Source: http://www.elinfonet.com/starticles/36/9
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 16:22:57+00:00

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The City of Cincinnati has become the latest jurisdiction to adopt an ordinance prohibiting employers from asking about or relying on the prior salary history of prospective employees in setting starting pay.
In the recently issued decision in McDaniel v. Wilkie, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio considered whether telecommuting constitutes a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The short answer is that it can constitute a reasonable accommodation if it would enable an employee to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of his or her position and does not impose an undue burden on the employer.
Unlike most licensed professions, the practice of law can significantly restrict an attorney’s geographic mobility.
The Ohio employment discrimination statute may be in for substantial changes. A bill aimed at comprehensive reform of Ohio’s employment discrimination statute (R.C. § 4112) has been introduced Ohio Legislature.
A new Ohio law mandates uniformity of laws across the state affecting wage-hour, paid sick and safe leave and other fringe benefits, and scheduling of employee work hours. Senate Bill 331 expressly prohibits cities and counties from adopting laws in these areas that differ from those enacted at the state and federal level. Senate Bill 331 goes into effect on March 20, 2017.
Imagine you operate multiple business locations in Columbus, Ohio where 3 counties comprise the city proper and as many as 11 counties comprise the larger Columbus Metropolitan Area. Now imagine that each of those counties adopts their own local ordinance requiring paid sick leave as well as advance notice (and extra pay) to employees before you can change their work schedule. Perhaps a few of the counties also enact an increased minimum wage of $15 an hour –much like the proposal to increase the minimum wage that was supposed to be voted upon in Cleveland in May of 2017. Would you want to continue to do business in Columbus or would you curtail your growth in that city and look for a more employer friendly home for your future business locations?
A new Ohio law will allow employees to keep guns and ammunition in their cars while at work so long as each firearm remains locked within the car's trunk, glove box or other enclosed compartment. The law also makes it illegal for an employer to fire or refuse to hire someone who has a valid permit and keeps a gun within a vehicle locked on the employer's property.
Soon many Ohio employers will no longer have the right to ban firearms from all company property. On December 19, 2016, Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 199, which prevents employers from prohibiting concealed handgun license holders from storing firearms in their locked vehicles when parked on company property. The law does not affect employers’ ability to otherwise exclude firearms from their premises.
Ohio’s new medical marijuana law becomes effective on September 6, 2016, although it may take up to two years for implementing regulations to be written and for dispensaries and the patient registry to become operational. House Bill 523, the “Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program,” allows people with certain medical conditions, upon the recommendation of a physician, to purchase and use medical marijuana. Qualifying medical conditions include AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, chronic or intractable pain, Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD, among others.
Companies in Cleveland, Ohio, now must permit transgender employees and patrons to use the bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, and dressing facilities associated with the individual’s gender identity or expression.
Governor John Kasich has signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Ohio. Effective September 6th, physicians in the Buckeye State may recommend the use of medical marijuana for individuals suffering from more than 20 different serious medical conditions.
Last year, Ohio legislators found themselves caught in the middle of a media firestorm created by various pro-legalized marijuana groups who were politically savvy and financially funded enough to place multiple proposed constitutional amendments on Ohio’s November 2015 election ballot.
Because public body meetings are required to be open to the public in Ohio, just exactly what constitutes a “meeting” of a public body has long been a matter of some debate, especially as means of communication have expanded dramatically in recent years. Can Board members send and receive private email communications to each other on school matters? Can a Board President conduct straw polls of individual members in one-on-one telephone conferences? Can Board members tweet about public matters when she is followed by a majority of other Board members? Can an email be sent by the Superintendent to other Board of Education members seeking input from each?
Last week, an Ohio, a federal judge held that a home health aide failed to demonstrate that she performed general housework unrelated to the care of her patients, and therefore qualified as a provider of companionship services under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s previous formulation of the “companion” exemption. As such, the home health aide was not entitled to the minimum wage or overtime. Foster v. Americare Healthcare Servs., Inc., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166550 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 11, 2015).
Effective June 1, Ohio will "ban the box" from state government job applications that prospective employees are asked to check off if they have ever been convicted of a crime. As a result, criminal history questions will be removed from paper and online applications. State employers will still be able to question applicants about their criminal records during job interviews or later in the hiring process.
Ohio is starting 2014 with an increase to its minimum wage. On January 1, 2014, Ohio raised its minimum wage ten cents, from $7.85 to $7.95 per hour. Tipped employees hourly minimum wage increased five cents, from $3.93 to $3.98.
This summer, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law "SharedWork Ohio," an initiative designed to help workers and employers alike by preventing layoffs. The "SharedWork Ohio" program gives Ohio employers new flexibility to keep their workforce intact when experiencing a downturn in business.
On July 3, 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court directed the Eighth District Court of Appeals to apply the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling in Havel v. Villa St. Joseph, 131 Ohio St.3d 235 (2012) that, upon motion of a party, Ohio Revised Code § 2315.21(B) requires a trial court to bifurcate claims for compensatory and punitive damages, to a retaliation claim asserted under Ohio Revised Code § 4112. See Luri v. Republic Servs., Inc., et al., Slip Opinion No. 2012-Ohio-2914. While this ruling may appear rather inconsequential at first blush, it suggests that the Ohio Supreme Court has now, at least implicitly, sanctioned the application of Ohio’s tort reform, specifically Ohio Revised Code § 2315.21, including its cap on punitive damages, to claims brought under the Ohio Civil Rights Act.
In April 2005, Ohio enacted tort reform through Senate Bill 80, which substantially changed the landscape of personal injury law in Ohio as it provided a number of new provisions in an attempt to establish reasonable guidelines for awards of punitive damages. One of these changes was the imposition of statutory damages caps and with these changes came many questions, including whether employment cases would be defined as â€œtortsâ€ and be included in the reform provisions. Ohio employers have been particularly anxious as to the answer because it had the potential to dramatically impact verdicts in the state.
On March 31, 2011, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 5 into law. The new law significantly reduces the collective bargaining rights of nearly half a million public employees throughout Ohio, including teachers, firefighters and police officers. Below are a few key points of interest.
Lenght of service leave requirements.
Ohio Healthy Families Act Will Not Appear On November Ballot.
Ohioans will not vote in November on whether certain Ohio employers must provide seven sick days annually to their employees. The Ohio Healthy Family Campaign, the coalition of more than 220 organizations including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that had backed the Ohio Healthy Families Act, will ask Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to remove the proposed legislation from the Ohio November 4th ballot. Proponents of the Ohio Healthy Families Act acquired enough signatures last month to get the proposed legislation on the November ballot.
Ohio Civil Rights Commission Says Maternity Leave Must Be Twelve Weeks.

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