A major Cincinnati company threatened with criminal sanctions by a key House Democrat if it terminates any of its 32,000 employees over the validity of their Social Security numbers says it hasn’t fired anyone.
Mike Wallner, a spokesman for Cintas Corp., says Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson’s warning letter “came out of the blue,” and that the congressman has not returned calls to discuss the matter.
“All employers, including Cintas, have a legal obligation to ensure that all employees are legally authorized to work in the United States,” said Mr. Wallner, whose company is the nation’s largest uniform supplier. “Cintas has not and will not fire anyone simply because an individual has a mismatch problem with the Social Security Administration (SSA).”
Mr. Wallner said about 400 Cintas workers have received “no-match” letters from the SSA — issued when a person’s name and Social Security number on payroll records do not match. They have been given two months to correct the problem and then would be put on administrative leave until the matter is resolved.
Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee and its expected next chairman, warned the company in a letter Nov. 2 that it could be charged with “illegal activities in violation of state and federal law” if any employees are terminated because they gave incorrect Social Security numbers to be hired.
“It is my understanding that hundreds of Cintas’ immigrant workers have received these letters,” Mr. Thompson wrote. “I am extremely concerned about any potentially discriminatory actions targeting this community.”
In June, President Bush proposed guidelines to make it easier for employers to verify workers’ eligibility and continue to hold them accountable for those they hire. That announcement was followed up by Homeland Security with the June 9 issuance of proposed regulations that include setting guidelines for companies when handling SSA no-match letters. A required 60-day public comment period has passed, but the proposal remains in limbo.
Mr. Thompson, whose office did not return calls for comment, has described the proposed no-match policy as a threat to workers who fail to reverify their Social Security information and, in the letter, said their termination could put Cintas in violation of federal law. He also said that before the proposal becomes law, it must go through a rule-making process, “which could radically change the regulation or kill it all together.”
The seven-term congressman is among a number of immigration activists, labor organizers, employers and politicians opposed to the new regulation, including Unite Here, a union representing the 450,000 members of the former Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the former Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The EEOC has that under the proposal, employers might decide simply to terminate their workers after the receipt of no-match letters for reasons that may be discriminatory, while the Chamber of Commerce has said it would allow the use of letters “as a means to enforce immigration laws against employers.” Unite Here officials, who are trying to organize Cintas workers, have accused the company of targeting employees involved in the union.
But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the proposal gives “U.S. businesses the necessary tools to increase the likelihood that they are employing workers consistent with our laws.” He said it also would help “identify and prosecute employers who are blatantly abusing our immigration system.”
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