(The Center Square) – A Wisconsin Senate Republican has introduced a law to require contractors working with the state to verify its employees are in the country and able to legally work.

Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, introduced Legislative Reference Bill 0512, which would require contractors with more than $50,000 in total contracts with the state to use the federal E-Verify system to ensure that workers are allowed to work in the country.

“Congress failed to address a gap in our immigration law by making E-Verify use optional, rather than mandatory,” Wimberger said in a statement. “This means employers are not required to check their workers’ employment status beyond filling out an I-9 hiring form.

“Because of this, bad actors can plausibly deny their exploitation of illegally hired cheap immigrant labor, since the law does not compel them to do anything beyond the bare minimum to confirm the employment status of their workers.”

Wimberger said that the law would prevent Wisconsin companies from taking advantage of workers and lowering wages in the state.

The E-Verify program is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, cross-checking information from an employee’s I-9 with Homeland Security and Social Security records. Wimberger said that Minnesota, Indiana and Pennsylvania have similar laws.

“Governor Evers expressed concern recently that he might be accused of violating federal immigration law,” Wimberger said. “This bill should ease his concerns, since employees and contractors will need to be pre-screened to be lawfully employed.”