The federal government again delayed the implementation of a new rule that requires federal contractors to use the Employment Eligibility Verification (E-Verify) system for verification of all new and many existing employees.
Last summer, President Bush issued Executive Order 12989, requiring federal contractors to electronically verify their employees’ work eligibility. The final rule implementing the order was set to go into effect Jan. 15. It was first delayed until May 21 and then until June 30 when the Obama administration requested additional time to review the rule in light of pending litigation. The most recent delay announcement states that federal contracts awarded prior to Sept. 8 will not require contractors to comply with the new rule.
The rule is the subject of a legal challenge brought by ABC and its coalition partners. The challenge questioned the government’s authority to promulgate the regulation and sought an injunction from a federal court (Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. Michael Chertoff, et al., Civil Action No. AW-08-3444 (D. Md.)). The legal challenge echoed ABC’s previous comments on the rule and argued that requiring use of E-Verify would be illegal and expose contractors to needless liabilities.
For more information, visit
www.abc.org/e-verify.