Facing legal pressure from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups, the federal government again pushed back a deadline by which  federal contractors must  comply with mandatory electronic verification of their employees. The E-Verify  implementation date was delayed until May 21, 2009, to give the new administration time to review the rule. Earlier this month, the federal government agreed to the Chamber's request to delay a January 15, 2009, implementation date until February 20, 2009, in order to accommodate the Chamber's lawsuit challenging the rule.

 "The federal government agreed that the new administration needs time to re-think mandatory E-Verify use, particularly in light of the stressed economy," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the Chamber's public policy law firm. "We are hopeful that the administration will agree that E-Verify is the wrong solution at the wrong time."

The Chamber's lawsuit, Chamber of Commerce, et al v. Chertoff, et al., challenges the use of an Executive Order to circumvent Congress to make E-Verify use mandatory for qualified federal contractors and subcontractors. The Chamber supports legislative initiatives to develop and implement an electronic verification system, but it must be effective, efficient, and manageable under real world conditions.

Read the complaint.