--- name: oh-employment description: > Use for Ohio employment-law matters — discrimination, wrongful termination, wage/hour, whistleblower, workers' comp, unemployment. Centers on **R.C. Chapter 4112** (as overhauled by **2021 H.B. 352**) with **2-year SOL**, **mandatory OCRC charge exhaustion**, **Faragher/Ellerth defense**. Also covers **minimum wage** (**Ohio Const. art. II § 34a**), **prompt-pay** (R.C. 4113.15), **whistleblower** (R.C. 4113.52), **workers' comp exclusive remedy** (R.C. 4123) + intentional-tort exception (R.C. 2745.01), **unemployment** (R.C. Chapter 4141), and non-competes (*Raimonde*). Triggers: "Ohio employment law", "R.C. 4112", "OCRC charge", "Ohio whistleblower". version: 0.1.1 --- # Ohio Employment Law — Substantive Framework > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Verify every cite against current > R.C. text and current case law before filing. R.C. > Chapter 4112 was materially renumbered and rewritten by > the 2021 Employment Law Uniformity Act — do NOT rely on > pre-2021 section numbers or the old 6-year SOL. > Employment-discrimination claims have short fuses and a > mandatory administrative-exhaustion step; consult a > licensed Ohio attorney before a deadline runs. ## 1. Employment discrimination — R.C. Chapter 4112 The **2021 Employment Law Uniformity Act** (H.B. 352, eff. **April 15, 2021**) was the most consequential rewrite of Ohio's anti-discrimination statute in decades. It aligned Ohio practice with the federal Title VII / ADA / ADEA model. Four changes dominate every Chapter 4112 case filed after the effective date. ### (a) Single uniform 2-year statute of limitations A civil action for an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment "shall be filed within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed" — **R.C. 4112.052(C)(1)**. This replaced the patchwork under which some claims carried a 6-year SOL. The same 2-year window governs the **OCRC charge** itself: a charge must be filed "within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed" — **R.C. 4112.051(C)(2)** (note: this is the new charge-filing window; the old 6-month OCRC deadline was eliminated). The SOL is tolled while a timely OCRC charge is pending, per the tolling provisions at **R.C. 4112.052(C)(2)(a)-(b)**. ### (b) Mandatory administrative exhaustion (OCRC charge) Under **R.C. 4112.052(B)(1)**, a person may file a civil action alleging employment discrimination **only if** the person has **first filed a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission** under R.C. 4112.051 and one of the following has occurred: - the person **receives a notice of right to sue** from the OCRC (R.C. 4112.052(B)(1)(b)(i)); - the person **requested** a right-to-sue notice and the OCRC failed to issue it within **45 days** of when it was permitted to grant the request (R.C. 4112.052(B)(1)(b)(ii) cross-referencing R.C. 4112.051(N)); or - the OCRC makes a **probable-cause** determination and the complainant elects to sue (R.C. 4112.052(B)(1)(b)(iii)). **Exceptions to exhaustion** (R.C. 4112.052(B)(2)): a suit seeking **only injunctive relief**, or a case where the person has filed parallel OCRC + **EEOC** charges and received an EEOC right-to-sue notice. The OCRC/EEOC **worksharing** agreement means a charge dual-filed with one agency is generally cross-filed with the other. **Right-to-sue timing trap** — R.C. 4112.051(N): if the complainant requests a right-to-sue notice **less than 60 days** after filing the charge, the OCRC may not grant it until 60 days have passed. ### (c) Elimination of individual supervisor/manager liability Pre-2021 Ohio law (under *Genaro v. Cent. Transport*) exposed individual supervisors and managers to personal liability as "employers." H.B. 352 narrowed the cause of action so that, in most cases, **only the employing entity is a proper defendant** for an employment-discrimination claim. Confirm the current "employer" definition and the employment-claim structure before naming an individual — R.C. 4112.01(A)(2) (definition) and R.C. 4112.052 (employment civil action). Verify the precise scope of any residual individual liability against current case law. ### (d) Codified Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense **R.C. 4112.054** codifies the *Faragher/Ellerth* affirmative defense for **hostile-work-environment sexual harassment** claims. An employer may defeat vicarious liability for a supervisor-created hostile environment that **did not result in a tangible employment action** by proving both, by a preponderance: 1. the employer **exercised reasonable care** to prevent or promptly correct the harassing behavior (R.C. 4112.054(B)(1)); and 2. the employee **unreasonably failed** to take advantage of preventive or corrective opportunities (R.C. 4112.054(B)(2)). The defense is **unavailable** where the supervisor's harassment resulted in a tangible employment action — R.C. 4112.054(C). "Tangible employment action" is defined at R.C. 4112.054(A)(1). ### Protected classes + prohibited acts **R.C. 4112.02(A)** makes it unlawful for an employer, because of **race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry**, to discharge without just cause, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate. "Because of sex" expressly includes pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions — R.C. 4112.01(B). "Disability" is defined at R.C. 4112.01(A)(13); "age" means **40 or older** at R.C. 4112.01(A)(14). **Age discrimination** has a standalone provision at **R.C. 4112.14** (with its own civil-action mechanics in division (B) and an election-of-remedies bar against also suing under R.C. 4112.052 — R.C. 4112.14(D)). The OCRC administrative remedy is at **R.C. 4112.051**; the employment civil action and its 2-year SOL are at **R.C. 4112.052**; liberal construction is mandated by **R.C. 4112.08**. ### Federal parallel Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000e), the ADA (42 U.S.C. § 12101), and the ADEA (29 U.S.C. § 621) run **in parallel** with the EEOC. The EEOC charge is itself a prerequisite to a federal suit (generally 300 days in Ohio as a deferral state). Verbatim federal text is not in this corpus; consult `oh-fact-check` and the EEOC for the federal layer. For exact current statutory text, dollar figures, and subsection numbering, read `oh-law-references/references/oh-statutes-debt/RC-Chapter-4112.md`. ## 2. Minimum wage — R.C. Chapter 4111 + Ohio Const. art. II § 34a Ohio's operative minimum wage lives in the **Ohio Constitution, Article II, § 34a**, not just the statute. Section 34a sets a wage that is **annually adjusted for inflation** and applies to employers above the gross-receipts threshold; smaller employers default to the federal FLSA rate. **R.C. 4111.14** is the statute implementing § 34a (R.C. 4111.14(A) expressly states it implements the constitutional provision; it adopts FLSA definitions of "employer"/"employee" at R.C. 4111.14(B)). The **constitutional remedy** under § 34a is potent: an employee paid less than the § 34a wage may recover the **back wages owed, an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, and costs and reasonable attorney's fees**. (This remedy flows from the Constitution itself; pair the cite with § 34a, not solely the statute.) **Overtime** is at **R.C. 4111.03** — FLSA-parallel time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek, with the overtime exemptions catalogued at R.C. 4111.031. General minimum-wage liability and the private action sit at R.C. 4111.10; statutory enforcement/penalty at R.C. 4111.99. For the current indexed wage figure and the gross-receipts threshold, read `oh-law-references/references/oh-statutes-debt/RC-Chapter-4111.md` and verify § 34a's current annual adjustment. ## 3. Wage payment / prompt pay — R.C. 4113.15 **R.C. 4113.15(A)** requires **semi-monthly** payment of wages on the statutory schedule (first-half wages by the first of the next month; last-half wages by the fifteenth). **Liquidated damages — R.C. 4113.15(B):** where wages remain unpaid **30 days** beyond the regularly scheduled payday (or 60 days where no regular payday applies) and no bona fide contest/dispute exists, the employer is liable, in addition to the wages, for liquidated damages equal to **six percent of the amount still unpaid OR $200, whichever is greater**. The anti-waiver companion is R.C. 4113.16. Confirm the 6% / $200 figures in the pulled text before pleading them. ## 4. Whistleblower — R.C. 4113.52 Ohio's whistleblower statute is enforced **strictly on its procedural prerequisites** — Ohio courts deny protection to employees who skip a step. For a private-sector report of an employer's own violation, **R.C. 4113.52(A)(1)(f)** requires the employee to: 1. **orally notify** a supervisor or other responsible officer of the violation; **and** 2. **subsequently file a written report** that provides sufficient detail to identify and describe the violation; **then** 3. give the employer the statutory window — the employer has **24 hours** after the oral notification or receipt of the report to correct or make a good-faith effort to correct — **before** the employee may go external (prosecutor, peace officer, regulator, etc.). A report about a **fellow employee** has its own track at R.C. 4113.52(A)(3) (same oral-then-written prerequisites). The trigger is a reasonable belief the violation is a criminal offense likely to cause imminent physical harm or a public-health/safety hazard, a felony, or an improper solicitation for a contribution. **Anti-retaliation + remedies:** R.C. 4113.52(B) bars disciplinary or retaliatory action (removal, suspension, withheld raises/benefits, transfer, demotion, denied promotion). The civil action must be filed within **180 days** of the adverse action — **R.C. 4113.52(D)**. Remedies under **R.C. 4113.52(E)** include reinstatement, back pay, restored benefits/seniority, costs, and (for a prevailing employee) reasonable attorney's, witness, and expert fees, plus interest where the employer's violation was deliberate. Because compliance is strictly construed, document the oral notice, the written report, and the 24-hour correction window precisely. ## 5. Workers' compensation — R.C. Chapter 