Attorneys for the Department of Justice (DOJ) have once again requested a delay for a set of regulations that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to use E-Verify—the electronic employment verification system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
A motion filed by the DOJ attorneys with a federal district court in Maryland seeks to delay the effective date for the regulations until Sept. 8, 2009. The rules were set to take effect on June 30, 2009, and the DOJ’s request, which was filed on May 29, 2009, marks the fourth effort to delay implementation of the new regulations.
The rule revision, if implemented, would change the federal government’s acquisition processes by requiring federal contracts to stipulate that businesses must use E-Verify to determine if all new hires and existing employees performing work on federal contracts are authorized to work in the United States. The E-Verify requirement would apply to federal contracts awarded after the rules take effect. The regulations state that businesses contracting with the federal government would be required to enroll in E-Verify within 30 days of the contract award date.
Several business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland seeking to block the new rules from taking effect. The new delay in the effective date was needed to give the Obama administration more time to finish a thorough review of the rule change, according to officials with the USCIS.
The Bush administration promulgated the controversial set of regulations during the summer and fall of 2008. Under an executive order signed by former President George W. Bush in June 2008, approximately 170,000 federal contractors were supposed to begin using E-Verify in January 2009. Bush’s executive order would apply to federal contracts of more than $100,000 and subcontracts of more than $3,000.
According to the motion filed in the federal court by the DOJ attorneys, the effective date for the rules could be delayed again as the September 2009 deadline approaches.
The business groups have criticized the executive order, claiming that Congress established the electronic verification system as a voluntary program and that the Bush administration overstepped its bounds by mandating that federal contractors use the system. The requirement that contractors use E-Verify to confirm the work eligibility of existing employees might conflict with some provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, according to sources familiar with the issue.
“We believe that we have a very strong case, and the Obama administration is, for very good reasons, being very cautious to make sure that they have reviewed the rule revision and the implementation process very thoroughly,” said Lawrence Z. Lorber, a partner with the Washington, D.C., law office of Proskauer Rose, which is representing the employer groups.
Bill Leonard is senior writer for SHRM Online.
Related Articles:
Justice Department Delays Rule Requiring Federal Contractors Use E-Verify, HR News, Jan. 9, 2009
SHRM Files Suit to Stop New Employment Eligibility Requirements for Federal Contractors, HR News, Dec. 24, 2008