Ohio HB 921: Require additional Ohio employers to use E-verify

Summary

This bill expands E-Verify requirements beyond construction contractors to also require child care staff members, school employees, and state or local government employees to verify their employment eligibility through the federal E-Verify system. The bill increases penalties for employers who fail to use E-Verify or continue employing workers who fail verification, with fines ranging from $250 to $25,000 per violation, and allows for temporary disqualification from state contracts and permanent license revocation for employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers.

Bill Text

hb921_00_IN

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

 Regular
Session H. B. No. 921

 2025-2026

Representatives Williams, Swearingen

To
amend sections 4151.01, 4151.02, 4151.03, 4151.04, 4151.05, 4151.06,
and 4151.07 of the Revised Code to
require additional Ohio employers to use E-verify and to prohibit
certain employment practices.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1. That
sections 4151.01, 4151.02, 4151.03, 4151.04, 4151.05, 4151.06, and
4151.07 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec.
4151.01. As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Alien" means an individual who is not a United States
citizen or a United States national.

(B)
"Business day" means a day of the week excluding Saturday,
Sunday, and a legal holiday as defined under section 1.14 of the
Revised Code.

(C)
"Employee""Covered
employee"
means any
all
of the following:

(1)
Any individual
who performs services for a construction
contractor,
subcontractor, or labor broker who satisfies both of the following
conditions:

(1)(a)
The individual is subject to the construction
contractor's,
subcontractor's, or labor broker's direction and control, not only as
to the result accomplished but also as to the details of how the work
is performed;

(2)(b)
The individual receives compensation in the form of wages, salary, or
any other form of remuneration in exchange for services rendered.

(2)
A child care staff member as defined in section 5104.01 of the
Revised Code;

(3)
Any individual employed in any school, college, or university;

(4)
Any individual employed by the state or any political subdivision of
the state.

(D)
"E-verify" means the employment verification program as
jointly administered by the United States department of homeland
security and the social security administration under section
101(a)(1) of the federal "Immigration Reform and Control Act of
1986," 8 U.S.C. 1324a, or any of its successor programs.

(E)(1)
"Labor broker" means any individual or entity who hires an
employee a
covered employee described in division (C)(1) of this section and
supplies the employee's labor to a nonresidential
construction
contractor or a subcontractor, regardless of tier, through the use of
a contract.

(2)
"Labor broker" does not include any governmental entity or
labor organization as defined in section 3517.01 of the Revised Code.

(F)
"Nonresidential
construction Construction
contractor"
means any individual or entity that has responsibility for the means,
method, and manner of construction, improvement, renovation, or
repair on a nonresidential
construction
project with respect to one or more trades and who offers,
identifies, advertises, or otherwise holds out or represents that the
individual or entity is permitted or qualified to perform or have
responsibility for the means, method, and manner of construction,
improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance with respect to one
or more trades on a nonresidential
construction
project.

(G)
"Nonresidential
construction Construction
project"
means the construction or renovation of any building, highway,
bridge, utility, or related infrastructure,
but does not include any of the following:

(1)
An industrialized unit, manufactured home, or a residential building
as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code;

(2)
A building or structure that is incidental to the use of the land on
which the building or structure is located for agricultural purposes
as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code;

(3)
A mobile home as defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code.

(H)
"Subcontractor" means any individual or entity who enters
into a contract with a nonresidential
construction
contractor or another subcontractor, regardless of tier, to perform
work on a nonresidential
construction
project.

(I)
"Unauthorized alien" means an alien who is not authorized
to be employed as determined in accordance with the federal
"Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986," 8 U.S.C.
1324a.

(J)
"Covered employer" means any person who has one or more
covered employees. "Covered employer" includes an agent of
a covered employer.

(K)
"School" includes all of the following:

(1)
A preschool as defined in section 2950.034 of the Revised Code;

(2)
A school operated by a city, local, or exempted village school
district, a joint vocational school district, a community school
established under Chapter 3314., a STEM school established under
Chapter 3326., or a college-preparatory boarding school established
under Chapter 3328. of the Revised Code;

(3)
A chartered nonpublic school as defined in section 3310.01 of the
Revised Code.

Sec.
4151.02. (A)
Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no nonresidential
construction contractor, subcontractor, or labor broker covered
employer shall
fail to verify the employment eligibility of each covered
employee
hired to perform work on
a nonresidential construction project through
the e-verify program. A
nonresidential 

With
re