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Senate Drops Plan on Injury Benefits to Undocumented Workers
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The Ohio Senate has rejected a House budget provision that would deny injury benefits to workers living in the U.S. illegally.
Sen. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican, said after a hearing Tuesday that the provision is a “pretty big policy issue” that should be reviewed more thoroughly. He says the Legislature needs to ensure the requirement doesn’t have unintended consequences for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, said during a House floor debate in May that money paid to people living in the U.S. illegally are dollars taken from businesses and workers who are here legally.
Hottinger says the workers’ compensation bureau doesn’t collect Social Security numbers and isn’t positioned to know whether someone is in the country illegally.