E-VERIFY FEDERAL CONTRACTOR RULE FURTHER DELAYED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

The Obama administration will announce, in a notice that will appear in the Federal Register this week, the further delay of the regulations requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to verify workers’ employment eligibility using the E-Verify system.  This is the fourth time the regulations have been delayed, which now will not take effect until September 8, 2009.  The E-Verify system itself is the electronic employment eligibility verification system that is operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service in conjunction with the Social Security Administration. 

The final rule on the E-Verify requirement was first published on November 14, 2008 and scheduled to take effect just two months later, on January 15, 2009.  As we have previously reported, in December 2008, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit against the federal government citing the onerous obligations the proposed rule would have on the hiring practices of certain federal contractors and subcontractors.  The parties initially reached an agreement to stay the effective date of the regulation until February 20, 2009.  The effective date was then further delayed to May 21, 2009 and, then again, to June 30 in order to provide the new administration with sufficient time to review the regulations.  The government is continuing to complete their review of these regulations, which they cite as the cause of the further extension.  Although this fourth delay in the rule’s effective date could suggest that it will ultimately be abandoned altogether or revised from its current form, federal contractors should still plan on how they will ultimately implement E-Verify should the rule take effect on September 8. 

We will continue to monitor the rule closely and will provide you with information on any further delays or developments.  For more information about E-Verify or to assist you in planning for compliance with this law, please contact Amy B. Royal, Esq. at (413) 586-2288 or at aroyal@royalmunnings.com .