On August 26, 2009, a federal judge in Maryland upheld the legality of the federal regulation (published at 73 Fed. Reg. 67,651 (Nov. 14, 2008)) that will require most federal government contractors to use the E-Verify system to verify the employment eligibility of new hires, as well as certain existing employees. With this ruling, the regulation will take effect as planned on September 8, 2009, requiring that a new E-Verify clause be included in covered federal contracts awarded, solicited, or modified on or after that date. Once an employer becomes subject to the federal contractor E-Verify provisions, it will be required to verify not only new hires, but also all existing employees who perform work assigned under the contract.