E-Verify Requirement Effective Date Postponed To February 20, 2009

In December, we alerted you to an impending change in the Federal Acquisition Regulations ("FAR") that would require many federal contractors and subcontractors to begin to use the federal government's E-Verify system to confirm the employment eligibility of new hires and any current employees working on a covered federal contract. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit seeking to enjoin these changes to FAR, arguing that in earlier legislation -- principally the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act -- Congress precluded mandatory use of E-Verify and, thus, the agencies promulgating this new requirement had exceeded their legal rulemaking authority.

While expressing confidence that the E-Verify requirement will be upheld, the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to delay the effective date of this requirement from January 15, 2009, to February 20, 2009, to give the parties a chance to present their arguments to the court. The Chamber has