Yesterday, House Bill 2, the Employment Law Uniformity Act, took its first step toward becoming law. During sponsor testimony, Rep. Bill Seitz explained that Ohio’s employment discrimination laws put Ohio’s businesses at a competitive disadvantage and create a compliance nightmare because they are drastically different from federal law.

Key provisions of the legislation include:

• reducing the time frame to file an employment discrimination claim from six years (currently the longest in the country) to one year; and

• preventing employers from being forced to defend claims in the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) and in civil court simultaneously.

A full rundown of the entire legislation can be found at our last blog post detailing HB 2’s introduction.

These changes will help to bring Ohio’s employment discrimination laws more in line with their federal counterparts and those in other states. HB 2 will allow for ease of compliance for Ohio’s employers, bring efficiency to the process, and create a more competitive legal environment for Ohio. The Employment Law Uniformity Act is an Ohio Chamber priority and we will be working to ensure the legislature moves quickly on this important legislation.