The Gwinnett County Commission gave final approval Tuesday to an ordinance requiring vendors seeking county contracts to enroll in a federal employment verification program meant to weed out illegal immigrants.

The unanimous decision should also end a lawsuit over the county's initial version of the ordinance, which two contractor groups said violated federal law by illegally regulating immigration policy, among other things.

The county passed the ordinance in June, but has not enforced it because of contractor complaints and the lawsuit.

The new version of the law removes a requirement that contractors use Social Security Administration records to check the employment eligibility of current employees, opting instead to require the employers to register with a federal employment verification system called E-Verify.

It also limits what the county can do to contractors who do not abide by its restrictions.

The original law applied to all employees of county contractors and allowed the county to cancel contracts and sue vendors for damages caused by their failure to complete terms of the contract. The original law also allowed county workers to visit job sites and investigate the immigration status of employees.

The new version applies only to employees hired for projects proposed after the ordinance's approval, removes the option to seek damages and limits the county's access to workers and their records.

The law passed without comment from the board or public. It goes into effect immediately.