Custodians with invalid Social Security numbers fired

MANSFIELD, TX — Forty of the 269 custodians in the Mansfield School District have been fired after an internal audit that began in August found that the Social Security numbers they gave the district were incorrect or invalid, according to the Star-Telegram.


One hundred twenty employees' numbers have been checked and verified so far; employees with invalid numbers were given 90 days to resolve the issue and many worked until the last day possible, the story stated.


Jeff Brogden, director of facilities and operations for the district, said: "The situation is heartbreaking. They’re like family."


According to the story, some of the employees involved had been with the district as long as 10 years.


The district is not required by law to verify Social Security numbers that it submits to the Internal Revenue Service, and has yet to contact law enforcement about the invalid numbers and presumed illegal status of the custodians, the story noted.


Each of the custodians had undergone criminal background checks based on fingerprints, but the checks did not reveal the invalid Social Security numbers, the story added.


According to the Pew Hispanic Center, at least 17 percent of all JanSan employees (an estimated 680,000 plus workers) are illegal immigrants.