As reported by Daily Journal of Commerce, business groups have appealed the August 25 decision by a federal district court in Maryland upholding the E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule. As previously discussed, the rule is set to take effect on September 8, 2009. If government officials do not voluntarily postpone the effective date, lawyers for the business groups have indicated that they will ask the courts to do so.

Criticisms about E-Verify include:

• the system’s inability to support a large influx of users;
• the complicated nature of the system; and 
• a requirement that contractors who sign up for the system provide the government with access to their books at any time.

Others, however, contend that:

• the system is simple to use;
• an influx of government spending has improved the system; and
• the odds of being audited are probably minimal.

The E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule was created via an executive order by George W. Bush in June 2008 but the effective date was postponed until a new administration was sworn in. The Rule requires contractors receiving federal funds to verify that their employees can legally work in the United States.