On October 1st, House Bill 352 was introduced, which seeks to provide comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4112). The bill also contains some employer-friendly changes which would simplify the defense of discrimination claims brought under the statute.
Currently, employees can file a lawsuit under Ohio’s discrimination statute up to six years after the date of an incident, far longer than in most states. In addition, managers and supervisors can be held personally liable for discrimination. The current law also provides numerous ways for employees to file age discrimination claims, each with different remedies and filing deadlines. The statute, as currently written, is a source of great confusion for both employers and employees alike.
House Bill 352 was introduced to resolve many of these issues. The bill will create a uniform two-year statute of limitations for all employment discrimination claims. Age discrimination claims will also have the same procedures and remedies as other discrimination claims, instead of the fragmented approach currently in use. Additionally, the bill will eliminate individual and statutory liability for managers and supervisors. Finally, the bill will add to the statute an affirmative defense to certain hostile work environment claims. The affirmative defense will enable the employer to show it exercised reasonable care to prevent or promptly correct any alleged unlawful discriminatory practice or behavior, and that the employee failed to take advantage of preventive or corrective opportunities offered by the employer which could have avoided the alleged discrimination.
The proposed legislation will also make it possible to keep track of the type and frequency of discrimination taking place in the state. If passed, employees will be required to file an administrative charge of discrimination with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission prior to filing a discrimination action in court. This is the same process used by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and allows the State of Ohio to track and compile data on discrimination claims brought in the state. If passed in its current form, employers will ultimately benefit from using this data when drafting anti-discrimination policies and employee handbooks.
The attorneys at Fishel Downey regularly work with Ohio employers to ensure compliance with Ohio discrimination laws, including drafting policies, conducting investigations and training employees. If you have any questions about complying with Ohio discrimination laws, please contact us at info@fisheldowney.com or call 614.221.1216.