For a fourth time this year, the effective date of the E-Verify requirement for federal government contractors and subcontractors is expected to be delayed, this time from June 30, 2009 until at least September 8, 2009. An official notice from the Department of Homeland Security is expected to follow later this week.
The delay is said to give the Obama administration additional time to review the regulation, which was originally scheduled to be implemented on January 15, 2009 after the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) designated E-Verify as the employment eligibility verification system for federal contractors.
While traditionally a Federal issue, several state governments (and more recently, even local governments) have taken employment verification into their own hands. By way of example, on May 29, 2008, the South Carolina Legislature passed the South Carolina Illegal Immigration Reform Act (the “Act”). In short, the Act requires “eligible” employers [those which contract with state agencies] to either (i) register with the Federal E-Verify system or (ii) employ only workers with a valid South Carolina Driver’s license or an out-of-state driver’s license with license requirements deemed acceptable by South Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles. Mississippi and Rhode Island have enacted similar statutes and at least nine (9) other states have passed some type of legislation requiring public contractors to comply with the Federal E-Verify program.
Should you have any questions regarding your Company’s present obligations with respect to E-Verify, or what, if anything, your Company should be doing to prepare for the potential of mandatory E-Verify, please do not hesitate to contact us.