Legislation developed to prevent hiring of undocumented workers
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By MARC KOVAC

Dix Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS -- A state lawmaker is developing legislation that would hit the pocketbooks of employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers.

Sen. Capri Cafaro, a Democrat from Hubbard, said she intends to draft and introduce a bill on the issue in coming months.

"When was exploitation part of the American dream?" she said.

Cafaro is developing language that would force guilty businesses to pay back workers' compensation covering undocumented workers -- plus a 20 percent penalty. Measures could be included to provide funding to affected school districts and social service providers.

Such companies often avoid paying Social Security and other benefits costs for illegal employees; while the state can't impose a payback for those federal programs, it can implement a financial penalty for Ohio payments, Cafaro said.

Other state lawmakers are considering immigration reform measures -- Sen. Jason Wilson, a Democrat from Columbiana, also is developing a bill aimed at companies that employ illegal immigrants.

"The burden should lie with the employers," Cafaro said, adding, "If you cut off the demand, so to speak, you end up stopping the interest (among undocumented workers) of coming here. People are coming to get jobs. If you stop the exploitation and force the employers into being penalized for illegally employing undocumented workers, that should stop the influx or at least curtail the influx."

State lawmakers have recessed for the summer; regular committee hearings and sessions are scheduled to reconvene in September.

Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/2344911


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