Federal Contractor E-Verify Use Delayed

The Department of Homeland Security has temporarily delayed a requirement for federal contractors to use E-Verify to check the immigration status of their employees while a related lawsuit is resolved. The rule was supposed to take effect Jan. 15 but will now be implemented on Feb. 20.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups sued DHS to block the regulation requiring E-Verify use claiming that the program is supposed to be voluntary. DHS, however, believes the E-Verify mandate is legal because it is being imposed as a condition of doing business with the government. Accepting a government contract is voluntary, they reason, so businesses can forego working for the government if they do not want to use E-Verify.

DHS spokesman Russ Knocke said the delay will not change the rule, which will remain legally final and binding. The St. Louis Business Journal quotes Knocke as saying, “This pause merely allows litigants the opportunity to make their case before a judge, and prevents parties opposed to the rule from additional stalling through litigation. We are confident that their arguments will not prevail.”

See related stories in the St. Louis Business Journal and the Federal Times.