President Bush has amended Executive Order 12989 to require contractors to use an electronic employment verification system designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to confirm the employment eligibility of their workforce. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has designated E-Verify as the system to be used under the order. DHS published a notice in the Federal Register on June 13, 2008 announcing its designation of the E-Verify system as the electronic employment eligibility verification system to be used by federal contractors. The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council subsequently issued a proposed rule that would require certain contractors and subcontractors to use the E-Verify system as the means of verifying that certain of their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. Written comments on the proposed rule are due August 11, 2008.
By Patricia Schaeffer, Vice President-Regulatory Affairs
