The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Arizona state, upholding the Legal Arizona Workers Act which requires employers to use E-Verify and also provides for suspension or revocation of the business licenses of employers who knowingly or intentionally hire unauthorized foreign nationals. A variety of business and civil rights organizations challenged the law, arguing that it is preempted by Federal law and also violates employers’ rights to due process. In today’s ruling, the 9th Circuit sided with a ruling by the U.S. district court, agreeing that the law was not expressly or impliedly preempted.

The Court did not, however, rule out the possibility that the law may be challenged again in the context of an actual enforcement action against an employer.