Another delay has been announced in implementation of the “federal contractor rule,” which amends the Federal Acquisition Regulations to require federal contractors to enroll in and use the E-Verify system. The applicability date of the rule is now pushed back until June 30, 2009.
The federal contractor rule was originally published on November 14, 2008, with an implementation date of January 15, 2009. However, the rule has yet to be implemented because of three separate postponements. On January 9, the U.S. Chambers of Commerce announced a delay until February 20, 2009 so that briefing could take place in a lawsuit brought by the Chamber and other business groups in federal court challenging the rule’s validity and requesting an injunction to prevent it from going into effect. A status conference in that lawsuit is expected later this month, which may be one reason for the current delay.
The rule is also currently delayed because of the January 27 regulatory review being conducted by the Obama White House. The Obama Administration has explained that it desires additional time to adequately review the federal contractor rule, resulting in the most recent postponement.
Considering the important consequences of E-Verify enrollment for employers– which may entail verifying entire workforces and subjecting thousands, if not millions, of U.S. employees to databases rife with inaccuracies– the Obama Administration’s decision to take the federal contractor rule under further careful consideration is a welcome one.
The government is expected to place a notice in Friday’s Federal Register notifying the public of the delayed implementation date. We will keep you updated on any further developments.
Tags: E-Verify, I-9 Compliance