By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press Writer
San Jose Mercury News
04/22/2010
SAN DIEGO—Criminal charges against the owner of a popular catering company for hiring illegal immigrants show the perils that employers face when they ignore government notices that workers' names do not match their Social Security numbers.
The French Gourmet Inc., a San Diego institution known for its wedding cakes, received so-called "no-match" letters in 2005 and 2006 from the Social Security Administration.
Businesses have long complained that the letters lack guidance for employers, but immigration experts say the case underscores that they should be treated as a red flag. The owner and a manager pleaded not guilty Wednesday to illegal hiring.
"You shouldn't just do nothing," Carl Shusterman, a Los Angeles immigration attorney not involved in the case, said Thursday.
Shusterman advises employers to demand that workers clear up discrepancies or get fired. Some employees have legitimate explanations—a marriage or divorce, or an error on the government's part—but those who are in the country illegally usually disappear when confronted, he said.
It is rare for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to build cases against employers on no-match letters.
Josie Gonzalez, a Pasadena immigration attorney who is not involved in the case, said the government has used the letters as evidence in other cases. But the employer's response to the letters is much more critical, including whether employees were paid in cash or without a Social Security number after getting the letters, she said.
"Some employers take a more laissez-faire approach and leave it up to the employee to clear up the discrepancy," Gonzalez said. "Other employers are more proactive and demand that the employee clear it up in a given time frame or get fired."
According to the indictment, The French Gourmet began paying one employee in cash after he was flagged in a no-match letter and instructed him to get a new Social Security number. His paychecks resumed after he came up with another name and number.
A manager allegedly told another employee "to get a new identity" after he was named in a no-match letter.
The no-match letters became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate in 2007 when the Bush administration proposed that employers be required to fire immigrant workers whose names don't match. The policy failed to survive legal challenges from business and immigrant advocacy groups.
Eugene Iredale, an attorney for The French Gourmet and owner Michel Malecot, said the Social Security no-match letters are "extremely confusing" because they do not go beyond pointing out the discrepancy.
"You'd think it would say don't hire this person, fire this person," he said Wednesday. "All they're saying is, 'We don't have this person on file but we're not telling you what to do. You take whatever action you think is right.'"
Malecot, 58, and manager Richard Kauffmann, 57, are charged with conspiracy, harboring illegal aliens and false attestation.
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