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House Bill would mandate use of E-Verify system by certain employers
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 26, 2024
Committee members in the Ohio House of Representatives are mulling a proposal that would make mandatory the use of the federal E-Verify system by government contractors, private, nonresidential contractors and private employers that employ at least 75 individuals within the state.
House Bill 327 would complete the next logical step in the hiring process––verifying an employee’s eligibility to work, according to a Republican sponsor of the bill.
Currently, federal law requires employers to complete the federal I-9 form for each newly hired employee within the first three days of employment,” Wayne County Rep. Scott Wiggam said during a Commerce and Labor Committee hearing of the bill. “Once completed, the employer is required to maintain the I-9 forms for three years after the date of hire, but is not required to submit it to a federal agency.”
He suggested that it is at this point that the current system is deficient.
“Using the same federal I-9 form, employers will submit the completed I-9 form and receive employment eligibility confirmation in three to five seconds,” Wiggam said. “Employers have secure 24-hour access, and simply need a web browser and internet access to complete the submission.”
E-Verify is a federal internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services in partnership with the Social Security Administration, the lawmaker explained.
“In short, E-Verify is a free, efficient online service that electronically confirms within seconds an employee’s information with DHS and SSA records to confirm employment eligibility in the United States,” he added.
HB 327 would require the state attorney general to investigate alleged breaches of the bill’s requirement, Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis of the bill provided.
In the private sector, if a court determines that a violation has occurred, the violator would be required to pay $5,000 for each violation, while in the public sector the violating agency or subdivision would be fined $5,000 per instance of noncompliance and the contract would be voided.
Wiggam said in the current, high-demand labor market, here are too many instances of noncitizens and minors being taken advantage of.
“An illegal arrangement between an employer and an employee should be called what it actually is––it’s human trafficking and it needs to stop,” he said. HB 327 offers employers peace of mind that new hires are legally eligible for employment, reassures investors that contractors and sub-contractors are utilizing a legal workforce and protects jobs for authorized workers.”
OLSC analysis of the bill noted that were the legislation to be challenged with respect to the state constitution’s Home Rule Amendment, a reviewing court might consider whether a municipal or charter county ordinance or resolution requiring a local agency or contractor to use a method other than E-Verify to confirm an employee’s eligibility to work is an exercise of local self-government.
“The Ohio Supreme Court has generally held that establishing the terms of public employment and contracting for goods, services and construction are matters of local self-government under the Home Rule Amendment to the Ohio Constitution,” attorney Paul Luzzi wrote for the commission. “With respect to a matter of local self-government, a municipality or charter county may adopt an ordinance or resolution that conflicts with state law.”
Recognizing that the state constitution also grants the General Assembly the power to pass laws fixing and regulating the hours of labor, establishing the minimum wage and providing for the general welfare of all employees, Luzzi wrote that no other constitutional provision of may limit that power.
“Thus, one could also argue that the bill is for the protection of employees and cannot be limited by a conflicting local ordinance or resolution,” he reasoned.
Wiggam cited the National Council of State Legislatures, which reported that 22 states require the use of E-Verify for public and/or private employers, including the neighboring states of Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, is joint sponsor of the bill and 22 House members have signed on as co-sponsors.
HB 372 awaits further consideration by the committee.
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