Ohio’s new employment verification law, the ‘E-Verify Workforce Integrity Act’ (House Bill 246), will require many construction employers in the state to use the federal E-Verify system when hiring. The law, signed in December 2025, is set to take effect on March 19, 2026.

Under the new law, nonresidential construction contractors, subcontractors, and labor brokers who hire employees to work on covered projects in Ohio will have to participate in E-Verify, the federal employment eligibility verification system administered by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

The law defines a covered “nonresidential construction project” as any construction or renovation on buildings, highways, bridges, utilities, and related infrastructure, with certain exclusions.

Residential construction, manufactured homes, mobile homes, and structures associated with agricultural land use are exempted from the new requirement.

The law adds a layer of state-level verification requirements on top of federal I-9 obligations. Covered employers must enroll in E-Verify if they are not already enrolled, and for each new employee assigned to covered construction work, they must create an E-Verify case to confirm that worker’s legal authorization to work in the United States. These E-Verify cases are in addition to the Form I-9 process employers perform under federal law.

In addition to running E-Verify cases, employers subject to the Act must retain verification records for the longer of three years after hire or one year after the employee leaves to satisfy the retention requirements.

A critical part of compliance is how employers respond when E-Verify returns a final nonconfirmation (indicating that the system cannot verify eligibility), because the law prohibits continuing to employ individuals who receive a final nonconfirmation.

Enforcement of the new mandate will be handled by the Ohio attorney general, who can investigate complaints (including anonymous ones) and assess penalties. Fines for failing to create required E-Verify cases or maintain proper documentation can start in the hundreds of dollars and increase significantly for repeated violations. Penalties for continuing to employ someone after a final nonconfirmation can rise into the tens of thousands of dollars. Multiple willful violations may also result in debarment from future state contracts for a period of time and, in extreme cases, revocation of business licenses if unauthorized workers were knowingly employed.

Construction employers who may be covered by the Act should begin preparing now. Steps could include:

  • Confirming which projects fall under the law’s definitions;
  • Enrolling in E-Verify;
  • Updating hiring and onboarding procedures;
  • Training HR and management staff on compliance steps and handling of nonconfirmations; and
  • Reviewing contracts with subcontractors and labor brokers to ensure that these partners also comply with the new requirements.

For covered employers, the Act introduces a significant shift in employment verification for nonresidential construction work by mandating E-Verify participation, tightening recordkeeping and termination obligations, and establishing new state penalties and enforcement mechanisms to promote a legally authorized workforce.

Please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney for any questions and confidential, forward-looking guidance handling your workplace issues.