Here’s what businesses need to know about Ohio’s new discrimination law process
Laura Newpoff
For Columbus CEO
Ohio is one of the nation’s outbound states where the number of residents leaving outpaces the number of people coming in. The outbound and inbound folks, however, have something in common. The No. 1 reason they make a move, data shows, is because of a job. Longtime employment lawyer Steve Loewengart is optimistic a new law that went into effect April 15 will reverse the outbound trend.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed H.B. 352 into law earlier this year. Also known as the Employment Law Uniformity Act, it will usher in broad changes to how discrimination claims are handled. The legislation had bipartisan support and is meant to improve the state’s business climate and draw more investment into Ohio.
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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years and this past month was no exception.
In fact, there were so many significant developments taking place during the past month that we were once again forced to expand our monthly summary well beyond the typical “Top 10” list. In order to make sure that you stay on top of the latest changes, here is a quick review of the Top 18 stories from last month that all employers need to know about:
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After over 25 years of proposals and negotiations among key stakeholders including Ohio employers and their supporting associations, the Ohio plaintiffs’ employment law bar, and various employee-rights advocates on December 22, 2020, the Ohio General Assembly passed sweeping reforms to the state’s employment discrimination statute, R.C. Chapter 4112. Ohio Governor Michael DeWine signed the new legislation on January 12, 2021. The law goes into effect on April 15, 2021, which is 90 days after the governor delivered the signed bill to the secretary of state.
Ohio’s Employment Law Uniformity Act (H.B. 352) finally curbs judicial lawmaking, which necessarily has occurred since 1991 regarding Chapter 4112. The most substantial revisions affecting Ohio employers include:
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
On Dec. 22, the Ohio Senate passed the Employment Law Uniformity Act - HB 352. Governor Mike DeWine signed the bill into law on Jan. 12, 2021.
The bill is the culmination of 20 years of work by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce to address expansion of Ohio’s anti-discrimination statute resulting from Ohio Supreme Court decisions that interpreted Ohio Revised Code Section 4112 expansively. HB 352 will simplify and clarify Ohio’s anti-discrimination statute by:
Lowering the statute of limitation for civil workplace discrimination actions from six years to two years;
Requiring the exhaustion of administrative remedies at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission prior to commencing a lawsuit;