Earlier we reported that thanks to Department of Homeland Security rulemaking, the use of E-Verify will be required of all federal contractors as of Jan. 16, 2009 (although there will be some exceptions). The date raised eyebrows because it will come less than a week before a new administration takes office. Now, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other plaintiffs have challenged the rule, perhaps throwing its implementation into doubt:
“This massive expansion of E-Verify is not only bad policy, it’s unlawful,” said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), the Chamber’s public policy law firm. “The Administration can’t use an Executive Order to circumvent federal immigration and procurement laws. Federal law explicitly prohibits the secretary of Homeland Security from making E-Verify mandatory or from using it to re-authorize the existing workforce.”
