That's not what I've seen. But if you stumble upon new users who make good posts and haven't received Merit yet, please post them in Report unmerited good posts to Merit Source. I'm still looking for a couple hundred good posts to finally empty my sMerit stash 
Based on my observations, it does happen
But hey, it's their rights to give whoever they please. And there are Merit giveaway threads from time to time so newbies still have a chance.