilot exclusively while the remaining 20 used 1 or more additional
verification services. The use of multiple verification services could
increase the number of employees subject to verification. Whereas the
Basic Pilot is limited to the verification of new hires, SSNVS is able to verify
all existing employees.
The vast majority of the users interviewed were very satisfied with the two
on-line verification programs. The users stated these two programs were
reliable and effective tools to verify employees’ identity and employment
authorization. Furthermore, 90 percent of the SSNVS users stated
their employers verified the entire company payroll, which should ensure improved
accuracy of reported wages. Nonetheless, we discovered that a significant
number of Basic Pilot employers may not have been using the program in accordance
with their agreements. If DHS determines this practice of verifying pre-employment
individuals or existing employees should be allowable, DHS may need to seek
legislative changes. In addition, most of the users indicated their employers
were taking the appropriate actions when they received feedback from either
program that an employee’s information could not be verified. Finally,
we learned that a considerable number of these employers were using multiple
programs to conduct employee verifications, which may increase the verification
APPENDIX B – Social Security Number Verification System
APPENDIC C – Basic Pilot Program
APPENDIX E – Employer Handling of Unverified Employees
Employer Identification File
EIN Employer Identification Number EVS
MEF Master Earnings File MOU
Nonwork Alien OIG Office of the Inspector General PIN
SSA Social Security Administration SSN Social Security Number SSNVS
Service U.S.C. United States Code
Forms I-766 and I-688B
Appendix B -- Social Security Number Verification Service
The Social Security Number Verification Service (SSNVS) is a free, on-line
program available to employers and third party submitters to verify employees’ names
and Social Security numbers (SSN). The purpose of SSNVS is to ensure
employees’ names and SSNs match the Social Security Administration’s
(SSA) records prior to the submission of their wage reports to SSA. Employers
and third parties must first register on-line at SSA’s Business Services
Online (BSO) website to use this service. Employers may allow multiple
users to register to use SSNVS on their behalf. Following registration,
SSA will mail an activation code directly
to the company’s address shown in SSA’s Employer Identification
File (EIF). Once the registered
employers activate SSNVS using their Personal Identification Number (PIN) and
the activation code, they can start submitting verifications. Registered
Submit up to 10 employee names and SSNs (per screen) via the on-line SSNVS
and receive immediate results; and Upload files containing up to 250,000 employee names and SSNs and usually
receive verification results the next Government business day. This
bulk procedure allows employers to verify an entire payroll database or verify
in one submission the names and SSNs of a large number of newly-hired workers. SSA will return a verification code to the employer for each employee whose
information does not match SSA’s records. In addition to the verification
code, SSA provides a death indicator if the employee’s Numident record
includes a date of death. Table
B-1 provides descriptions for the SSNVS verification codes. Table B-1: SSNVS Verification Codes Provided to Employers
Name and date of birth match; gender code does not
3 Name and gender code match; date of birth does not
Name matches; date of birth and gender code do not
Name does not match; date of birth and gender code
Appendix C -- Basic Pilot Program
The Basic Pilot is an ongoing joint initiative between the Social Security
Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The
purpose of the Basic Pilot is to assist employers in verifying the employment
eligibility of newly-hired employees. The President signed The Basic
Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003 (Public Law Number
108-156) into law on December 3, 2003. This law extended the operation
of the Basic Pilot for an additional 5 years (to a total of 11 years) and
expanded the operation to all 50 States not later than December 1, 2004.