4123 ### Exclusive-remedy bar A complying employer "shall not be liable to respond in damages at common law or by statute" for a workplace injury, occupational disease, or death — **R.C. 4123.74**. Fellow employees get parallel immunity under **R.C. 4123.741**. The workers'-comp system is the **exclusive remedy** for work-related injury; a separate civil suit against the employer is barred unless an exception applies. ### Employer intentional-tort exception — R.C. 2745.01 The narrow exception is the **employer intentional tort** at **R.C. 2745.01**, which requires that the employer acted with **"deliberate intent" to cause injury** — a far higher bar than substantial-certainty recklessness. R.C. 2745.01(C) creates a rebuttable presumption that deliberate removal of a safety guard or deliberate misrepresentation of a toxic substance was committed with intent to injure. **R.C. Chapter 2745 was NOT pulled into this corpus** — verify the current text of R.C. 2745.01 at **codes.ohio.gov** (Title 27) before pleading it, and check current Supreme Court of Ohio case law construing "deliberate intent." ### Anti-retaliation — R.C. 4123.90 **R.C. 4123.90** prohibits discharge, demotion, reassignment, or punitive action against an employee for **filing or pursuing a workers'-comp claim**. The action runs in **common pleas**, relief is limited to reinstatement with back pay (or lost wages), and there are **two short fuses**: the suit must be filed within **180 days** of the adverse action, **and** the employer must have received **written notice** of the claimed violation within **90 days** of the adverse action. Both are jurisdictional — calendar them immediately. ### VSSR — violation of a specific safety requirement A VSSR award is an **additional** percentage award (over and above ordinary benefits) where the injury resulted from the employer's violation of a specific safety requirement — processed in the comp system under the **R.C. 4123.57**-area disability-compensation framework and the Industrial Commission's specific safety rules. Verify the current VSSR mechanics in `oh-law-references/references/oh-statutes-debt/RC-Chapter-4123.md`. ## 6. Unemployment compensation — R.C. Chapter 4141 ### Eligibility — just cause The core eligibility bar is at **R.C. 4141.29(D)(2)(a)**: a claimant is disqualified if the claimant **quit work without just cause** or **was discharged for just cause** in connection with the work. "Just cause" is a fact-intensive, case-law-driven standard; misconduct, voluntary quit, and refusal-of-suitable-work are the recurring disqualifiers. ### Appeal ladder 1. **Director's determination** — initial benefit-rights / claim determination under R.C. 4141.28. 2. **Appeal to the Director / redetermination, then the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission** — **R.C. 4141.281** (hearing before a hearing officer; further review by the Review Commission). 3. **Appeal to the court of common pleas** — **R.C. 4141.282**, within the **30-day** appeal period; the court reviews on the record (the timeliness-hearing mechanics are at R.C. 4141.282 cross-referencing R.C. 4141.281(D)(9)). Read `oh-law-references/references/oh-statutes-debt/RC-Chapter-4141.md` for the precise appeal deadlines and standard of review. ## 7. Non-compete agreements — common law (no Ohio statute) **Ohio has no non-compete statute.** Enforceability is governed by common law under ***Raimonde v. Van Vlerah*, 42 Ohio St.2d 21 (1975)**. *Raimonde* applies a **reasonableness** test — a covenant is enforceable only to the extent it is **no greater than required to protect the employer's legitimate business interest, does not impose undue hardship on the employee, and is not injurious to the public**. Critically, Ohio courts may **modify or "blue-pencil"** an overbroad covenant to make it reasonable rather than voiding it outright. The familiar factors: duration, geographic scope, the interest protected, and the employee's role/access to confidential information or customer relationships. ## 8. Right-to-work **Ohio is NOT a right-to-work state.** Union-security clauses (agency-fee / fair-share arrangements in the private sector) are permissible under Ohio law to the extent allowed by the NLRA. Do not treat Ohio like a right-to-work jurisdiction. ## Composition with other oh- skills - `oh-statewide-format` — Civ. R. 10 caption + filing - `oh-first-30-days` — answer / Civ. R. 12(B)(6) triage - `oh-discovery` — discovery mechanics (Civ. R. 26-37) - `oh-hearings` — motion practice + oral argument - `oh-deadlines` — computing the 2-year / 180-day / 90-day / 30-day fuses in this skill - `oh-post-judgment` — enforcement + relief from judgment - `oh-pro-se` — pro-se drafting framework - `oh-fact-check` — Ohio public-domain citation + cite verification (incl. the post-2021 Chapter 4112 numbering) - Flagship venue skills (`oh-cuya`, `oh-frank`, `oh-hamil`, `oh-summit`, `oh-montgomery`, `oh-lucas`, `oh-stark`, `oh-butler`) + `oh-county-courts` — Court of Common Pleas venue mechanics (employment-discrimination and whistleblower actions are filed in Common Pleas)