HB302 Alabama 2025 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Ben RobbinsRepresentative

Republican

Session

2025 Regular Session

Title

Workforce; regulating staffing and hiring of aliens with temporary or asylum status in the state

Summary

HB302 creates the Alabama Foreign Worker Transparency Act to regulate labor brokers, sponsors, and employers handling foreign workers through registration, verification, reporting, and liability rules.

What This Bill Does

It requires labor brokers recruiting a certain number of foreign workers to register with the Department of Workforce, report new hires, and use E-Verify to confirm work authorization. It establishes a State Directory of New Hires, cross-matches data to identify unemployment or workers’ compensation recipients, and forwards information to federal systems. It also imposes sponsor disclosure for public benefits, creates liability for reimbursements to the state, enables civil actions and license actions against violators, and expands E-Verify and anti-unauthorized-employment requirements for state contracts, with an effective date of October 1, 2025.

Who It Affects

• Labor brokers or staffing firms that recruit foreign workers: must register annually, report hires, use E-Verify, may face fines, investigations, and possible license actions.
• Charitable organizations that provide financial support or sponsorship to foreign workers: must register, report sponsorships, disclose sponsor information, and can face penalties or civil actions.
• Sponsors (individuals or entities providing financial support to foreign workers): may be liable for reimbursing benefits, subject to civil actions by the Attorney General, and could have licenses revoked if they are labor brokers or charitable organizations.
• Employers and worksite employers in Alabama: must report new hires within seven days, share USCIS numbers with the Department of Workforce, verify workers through E-Verify, and face penalties and potential loss of public incentives for employing unauthorized aliens.
• Foreign workers and associated authorized aliens: subject to sponsorship rules and reporting; benefits and sponsor obligations may affect eligibility for public benefits.
• State and local governments and state-funded entities: must enforce E-Verify, require sponsors to provide documentation, and may suspend or revoke licenses for violations.

Key Provisions

• Amends Section 25-11-5 to require employers to report each new hire within seven days, including name, address, USCIS number or Social Security number, date of hire, and employer identifiers; permits electronic reporting; and requires cross-matching by the State Directory of New Hires.
• Creates the Alabama Foreign Worker Transparency Act with defined terms (foreign worker, sponsor, sponsorship, settlement services, etc.) and establishes registration requirements for labor brokers and charitable organizations.
• Labor brokers and charitable organizations must file annual registrations with the Department of Workforce, disclosing business names, addresses, FEIN, names of owners, and any criminal convictions; foreign entities must provide registered agent information; information must be submitted under oath.
• Labor brokers or sponsors must annually report sponsorship details for each foreign worker, including sponsor documents (Declaration/Affidavit of Support) and DHS sponsor approvals, and notify the department of address changes.
• Requires labor brokers to confirm foreign workers’ identity and employment authorization via E-Verify, unless the broker assists the worker with obtaining an Employment Authorization Document from DHS.
• Establishes a Foreign Worker Resource Fund to collect registration fees and fines, with the department authorized to use funds for administering and enforcing the act.
• Authorizes civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance, including fines, injunctions, license suspensions/revocation, and potential referrals to the Attorney General for prosecution; and allows state agencies to terminate contracts with violators.
• Mandates that state contracting authorities require E-Verify enrollment for contractors and subcontractors, verify all required employees, and include contract clauses to prevent hiring unauthorized aliens; violations can trigger contract termination and penalties.
• Provides that sponsors may be pursued for reimbursement of state/local benefits provided to sponsored aliens, with penalties and potential liens; the Attorney General can pursue civil actions for recovery and may seek license revocation for labor brokers or nonprofits.
• Requires a statewide database and cross-matching across agencies to ensure compliance, and allows data sharing with DHS and other state entities to support enforcement.
• Beason-Hammon Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act protections are not superseded; the act aligns with existing state immigration defenses while adding new oversight.
• Effective October 1, 2025.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Immigration