Employers and third parties must register on-line to gain access to the
Basic Pilot program. In addition, they must complete and sign a Memorandum
of Understanding, which sets forth the points of agreement between SSA, DHS,
and the employer regarding the employer's participation in the Basic Pilot. Employers
and third parties may have multiple users registered to use the Basic Pilot
As discussed with SSA and DHS staff, the Basic Pilot involves using the
information in government databases (SSA databases and, if needed, DHS databases)
to determine the employment eligibility of new hires. The Social Security
number (SSN) and Alien Registration Number (“A” Number) or
I-94 Number (Admission Number) are
used for these checks. When verifying a new employee, the employer
must complete the DHS-issued Employment Eligibility Verification Form (Form
I-9) for each employee and then enter elements of this data into the Basic
Pilot within 3 days of hiring, including the employee’s SSN, name,
date of birth (DoB), and whether the new hire indicated he or she was a United
States (U.S.) citizen and, if not, the “A” Number or I‑94
The system first checks the information entered against SSA’s database
to verify the name, SSN, and DoB of newly-hired employees, regardless of
citizenship. When the
Numident shows the U.S. as the place of birth for the newly-hired employee
or a code indicating the number holder is a U.S. citizen and the new hire
indicated that he/she is a U.S. citizen, the Basic Pilot confirms employment
eligibility. If the Basic Pilot system cannot confirm employment eligibility
based on the information in SSA’s database or an “A” Number
or I-94 Number was entered, the Basic Pilot system checks the data against
DHS’ database.
The employer will receive notification of “SSA tentative nonconfirmation” of
in SSA’s database or if a death indicator is present. Also, employers
will receive an “SSA tentative nonconfirmation" if the new hire
indicated he or she was a U.S. citizen and SSA’s records did not show
that the person was a U.S. citizen. The employer will receive notification
of "DHS tentative nonconfirmation" of employment eligibility when
DHS’ database does not show the newly-hired noncitizen as authorized
for employment. In these cases, the employer asks the employee whether
he or she wishes to contest the tentative nonconfirmation. If contested,
the employee must contact SSA or DHS within 8 Government working days of
the notification. After the employee contacts SSA or DHS to correct
the query, the employer may terminate the new hire’s employment.
Basic Pilot Verification Statistics
The Basic Pilot processed approximately 1.7 million verification requests
during Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005. The figure below shows the results
of this verification process.
-- IMAGE OMITTED FROM THIS TEXT-ONLY VERSION -- Appendix D -- Scope and Methodology
To accomplish our objective, we: Reviewed pertinent sections of the Social Security Administration’s
(SSA) policies and procedures, as well as, other relevant Federal laws
Reviewed Office of the Inspector General, Government Accountability Office,
and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports, and other relevant documents. Established accounts with the Social Security Number Verification Service
(SSNVS) and the Basic Pilot program to gain an understanding of the registration
For SSNVS, we:
Obtained a list of registered employers as of May 2006;
Obtained employer feedback data;
Identified the number of registered employers using the service in Calendar
Years (CY) 2004 and 2005; and
Identified the number of verifications submitted in CYs 2004 and 2005.
For the Basic Pilot program, we: Obtained a list of registered employers as of July 2006;
Identified the number of registered employers using the service in Fiscal
Years (FY) 2004 and 2005; and
Identified the number of verifications submitted in FYs 2004 and 2005.
For both SSNVS and the Basic Pilot, we selected a sample of 50 employers
from each program to assess their satisfaction with the programs. We
requests during 2004 and 2005. We obtained the following for the 100 sample employers:
Data extract from SSA’s Nonwork Alien (NWALIEN) file for Tax
Years (TY) 2003 and 2004; Data extract from SSA’s Earnings Suspense File for TY 2003; and
Data extract of earnings reporting data for TYs 2003 and 2004.
After reviewing the summary verification results and earnings data associated
with each of the 100 employers, we interviewed 100 program users on issues
related to their experiences with the application, submission, and feedback
processes under the programs. In addition, we asked questions related
to (1) the employer component responsible for verification, (2) the type
of employee documents reviewed, (3) experiences with resolving unverified
employee information, and (4) use of other verification services.
