If you are a
federal government contractor, or a subcontractor on a federal
government project, the answer is yes. The executive order amended June 9, 2008 by then President Bush, was to go into effect originally January 15, 2009. Its implementation has been delayed until May 15, 2009.
"The federal government agreed that the new administration needs time to
rethink mandatory E-Verify use, particularly in light of the stressed economy,"
Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation
Center, said in a statement. "We are hopeful that the incoming
administration will agree that E-Verify is the wrong solution at the wrong time."
The Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit challenges the government's
use of a presidential executive order coupled with a federal procurement
law to make E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors with projects exceeding
$100,000 and for subcontractors with projects exceeding $3,000. The Chamber of
Commerce also challenged the expansion of E-Verify to require the re-authorization
of existing workers. Also joining in the lawsuit are the Associated Builders and
Contractors, the Society for Human Resource Management, the American Council on
International Personnel and the HR Policy Association.
The Obama administration has postponed implementing the rule until
May 21. Originally, it was supposed to take effect Jan. 15, but the
Department of Homeland Security delayed the date until Feb. 20 after
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups filed a lawsuit to block the rule.
The delayed date gives the new administration “an adequate
opportunity to review the rule,” according to a notice published last week in the Federal Register. When Barack Obama took office as
president, he urged agencies to review new regulations that had not yet
become effective.
More to come.