Ohio Discrimination & Sexual Harassment Laws

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 restricts companies from making employment decisions based on religion, color, sex, (including pregnancy), disability, age, or national origin. This federal law absolutely prohibits discrimination based on age (if the employee is at least 40 years old), disability, which also includes a new aspect, genetic information. Companies doing busing in Ohio, with at least 15 employees are subject to these laws (for age discrimination, companies with at least 20 employees must comply with the law).

Companies are liable for any type of discrimination or harassment which may include: job interviews, specific hiring decisions, questions concerning past employment history, discipline layoffs, age-related issues, and retaliation. The federal laws that ban employment discrimination are the responsibility of the EEOC.

Ohio also absolutely forbids discrimination/harassment based on the above-mentioned areas. Also included under this legal umbrella is the veteran status. Ohio companies under no circumstances can overtly discriminate against the military status of their employees, or a family member injured in military service. All Ohio companies that employ four or more employees must follow these legal guidelines, which are enforced by Ohio’s Civil Rights Commission that oversees discrimination & harassment issues.

Ohio laws also forbid any forms of harassment. Harassment is defined as unwelcome conduct or actions, based on a protected category, which will create a hostile or offensive working environment, that the employee must endure in their place of work. Unwelcome conduct & Quid Pro Quo are generally the most common forms of sexual harassment, however, harassment claims in many cases are generally inter-related into the categories listed above, which also refers to discrimination abuse.

It is absolutely against both federal & state laws for the employer to provoke any type of retaliation for instigating a claim of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. Both state & federal legal experts take this law very seriously. These organizations specifically are Fed government agency (like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Ohio Civil Rights Commission).

If your company needs sexual harassment or harassment training in Ohio, click here to see Employee Harassment Training’s Ohio trainers.