We did not perform a full review of internal controls and data reliability
due to the limited scope of our review. The purpose of our review was
to assess employers’ satisfaction with SSNVS and the Basic Pilot programs. The
entities audited were the Office of Earnings, Enumeration and Administrative
Systems under the Deputy Commissioner for Systems; the Office of Central
Operations under the Deputy Commissioner for Operations; and the Employer
Wage Reporting and Relations Staff under the Deputy Commissioner for Budget,
Finance, and Management. We conducted the audit between April and November
2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We conducted our audit in accordance
Appendix E -- Employer Handling of Unverified Employees
Based on our interviews with Social Security Number Verification Service
(SSNVS) and Basic Pilot users, we found that many of the employers appeared
to have taken appropriate actions when they received indications of verification
problems from SSNVS and the Basic Pilot. We found 40 of the SSNVS users
we interviewed indicated when they received the unverified response, they
verified the unmatched data with employees, compared the unmatched data with
personnel records, or contacted SSA to resolve the unverified responses as
outlined in the SSNVS user manual. Additionally, we found 43 Basic
Pilot users we interviewed asserted they notified employees about tentative
nonconfirmation responses or contacted SSA to help resolve tentative nonconfirmation
responses. In addition, as authorized by the Basic Pilot program, at
least 26 users admitted their employers terminated employees if the employees
decided not to contest the tentative nonconfirmation responses. SSNVS Unverified Responses
Table E-1 summarizes the actions taken by SSNVS employers, as explained
to us by the 50 users, to resolve unverified responses. As
shown in the table, 40 employers stated that to resolve unverified responses,
they (1) verified the unmatched data with the affected employees, (2) compared
the unmatched data with information included in the employer’s personnel
records, or (3) contacted a SSA field office for assistance. These
actions appeared consistent with SSA’s guidance to employers on what
to do if a SSN fails to verify. While 12 users indicated their employers did not take any actions against
affected employees if the unverified responses could not be resolved, 6 users
asserted their company had terminated employees in certain instances. SSA
advises employers that an unverified response from SSNVS is not a basis,
in and of itself, to take any adverse action against employees, such as termination. Further,
SSA cautions employers that if they use unverified responses to take inappropriate
adverse actions against workers they may violate State or Federal law. Table E-1: Actions Taken by SSNVS Employers
for Unverified Responses
Taken by SSNVS Employers
taken to resolve unverified responses
Verified data with employee
Referred cases to clients(1) 4
Referred to another department for resolution
Checked personnel records
Contacted SSA 1
47(2) Actions
taken if unverified responses were not resolved
Unknown to user
Referred to another department 6
Re-contacted employee
Referred case to clients(1) 3
Assigned dummy SSN (9s)
Resubmitted the data
Contacted SSA
Notes: (1) These employers were third party providers
that verify their clients’ payroll.
(2) Three of the users did not respond
Basic Pilot Nonconfirmation Responses
Table E-2 summarizes the actions taken by Basic Pilot employers, as explained
to us by the 50 users, when they received nonconfirmation responses. Based
on their responses, it appeared 42 employers were following the Basic Pilot
requirements as they provided employees with the Tentative Nonconfirmation
Notice, which informs employees of their rights under the program to
contest the verification results. Moreover,
26 of the users asserted their employers terminated employees if the employees
decided not to contest the tentative nonconfirmation responses. Furthermore,
28 of the users stated their employers terminated employees when they received
the final nonconfirmation response from the program. Under the Basic
Pilot program, employers can terminate an employee if the employee elects
not to contest the tentative nonconfirmation results or if they receive a
final nonconfirmation response. Table E-2: Actions Taken by Basic Pilot Employers for Nonconfirmation Responses
Action Taken By Basic Pilot Employers Number of Responses
tentative nonconfirmation responses
Provided referral notice to employee
Referred case to clients(1)
Provided referral notice to employee and contacted SSA
46(2) Actions taken if
tentative nonconfirmations were not contested
Resolved case while employee continued to work
27(2) Actions taken if
final nonconfirmations were received
Denied employment (3)
Referred employee to SSA 2
Documented employee file
Referred case to client(1)
40(2) Notes: (1) These employers
were third party providers that verify their clients’ payroll.
The responses did not total 50 because some users did not answer all questions.
