New hiring laws in Indiana for 2027: SEA 76 on unauthorized workers, the end of youth employer registration, unemployment changes and what employers do next

As of November 2026, Indiana's 2026 hiring changes took effect on July 1, 2026, and the largest is Senate Enrolled Act 76: it is now unlawful for any Indiana employer to knowingly or intentionally recruit, hire or continue to employ an unauthorized alien, with reasonable diligence, such as using E-Verify, as the defense and the Attorney General as enforcer. The same day, House Enrolled Act 1302 ended the registration requirement for employers of five or more minors, Senate Enrolled Act 214 added notice duties in unemployment insurance, and House Enrolled Act 1098 made employers responsible for workers' compensation coverage of work-based learning students. From July 1, 2027, health care and school employers must file twice-yearly workplace battery reports.

Indiana added no pay transparency, salary history or AI hiring law in 2026. Every item below is a 2026 enrolled act linked to its text on the Indiana General Assembly's site, or a section of the 2026 Indiana Code, Title 22. The standing checklist (DWD and INBiz registration, the WH-4, new-hire reports) is in our Indiana hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Indiana hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Indiana acts and the federal rules that apply to Indiana employers, sorted by date.

What does SEA 76 require of Indiana employers?

Senate Enrolled Act 76 adds IC 22-5-9, effective July 1, 2026. Section 7 says "it is unlawful for an employer to knowingly or intentionally recruit, hire, or continue to employ an unauthorized alien in Indiana," and it does not reach hiring that occurred before July 1, 2026. "Employer" is any person, including an agent, that employs employees in Indiana, and "employ" includes to suffer or permit to work, so staffing agencies and their clients are both in scope. An employer is not in violation if it used "reasonable diligence to confirm the work eligibility" of the person before recruiting, hiring or continuing to employ them, which includes using the federal E-Verify program, unless the circumstances showed the result was unreliable, or diligence "consistent with industry standard best practices."

Enforcement starts with the Attorney General. For a first-time employer, the Attorney General must send notice of a probable cause finding, and the employer has 15 business days to show reasonable diligence or file an affidavit that it has terminated any unauthorized workers, verified all employees and will not knowingly employ unauthorized aliens. If the case goes to court, the court may suspend all of the employer's operating authorizations (licenses, permits, registrations and similar) at the location for five business days for a single first violation, ten business days for several, 180 days for a repeat violator, and permanently after that, or place the employer on probation for six months to two years with quarterly reports. Employers may not retaliate against employees who cooperate with the Attorney General, and the chapter "shall be enforced without regard to race, color, or national origin." The wider setup, including how SEA 76 sits beside the I-9, is in our Indiana hiring hub and E-Verify requirements in Indiana.

Do Indiana employers still register to employ minors?

No. House Enrolled Act 1302 repealed IC 22-2-18.1-26, which required "each employer that hires, employs, or permits at least five (5) minors" aged 14 to 17 to register with the Department of Labor, and IC 22-2-18.1-25, the public database of registered employers, both effective July 1, 2026. The rest of the youth employment chapter, including hours limits and the Department's enforcement, remains, so restaurants, retailers and staffing agencies hiring teenagers for summer 2027 still need to schedule within the limits.

What changed in Indiana unemployment insurance for employers?

Senate Enrolled Act 214 rewrites large parts of the unemployment insurance article from July 1, 2026. Two changes land on employers:

• Contact details. New IC 22-4-19-16 requires each employer to give the Department of Workforce Development "current, accurate contact information," including a mailing address for registered mail and an email address, and to notify the Department "within fifteen (15) days of a change." The Department may send notices electronically unless the employer elects mail.
• Separation reasons. IC 22-4-17-2 now says that if a claimant voluntarily left without good cause, was discharged for just cause or gross misconduct, left because of a physical condition, or left for another job or self-employment, "the employer shall notify the department of the separation circumstances," and must also report vacation pay, pay in lieu of notice, retirement pay and other potentially disqualifying circumstances.

Staffing agencies, which are often the last employer on a claim, should make sure assignment-end reasons are recorded in a way that maps to these categories.

What did HEA 1098 change for work-based learning and apprentices?

House Enrolled Act 1098 adds IC 20-20-38.6 from July 1, 2026. When an intermediary, an industry talent association or a school connects a student with an employer for a work-based learning program (an apprenticeship, a modern youth apprenticeship, a qualifying pre-apprenticeship or a work-based learning course), they and the employer "shall enter into a written agreement under which the employer assumes responsibility for obtaining worker's compensation insurance coverage" for the student. They may meet the rule "by entering into an agreement with a third party employer of record." Virtual programs and one-off visits are excluded. Employers that host high school apprentices should have the agreement on file before the first shift; an agency acting as employer of record should see employer of record in Indiana.

What starts on July 1, 2027?

IC 22-1-1-24, added by P.L.158-2026 and printed in the 2026 Indiana Code, requires the employer of a health care employee or school employee who is the victim of a workplace battery to report it to the Commissioner of Labor. "Beginning July 1, 2027," reports are due before August 1 for January through June and before February 1 for July through December, on the Commissioner's form, and include the job title of each victim, the date and location, and circumstances such as whether law enforcement responded. Hospitals, clinics and schools, and the agencies that staff them, should decide now who collects incident data for placed workers.

What did Indiana not change in 2026?

• Non-competes. The 2025 ban on non-competes between physicians and hospitals or hospital systems, for agreements entered on or after July 1, 2025, still applies; no 2026 act amended the physician non-compete chapter, IC 25-22.5-5.5. See Indiana non-compete law.
• Pay ranges and salary history. No law passed; see Indiana pay transparency and Indiana salary history rules.
• Criminal history. No new private-employer rule; see Indiana background check laws. With the EEOC guidance rescinded on October 28, 2026, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to decide and document, and Title VII and the FCRA steps still apply.
• Recording interviews still needs one party's consent; see Indiana recording consent for interviews.

What should Indiana employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Write down your reasonable diligence method under SEA 76, such as E-Verify for every new hire, and keep the records together.
2. Update DWD contact details in Employer Self Service and assign someone to watch the email address.
3. Map separation codes in your HR system to the reasons SEA 214 lists.
4. Sign work-based learning agreements that settle workers' compensation coverage for students.
5. Check Form I-9 editions and work permit dates under the federal changes in the table, and remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from background check procedures.
6. Plan the July 2027 battery report if you employ health care or school staff.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Indiana?

SEA 76 applies to agencies as employers and as agents, and its remedy is aimed at the licenses and permits used at a location, so agencies and clients should agree in writing who verifies work eligibility and how. Agencies no longer register to place minors, but they do need clean separation records for unemployment claims and current contact details with DWD. Indiana's private employment agency rules are covered in our Indiana staffing agency guide; other states are in new hiring laws for 2027.