COMPLIANCE CORNER
Federal Judge Clears Way for Implementation of the Federal Contractor E-Verify Regulation
In a decision posted this morning, Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement a regulation that will require certain federal contractors to register and use the E-Verify online employment eligibility verification system. The judge granted DHS’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit that challenged the validity of the rule. The lawsuit was filed earlier this year by a coalition of business groups and the regulation has been on hold since that time.
DHS is expected to begin implementing the rule as early as September 8, 2009. Upon implementation, contractors will have additional time – 90 to 120 days in most instances – to enroll in and commence using E-Verify.
The rule, which is an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), directs government contracting officers to include a clause in certain federal contracts requiring contractors to use the E-Verify program to verify the employment eligibility of all new hires, as well as existing employees who work on the federal contract. The E-Verify requirement applies to federal contracts with a performance period longer than 120 days and a value over $100,000. Service or construction subcontracts of a covered contract would also be required to include the E-Verify clause, if the value of the subcontract is over $3,000.
For more information on the federal contractor requirements, visit our E-Verify Legislation Guide.
Verifications' E-Verify Solutions
Verifications' E-Verify solution helps you maintain compliance across your organization and reduce the time it takes you to process an E-Verify query - by up to 67%. Our check queries E-Verify databases providing instant results for new employees' U.S. work eligibility and can be easily incorporated into your onboarding process company wide, creating an efficient, consistent, and compliant process. Step-by-step user guidance simplifies exception management while management alerts save time and eliminate worry by doing away with manual "tickler" events for follow up action items.Federal contractors are faced with the daunting task of running hundreds, possibly thousands of E-Verify checks in a short amount of time because an employer’s existing employee population performing work under the federal contract also must be submitted through E-Verify. Verifications offers a solution to relieve your administrative headaches and ensure both your existing employees and new hires are "E-Verified" as mandated by Executive Order 12989.
Click here to learn more about how Verifications’ E-Verify solutions can help you maintain compliance with E-Verify regulations.