We discussed earlier in the report that using the Basic Pilot as a pre-screening
tool is prohibited. DISTRIBUTION SCHEDULE
standards, we also have a comprehensive Professional Responsibility and
Quality Assurance program. Office of Audit
and operations. OA also conducts short-term management and program
evaluations and projects on issues of concern to SSA, Congress, and the general
wrongdoing by applicants, beneficiaries, contractors, third parties, or
SSA employees performing their official duties. This office serves
as OIG liaison to the Department of Justice on all matters relating to
the investigations of SSA programs and personnel. OI also conducts
joint investigations with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement
OCCIG provides independent legal advice and counsel to the IG on various
matters, including statutes, regulations, legislation, and policy directives. OCCIG
also advises the IG on investigative procedures and techniques, as well
as on legal implications and conclusions to be drawn from audit and investigative
material. Finally, OCCIG administers the Civil Monetary Penalty
ORM supports OIG by providing information resource management and systems
security. ORM also coordinates OIG’s budget, procurement, telecommunications,
facilities, and human resources. In addition, ORM is the focal point
for OIG’s strategic planning function and the development and implementation
Act of 1993. -- FOOTNOTES FOLLOW -- The Social Security Act § 205(c)(2)(A),
42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(A), requires SSA to maintain records of wage
amounts employers pay to individuals.
SSNVS is one of the services
offered by SSA’s Business Services Online (BSO). BSO is a suite
of Internet services for businesses and employers to exchange information
with SSA. For further information, see the BSO homepage at www.socialsecurity.gov/bso/bsowelcome.htm.
While our focus in this
report is on-line verification programs, SSA also offers other forms of
employee verification. For instance, employers can register for the
Agency’s Employee Verification Service (EVS) for Registered Employers,
which allows employers to submit employee names/SSNs via paper or magnetic
media. SSA also allows employers to verify up to 5 names/SSNs via
a toll-free number, or submit a paper listing to the local Social Security
office to verify up to 50 names/SSNs. We contacted two users
employed at the same company, one using SSNVS and the other using the Basic
Pilot, because the employer submitted a large volume of verification requests
under each program. The verification data
for the two programs covered two different periods since SSA captures SSNVS
data by CY and DHS captures the Basic Pilot data by FY.
Since the employers were
selected based on volume of verifications, our findings in this report
may not be representative of all SSNVS and Basic Pilot users.
Prior to June 2005, SSNVS
was a pilot that was restricted to a limited number of employers. We
found that 8 of the 50 sample employers participated in the pilot. See Appendix C for details
on the verification statistics for the Basic Pilot for FYs 2004 and 2005.
The employer with 2,433
registered users is a national temporary employment agency that has offices
These results were similar
to those reported in a July 2004 study conducted by SSA’s Office
of Quality Assurance and Performance Assessment (OQA), now the Office of
Quality Performance. In that study, 93 employers rated their experience
with SSNVS as “Excellent,” “Very Good,” or “Good.” See
OQA, Findings from the Social Security Number Verification Service
(SSNVS) Users Survey-INFORMATION, July 2004.
employers did not indicate why they rated the program as “Fair.”
The Agency’s Employee
Verification Service (EVS) for Registered Users will inform employers,
in some cases, when they have provided a transposed SSN by providing them
with the correct SSN. Under this program, the Agency runs the Single
Select edit process, which generates 89 possible SSNs based on the input
SSN and then attempts to match the input data to the database of assigned
SSNs. If only one item matches, EVS will provide the employer with
the corrected SSN. If more than one item matches, then EVS informs
the employer the name and SSN does not match SSA’s records. To resolve the no-match
responses, SSA instructs employers to tell their employees to visit a local
field office. Such disclosure of prior
employment history under the Basic Pilot would most likely be restricted
under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a as amended) and Section
6103 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 6103), which limit
the amount of personal information that can be disclosed.
We did not independently
verify these statements.
