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Monday, May 26, 2008
No-Match Identity Rule A Disaster for N.M. Businesses
By Gene Baca
New Mexico Employers Coalition
Most Americans recognize the value of comprehensive immigration reform, yet what we are getting is a lot of rhetoric, avoidance of the real issue by Congress, and poorly thought-out policy from the Department of Homeland Security. The combination of these forces may prove to further derail the U.S. economy, cause problems for unsuspecting American workers, and American businesses that employ those workers.
The upcoming debacle will arise from a little publicized proposal: the Social Security No-Match rule. What this law does, in effect, is make employers terminate employees whose Social Security records don't match information reported by employers.
What appears to be a nifty way to catch those people working here illegally will create enormous problems for many citizens and the vast majority of businesses that will have to contend with this law. It is estimated that 70 percent of the people who will be singled out in the Social Security database are U.S. citizens who are perfectly legal.
This error-filled system will force millions of Americans to defend their legal status. If they cannot get the SSA to act and make the correction in 90 days, employers will be required to fire them. This is especially scary considering the SSA already has a difficult time with its current duties.
If employers don't terminate their employees, they face huge fines and can be hauled off to jail as common criminals.
New Mexico is a state composed of small business. The vast majority of private employees work for very small companies in New Mexico. These are the unheralded employers that bring jobs to rural New Mexico, that develop brand-new goods and services, that grow our crops, provide us with great meals, and build our houses. These small companies do not have the resources needed to contend with the vast paperwork and fight through the maze of uncertainty brought by this new law.
Employers have the added problem of replacing terminated workers. In New Mexico, where unemployment is 3.1 percent and in some parts of the state, 0 percent, this is not an easy undertaking. Employers will have two choices: raise wages and try to lure employees away from other companies or to shut down all or part of their operations. Either way, New Mexicans lose.
As we saw with the mandatory minimum wage increase, along with wage increases comes price increases to the consumer. With gas prices and other goods sky high, we really can't afford higher prices.
If businesses shut down their operations, all their employees will be forced to look for work. Employers will see everything they have worked for and built, disappear. And consumers will have fewer choices as businesses go under.
Some may say employers deserve what they get if they hire falsely documented workers. But with very few exceptions, employers comply with the law. It requires employers to check new employees' documents for validity and it prohibits knowingly hiring or continuing to employ someone known to be illegal. The main problem is readily available counterfeit documents are so good now, employers are easily duped. Even experts can't tell a good document from a bad one.
Our economy has become dependent on immigrants to fill many levels of jobs. If we eliminated the 5 percent of our workforce that is here illegally, we would put this country's economy into a tailspin unlike any other we have seen. Agriculture, construction, hospitality, and many service industries would be devastated.
Fairness and economic concerns are certainly enough to reject this rule. But beyond that, should we trust our government to use its vast Social Security database for purposes other than what it is intended?
On all accounts, the Social Security No-Match rule is a bad idea. A piecemeal approach to immigration is not the answer. Comprehensive immigration reform is the solution. Enforcement is important, but ensuring U.S. businesses have an adequate supply of workers is equally important and will have grave repercussions if not intelligently addressed.
Gene Baca is senior vice-president of Bueno Foods in Albuquerque. The coalition also encompasses trade associations for restaurants, builders and dairies.
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