In my last entry, I pontificated about the pro’s and con’s of the Social Security Administration’s eVerify system. I solicited your commentary on the program, and whether you thought it was a good or bad thing for our employers, and our country.
Well, indirectly the SSA has chimed in. In a January 18 article published in the Washington Times, an audit conducted by the Inspector General concluded that during 2008 and 2009, the Social Security Administration itself did not eVerify its nearly 20% of its own prospective and new hires. It also failed to eVerify another 18% within the three days of hire allotted time frame by the program.
What makes this so bad is that all government agencies are supposed to run their new hires through this system, and the SSA is the agency responsible for the program. It seems to be a classic example of “Do as I say, not as I do”. I am not sure this is the kind of Government role modeling the Department of Homeland Security had in mind when it launched the program. They either 1. Believe they are above the very regulation they are tasked with implementing or 2. Are so procedurally inept that they cannot comply with their own mandate. You be the judge.
Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies at the Cato institute was quoted in the article. He states quite accurately, “When this happens in the Government sector, well the upshot is an IG report. But in the private sector, you are talking about investigations and penalties.”
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