11/28/07 No Match Update Part 2

No Match Update Part 2. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. The Social Security No Match Letter controversy is far from over. The court case has been suspended by request of the Bush administration while they revamp the letter but now the issue is being taken over by the Department of Homeland Security according to Dan Fazio with the Washington Farm Bureau. FAZIO: I have to tell you that the Department of Homeland Security still says that they believe when you get one of these letters it gives you constructive knowledge. They believe that regardless of this regulation when you get a letter that tells you that there may be a problem with a social security number  that gives you some kind of knowledge and you have to do something about it. The whole issue is starting to get very confusing since the Department is in essence contradicting themselves. FAZIO: But we're back to they're not telling you what it is now. Now that they're agreeing that they can't tell you what it is. When they had the regulation they said hey, employers have asked us what should we do when we get one of these letters and we're telling them what they should do, but now they've invalidated their advice. The case has been suspended for 4 months and Fazio says then they would look at it again. FAZIO: The case would presumably start up again on March 24th with a hearing on March 24th where the administration brings the new rule and tells the judge  here's the substantive changes we've made to the rule and here's the procedural change we made to get more input and then the judge would ask the plaintiffs, do you want to still challenge this, do you want to withdraw your case, do you want to start up again? What do you want to do? That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.