Proposal would require Nebraska work permits for undocumented workers

Undocumented workers would need a Nebraska permit to work under a hiring contract. Workers would have to live in Nebraska. Their undocumented spouses and unmarried children under 21 who live in Nebraska could apply for family permits. Workers would need to have lived or worked in Nebraska before July 1, 2028, have no serious-offense conviction, and be at least 18 or have written permission from a parent or guardian. A hiring procedure would allow up to 30 days to obtain a permit. Work without a permit could not exceed 30 days during a two-year calendar period. Permits could serve as state or local identification, but could not establish eligibility for government benefits or authorize work outside Nebraska. Permit holders would be ineligible for Nebraska unemployment benefits. The Nebraska Department of Labor would seek needed federal permissions. The program would start on the earlier of July 1, 2028, or 120 days after the governor finds those permissions were received.

Worker and family applicants would pay initial permit fees, and workers would provide health and criminal-history records. Initial permits would cost $1,000 for people who entered the United States legally but no longer meet federal rules for staying, or $2,500 for people who entered illegally. Application and renewal fees would be up to $50 for workers and $20 for family members. Workers would also pay for a fingerprint-based national criminal-history check. Workers would need a hiring contract and proof they meet federal public-health entry rules. They would need basic health insurance or proof of no overdue medical debt and an agreement to keep it that way during the permit term. Workers would need lawful driving authorization or evidence they would not drive in Nebraska. Initial fees could be paid in installments without interest or installment charges. Defaulting on payments would require permit cancellation. If federal permission requires it, workers would also need a $10,000 bond or a promise from their home country that they will follow the rules. The Labor Department would issue or renew a permit, or give written notice of denial, within 30 days after receiving an application. Permits would last two years. Applicants could appeal denials.

Permit holders would keep meeting eligibility rules, update their contact information, and make an honest effort to learn English. The Labor Department would report canceled permits, and expired permits held by people still living in Nebraska, to the Nebraska attorney general and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the person's last known address. Any permit holder convicted of a defined serious offense would lose the permit. Workers would also lose permits after more than one year without work under a hiring contract. Family permits would be canceled when the related worker permit expires or is canceled. Renewal applicants would document efforts to reach an intermediate English level. Workers reported absent for ten consecutive days without employer approval could face permit restrictions or cancellation, but not a civil fine for that absence. Other violations could bring permit restrictions or cancellation and fines up to $750 per violation. Providing false or forged application materials or altering a permit would be a Class II misdemeanor, a criminal offense. If a permit cancellation is appealed, the department would wait to report it until the appeal is resolved against the permit holder.

The Nebraska Department of Revenue would provide a way to withhold amounts matching state income taxes and would charge some employers a separate fee. People paying permit holders for services could use the state withholding arrangement. Employers hiring permit holders as employees would owe the separate fee, set to closely match federal employment taxes. The state withholding arrangement would apply when a permit holder has not been issued a Social Security number. The employer fee would apply only if the federal government does not collect or arrange withholding of federal employment taxes from undocumented people when the program begins. Employer fee collection would end on the last day of the calendar quarter when the federal government begins collecting or arranging withholding of those employment taxes.

The Labor Department would provide permit checks for employers and keep applicants' information out of public records. Employers would have a permit-check process similar to the federal E-Verify system for checking work eligibility. Confidentiality would cover information obtained from undocumented people through the program. Workers could appeal a finding that their permit is invalid. Information could be shared with state auditors, tax officials, federal agencies under federal permissions, and others when needed to carry out the program. The Labor Department would not owe damages in civil lawsuits over the permit-check system, its collection and sharing of information, or findings that permits are invalid.