The January 2002 report, INS
Basic Pilot Evaluation Summary Report, was prepared by two INS contractors. The
objective of the report was to evaluate whether the Basic Pilot was operating
as intended and whether it had achieved its intended policy goals. In
March 2003, the INS was transitioned to DHS and was renamed the United
In our September 2006 Congressional
Response Report: Monitoring the Use of Employee Verification Programs (A-03-06-36122),
we noted that the Basic Pilot program lacked effective monitoring controls. In
the report, DHS staff stated that their Agency was planning to increase
monitoring efforts over the Basic Pilot program.
Section 403 of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Pub.
Law No. 104-208 as amended, 8 U.S.C. § 1324a note.
The remaining SSNVS
users stated their employers followed alternate procedures or did not answer
the question. See Appendix E for a full explanation of employer steps
The remaining Basic
Pilot users stated their employers followed alternate procedures or did
not answer the question. See Appendix E for a full explanation of
employer steps under this program.
We were unable to confirm
these statements with SSA or DHS, but we plan to provide both agencies
with more details on each problem so they can appropriately review and,
if necessary, modify their systems.
Sections 401 and 404
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility
Act of 1996), Pub. Law No. 104-208 as amended, 8 U.S.C. § 1324a
is the 9-digit number following “A” which is shown on
the “green card” or Permanent Resident Card (formerly
Authorization Document (I-766 and I-688B), and on certain other
immigration documents and notices. For newly admitted immigrants,
the “A” number is shown on the machine-readable immigrant
visa affixed to the foreign passport.
The I-94 Number is
the 11-digit number located on the Arrival-Departure Record (Form
in the United States, the “Admitted Until” date, and the
date when his or her authorized period of stay expires.
In our December 2006
audit, Congressional Response Report: Accuracy of the Social Security
Administration’s Numident File (A-08-06-26100), we addressed
the accuracy of the Numident File. This file is relied on by
the Basic Pilot for verification of identity and work authorization. Prior to June 2, 2005,
SSNVS was a pilot that was restricted to a limited number of employers. The activation code
is an alphanumeric code sent by SSA to the employer or registered PIN
holder (if self-employed) when access to certain services is requested. This
code must be entered on the Activate Access to BSO Service web
page to enable the employer to access the requested service. The EIF is an Internal
Revenue Service file that contains the Employer Identification Number
(EIN) of a business and the employer name and address associated with
each EIN.
The PIN is a unique
value issued by SSA to the applicant at registration, which must be
entered to gain access to SSNVS.
The Numident is a
record of identifying information (such as name, date of birth, date
of death, mother’s maiden name, etc.) provided by the applicant
on his or her Application for a Social Security Number (Form
SS-5) for an original SSN and subsequent applications for replacement
SSN cards. Each record is housed in the Numident Master File
in SSN order. In our September 2006
report, Effectiveness of the Young Children's Earnings Records
Reinstatement Process (A‑03‑05-25009), we recommended
SSA modify SSNVS to detect SSNs for children under age 7 to provide
appropriate notice to employers and potentially reduce the number of
future Young Children’s Earnings Record notices. The Agency
agreed to implement this recommendation. The NWALIEN file contains
wage items for individuals who have worked with a nonwork SSN. SSA
issues nonwork SSNs to individuals who lack DHS work authorization,
but have valid reasons for the SSNs. SSA sends the NWALIEN file
to DHS on an annual basis. The Earnings Suspense
File is a repository of unmatched wage items that could not be posted
to individuals’ earnings records. We were not able to
confirm whether the employers took the actions noted in the table. The SSNVS User
Handbook provides employers with the policies and procedures
for using the service. We were not able to
confirm whether the employers took the actions noted in the table. As outlined in Appendix
C, employers must provide employees with the Tentative Nonconfirmation
Notice so the employees can decide whether they want to contest
If an employee decides
not to contest a Tentative Nonconfirmation Notice, the Basic
Pilot system automatically converts the response to a Final Nonconfirmation. Section 403 of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996),
Pub. Law No. 104-208 as amended, 8 U.S.C. § 1324a note.