On September 25, 2018, the Cuyahoga County Council passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The legislation also creates a three-member Cuyahoga County Commission on Human Rights. While 20 other localities in Ohio have similar laws, now Ohio’s second largest county by population becomes the first county in the state to pass LGBT protections for employment, housing, and places of public accommodation.
Also included in the legislation are protections against discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, military status, national origin, disability, age, and ancestry. Prohibited activities include discrimination in places of public accommodations (e.g. refusing service in a restaurant), in the workplace, and housing decisions.
The Human Rights Commission created as a part of the legislation will be responsible for receiving complaints, mediating disputes, and issuing fines for violation of the ordinance. Anyone who believes they have been the subject of discrimination covered by the ordinance can file a complaint with the new commission, which may choose to undertake an investigation of the matter. The commission will have the power to issue cease and desist orders for those actively engaged in an unlawful discriminatory practice. The Commission also has the power to file a lawsuit to enforce or seek compliance with its final administrative decisions. Like most administrative decisions, any person or business which receives an adverse decision from the Commission may appeal to the Cuyahoga Court of Common pleas within 30 days of receipt of the decision.
Many who are familiar with federal anti-discrimination legislation will immediately recognize some of the above categories – called protected classes – as already receiving protection under federal law. For instance, the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects those over the age of 40 from being discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of their age. Federal law also protects against discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and disability. Extending these federal protections to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression has been a political hot-button issue for years, and a subject of several recent high-profile cases in federal courts.
In the absence of federal protection, many cities, counties, and states have moved to enact laws in their jurisdictions protecting these additional classes of individuals against discrimination. Currently, Ohio has no state-level law expressly protecting against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, though it has been argued that both federal and Ohio law prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sex encompass these variations.
Attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLP routinely advise and defend employers regarding discrimination, harassment and retaliation laws. For questions about this case or any other matter, please contact Marc Fishel (mfishel@fisheldowney.com) or
(gbacon@fisheldowney.com) by email or phone (614) 221-1216.