|
|
| To enact sections 8.01 to 8.04 and 5747.027 of the | 1 |
| Revised Code to require in specified situations | 2 |
| the verification of immigration status of persons | 3 |
| who are not United States citizens, to impose | 4 |
| state income taxes at a rate of six per cent per | 5 |
| annum on the compensation of specified | 6 |
| independent contractors who fail to document such | 7 |
| verification, and to restrict the employment of | 8 |
| persons who are not legal residents of the United | 9 |
| States. | 10 |
| Section 1. That sections 8.01, 8.02, 8.03, 8.04, and | 11 |
| 5747.027 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 12 |
| Sec. 8.01. As used in the Revised Code: | 13 |
| (A) "Alien" means a person who is not a United States citizen | 14 |
| or a United States national. | 15 |
| (B) "Legal permanent resident alien" means an alien who has | 16 |
| been granted the right by the United States bureau of | 17 |
| citizenship and immigration services to reside permanently in | 18 |
| the United States and to work without restrictions in the United | 19 |
| States. | 20 |
| (C) "Nonimmigrant" means an alien who has been granted the | 21 |
| right by the United States bureau of citizenship and immigration | 22 |
| services to reside temporarily in the United States and the | 23 |
| period of that temporary residence has not expired. | 24 |
| (D) "Public employer" means any department, agency, or | 25 |
| instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision of the | 26 |
| state. | 27 |
| (E) "Status verification system" means any electronic system | 28 |
| the federal government operates to enable a person to verify or | 29 |
| ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual. | 30 |
| "Status verification system" includes all of the following: | 31 |
| (1) The electronic verification of work authorization program | 32 |
| known as the "e-verify program," 8 U.S.C. 1324a, operated by the | 33 |
| United States department of homeland security, and any equivalent | 34 |
| federal program that the United States department of homeland | 35 |
| security or other federal agency designates to verify the work | 36 |
| eligibility status of newly hired employees, pursuant to the | 37 |
| "Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986," Pub. L. No. 99-603, | 38 |
| 100 Stat. 3360. | 39 |
| (2) Any independent, third-party system with an equal or | 40 |
| higher degree of reliability as the programs, systems, or | 41 |
| processes described in division (E)(1) of this section. | 42 |
| (3) The social security number verification service, or any | 43 |
| similar online verification process the United States social | 44 |
| security administration operates. | 45 |
| (F) "Subcontractor" means a subcontractor, contract employee, | 46 |
| staffing agency, or any contractor regardless of its tier. | 47 |
| (G) "Unauthorized alien" means an alien who is not authorized | 48 |
| to be employed as determined in accordance with section 101(a) of | 49 |
| the "Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986," 100 Stat. 3360, | 50 |
| 8 U.S.C. 1324a. | 51 |
| Sec. 8.02. (A) Every public employer shall register with a | 52 |
| status verification system and use that system to verify the | 53 |
| employment authorization status of all new employees. | 54 |
| (B)(1) After July 1, 2009, no public employer shall enter | 55 |
| into a contract for the physical performance of services within | 56 |
| this state unless the contractor registers and participates in a | 57 |
| status verification system. | 58 |
| (2) After July 1, 2009, no contractor or subcontractor shall | 59 |
| enter into any contract to provide a public employer with the | 60 |
| physical performance of services in this state unless the | 61 |
| contractor or subcontractor registers and participates in a status | 62 |
| verification system to verify information of all new employees. | 63 |
| (3) Division (B) of this section does not apply to any | 64 |
| contract entered into prior to the effective date of this section | 65 |
| even if the service or labor is performed after July 1, 2009. | 66 |
| (C) The director of commerce shall adopt rules pursuant to | 67 |
| Chapter 119. of the Revised Code under which the director | 68 |
| administers sections 8.02 to 8.04 of the Revised Code. | 69 |
| Sec. 8.03. (A) Any individual who acts as an independent | 70 |
| contractor and contracts to provide the physical performance of | 71 |
| services in this state shall document the employment authorization | 72 |
| of persons who perform labor for that independent contractor. | 73 |
| (B) If a contractor fails to provide the contracting entity | 74 |
| with documentation of employment authorization as division (A) of | 75 |
| this section requires, the contracting entity shall withhold from | 76 |
| that contractor's compensation an amount for state income taxes at | 77 |
| the rate of six per cent of the total amount of compensation paid | 78 |
| to the contractor. The Ohio income taxes imposed on any such | 79 |
| compensation shall be computed pursuant to section 5747.027 of the | 80 |
| Revised Code. | 81 |
| (C) Any contracting entity that fails to comply with the | 82 |
| withholding division (B) of this section requires is liable for | 83 |
| the income taxes imposed pursuant to that section unless the | 84 |
| contracting entity is exempt from federal withholding with respect | 85 |
| to the contractor pursuant to a properly filed internal revenue | 86 |
| service form 8233 or its equivalent. | 87 |
| (D) Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating an | 88 |
| employer-employee relationship between a contracting entity and an | 89 |
| individual independent contractor. | 90 |
| Sec. 8.04. (A) No employer shall discharge an employee who is | 91 |
| a United States citizen or legal permanent resident alien while | 92 |
| that employer retains an employee whom the employer knows, or | 93 |
| reasonably should have known, is an unauthorized alien hired after | 94 |
| July 1, 2009 and who works for the employer in a job category | 95 |
| that, as defined by 29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1), requires equal skill, | 96 |
| effort, and responsibility and is performed under similar working | 97 |
| conditions as the job category of the discharged employee. | 98 |
| (B) An employer is exempt from liability, investigation, or | 99 |
| suit arising from any action under this division if on the date of | 100 |
| a discharge that is alleged to violate division (A) of this | 101 |
| section, the employer was enrolled in and used a status | 102 |
| verification system to verify the employment eligibility of its | 103 |
| employees. | 104 |
| (C) A violation of this section does not give rise to any | 105 |
| cause of action except as provided in this section. | 106 |
| Sec. 5747.027. In the case of an independent contractor who | 107 |
| fails to provide documentation of employment authorization to a | 108 |
| contracting entity as section 8.03 of the Revised Code requires, | 109 |
| the tax imposed on the total compensation the independent | 110 |
| contractor receives from the contracting entity shall be at the | 111 |
| rate of six per cent. | 112 |