The Ohio House of Representatives has approved workers compensation budget legislation that would ban undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits.
H.B. 27, which passed Wednesday on a 65-29 vote, prohibits undocumented workers from receiving payments if injured on the job. It also gives employers immunity for injuries suffered by undocumented immigrants except when the worker can prove the employer knew their status.
The two-year, $566.5 million workers comp budget bill, sponsored by state Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Mount Lookout, will now be introduced in state Senate for consideration.
A limit on workers compensation benefits for undocumented workers is unconstitutional because it prevents them from being eligible for the same comp benefits afforded to legally employed workers in the state, the Tennessee Supreme Court says.