I appreciate the response thank you. However that was just a comment. The script dies when I test $ref->{'employee_id'} with $user_id. The script also dies when I set a scalar to equal $ref->{'employee_id'} and then test that scalar with $user_id. That is why I added the senseless if clauses to see if the script would die.
Thanks joe budd
joebudd@iserv.net