House Bill 2, introduced on February 1, 2017, and currently in committee, would make changes to the Ohio Civil Rights Law (“OCRL”) and the procedure for filing charges with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (“OCRC”).
House Bill 2 would limit the definition of an employer for purposes of the OCRL by excluding any person who is acting directly or indirectly in an employer’s interest. The intent of this change is to exclude managers, supervisors, and employees from being held personally liable under the OCRL. Also, House Bill 2 would restrict the definition of employer, for private employers under the OCRL, to persons employing four or more people for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Currently, there is no calendar week requirement for a private employer under OCRL, meaning that this change would exclude small seasonal or part-time employers from the OCRL.
House Bill 2 would establish a separate procedure for charges filed with the OCRC that allege an unlawful discriminatory employment practice. It would also prohibit claimants from simultaneously pursuing a lawsuit and an OCRC charge relating to unlawful discriminatory employment practices. Next, House Bill 2 would reduce the time in which lawsuits related to discrimination in the workplace can be brought under Ohio law from six years to only one.
Finally, the bill would consolidate age discrimination lawsuits under the OCRL to treat them the same as other protected classes with regard to the OCRL. Under current Ohio law, a person wishing to bring an age discrimination claim has three options: a lawsuit based on the general prohibition against unlawful discriminatory practices on the basis of age, a lawsuit based on the specific prohibition against discrimination on the basis of age in employment, and a general lawsuit alleging any violation of the Ohio Civil Rights Law. House Bill 2 would eliminate the first two avenues, so all state law age discrimination in employment cases would have to be brought under the Ohio Civil Rights Law.
FHKAD attorneys will continue to monitor this proposed legislation. Feel free to contact attorney Marc Fishel at mfishel@fishelhass.com or (614) 221-1216 if you have any questions.