Wages & Invalid Social Security Cards

sstogner

Hello - We recently discovered that an employee working for us had an invalid social security card, which led us to investigate further finding that they had a relative working at the same location who's SS Card was invalid as well. We asked the employees to report to the Social Security office to resolve the matter, but employees failed to report back to work and have not been heard from since.

Social Security verification does report that these were invalid numbers (the cards looked legit on the surface, but deep investigation showed discrepancies), but we have reported wages against these numbers and need to know what to do (i.e. What are the next steps? Do we contact IRS, SS Office, etc...).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

sstogner
san antonio, tx

Sharon McKnight SPHR

If I were in your shoes and still hadn't heard from the employees, I would administratively terminate their employment. I would send each a letter (to address on record via registered mail) notifying him or her of the termination for job abandonment. Be sure to review that policy prior to drafting the letter(s) to make sure you're in keeping with it. Beyond that, I believe this is one of those situations where I would contact my attorney for advice.

If you don't have counsel and would like the contact information for the Employers' Counsel Network attorney in your state, please send me a message and I'll be happy to forward that to you.

Sharon