Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other associations announced that the government will delay the implementation of the recently-published final rule requiring certain federal contractors to enroll in and use the E-Verify system.
The rule, which requires federal contractors to check the employment authorization of new hires and of employees assigned to federal contracts through government databases, will now be in effect no earlier than February 20, 2009. The Chamber of Commerce has indicated that the government will place a notice in the Federal Register in the coming days to notify the public of the delayed implementation date.
The Chamber of Commerce lawsuit, filed in federal court in Maryland, requests that the rule be declared invalid and that the court enjoin it from going into effect. The delay in implementation will allow for briefing of a motion by the Chamber of Commerce to enjoin the regulation’s requirements until a final decision can be made in the lawsuit.
Background on the E-Verify system and the Chamber’s lawsuit can be obtained here.
In an ironic coincidence, the USCIS also just issued a press release that the 100,000th employer has been enrolled in the E-Verify system, meaning that only about 98.3% of all US employers remain to be enrolled.
