04/02/2026
Ohio E-Verify Update - Legally Speaking with Taft
Legally Speaking
by Marc Fleischauer and Bob Dunlevey
Taft/
Ohio E-Verify Update: Existing Employees, Conflicting Rules, and Next Steps.
Our earlier article, “Ohio’s New E‑Verify Law: What Contractors Need to Do Before the Next Bid,” walked through the core requirements of House Bill 246 going into effect on March 20, 2026. Since then, many contractors have raised a narrower but important question: how the Ohio statute’s text fits with the federal E‑Verify program rules. Our original article described the basic structure of the law and its focus on employees hired to perform work on non-residential construction projects. The new wrinkle is not a change in the law, but growing recognition of a tension between the Ohio statute and the longstanding federal E‑Verify Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that employers must sign to participate.