As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 70
2025-2026
Senator Antonio
Cosponsors: Senators Blackshear, Craig, DeMora, Hicks-Hudson, Liston, Smith,
Weinstein, Ingram
A B I L L
To amend sections 4112.01 and 4112.05 of the
Revised Code to enact the Ohio Fairness Act to
prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity or expression, to
add mediation as an informal method that the
Ohio Civil Rights Commission may use, and to
uphold existing religious exemptions under
Ohio's Civil Rights Law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4112.01 and 4112.05 of the
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4112.01. (A) As used in this chapter:
(1) "Person" includes one or more individuals,
partnerships, associations, organizations, corporations, legal
representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers,
and other organized groups of persons. "Person" also includes,
but is not limited to, any owner, lessor, assignor, builder,
manager, broker, salesperson, appraiser, agent, employee,
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lending institution, and the state and all political
subdivisions, authorities, agencies, boards, and commissions of
the state.
(2) "Employer" means the state, any political subdivision
of the state, or a person employing four or more persons within
the state, and any agent of the state, political subdivision, or
person.
(3) "Employee" means an individual employed by any
employer but does not include any individual employed in the
domestic service of any person.
(4) "Labor organization" includes any organization that
exists, in whole or in part, for the purpose of collective
bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances,
terms or conditions of employment, or other mutual aid or
protection in relation to employment.
(5) "Employment agency" includes any person regularly
undertaking, with or without compensation, to procure
opportunities to work or to procure, recruit, refer, or place
employees.
(6) "Commission" means the Ohio civil rights commission
created by section 4112.03 of the Revised Code.
(7) "Discriminate" includes segregate or separate.
(8) "Unlawful discriminatory practice" means any act
prohibited by section 4112.02, 4112.021, or 4112.022 of the
Revised Code.
(9) "Place of public accommodation" means any inn,
restaurant, eating house, barbershop, public conveyance by air,
land, or water, theater, store, other place for the sale of
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merchandise, or any other place of public accommodation or
amusement of which the accommodations, advantages, facilities,
or privileges are available to the public.
(10) "Housing accommodations" includes any building or
structure, or portion of a building or structure, that is used
or occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or
occupied as the home residence, dwelling, dwelling unit, or
sleeping place of one or more individuals, groups, or families
whether or not living independently of each other; and any
vacant land offered for sale or lease. "Housing accommodations"
also includes any housing accommodations held or offered for
sale or rent by a real estate broker, salesperson, or agent, by
any other person pursuant to authorization of the owner, by the
owner, or by the owner's legal representative.
(11) "Restrictive covenant" means any specification
limiting the transfer, rental, lease, or other use of any
housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex,
military status, familial status, national origin, disability,
or ancestry, or any limitation based upon affiliation with or
approval by any person, directly or indirectly, employing race,
color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national
origin, disability, or ancestry as a condition of affiliation or
approval.
(12) "Burial lot" means any lot for the burial of deceased
persons within any public burial ground or cemetery, including,
but not limited to, cemeteries owned and operated by municipal
corporations, townships, or companies or associations
incorporated for cemetery purposes.
(13) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
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including the functions of caring for one's self, performing
manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing,
learning, and working; a record of a physical or mental
impairment; or being regarded as having a physical or mental
impairment.
(14) Except as otherwise provided in section 4112.021 of
the Revised Code, "age" means an individual aged forty years or
older.
(15) "Familial status" means either of the following:
(a) One or more individuals who are under eighteen years
of age and who are domiciled with a parent or guardian having
legal custody of the individual or domiciled, with the written
permission of the parent or guardian having legal custody, with
a designee of the parent or guardian;
(b) Any person who is pregnant or in the process of
securing legal custody of any individual who is under eighteen
years of age.
(16)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(16)(b) of this
section, "physical or mental impairment" includes any of the
following:
(i) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the
following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special
sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs;
cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic
and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine;
(ii) Any mental or psychological disorder, including, but
not limited to, intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome,
emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities;
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(iii) Diseases and conditions, including, but not limited
to, orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments,
cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple
sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, human
immunodeficiency virus infection, intellectual disability,
emotional illness, drug addiction, and alcoholism.
(b) "Physical or mental impairment" does not include any
of the following:
(i) Homosexuality and bisexuality;
(ii) Transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia,
exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender identity disorders not
resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior
disorders;
(iii) Compulsive gambling, kleptomania, or pyromania;
(iv) Psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from
the current illegal use of a controlled substance or the current
use of alcoholic beverages.
(17) "Dwelling unit" means a single unit of residence for
a family of one or more persons.
(18) "Common use areas" means rooms, spaces, or elements
inside or outside a building that are made available for the use
of residents of the building or their guests, and includes, but
is not limited to, hallways, lounges, lobbies, laundry rooms,
refuse rooms, mail rooms, recreational areas, and passageways
among and between buildings.
(19) "Public use areas" means interior or exterior rooms
or spaces of a privately or publicly owned building that are
made available to the general public.
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(20) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as in
section 3719.01 of the Revised Code.
(21) "Disabled tenant" means a tenant or prospective
tenant who is a person with a disability.
(22) "Military status" means a person's status in "service
in the uniformed services" as defined in section 5923.05 of the
Revised Code.
(23) "Aggrieved person" includes both of the following:
(a) Any person who claims to have been injured by any
unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of
section 4112.02 of the Revised Code;
(b) Any person who believes that the person will be
injured by any unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code that is
about to occur.
(24) "Unlawful discriminatory practice relating to
employment" means both of the following:
(a) An unlawful discriminatory practice that is prohibited
by division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of section 4112.02
of the Revised Code;
(b) An unlawful discriminatory practice that is prohibited
by division (I) or (J) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code
that is related to employment.
(25) "Notice of right to sue" means a notice sent by the
commission to a person who files a charge under section 4112.051
of the Revised Code that states that the person who filed the
charge may bring a civil action related to the charge pursuant
to section 4112.052 or 4112.14 of the Revised Code, in
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accordance with section 4112.052 of the Revised Code.
(B) For the purposes of divisions (A) to (F) of section
4112.02 of the Revised Code, the terms "because of sex" and "on
the basis of sex" include, but are not limited to, because of or
on the basis of pregnancy, any illness arising out of and
occurring during the course of a pregnancy, childbirth, or
related medical conditions. Women affected by pregnancy,
childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the
same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of
benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so
affected but similar in their ability or inability to work, and
nothing in division (B) of section 4111.17 of the Revised Code
shall be interpreted to permit otherwise. This division shall
not be construed to require an employer to pay for health
insurance benefits for abortion, except where the life of the
mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or
except where medical complications have arisen from the
abortion, provided that nothing in this division precludes an
employer from providing abortion benefits or otherwise affects
bargaining agreements in regard to abortion.
(C) For purposes of the Revised Code, any provision
respecting sex discrimination includes discrimination because of
a person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
Sec. 4112.05. (A)(1) With the exception of unlawful
discriminatory practices relating to employment, the commission,
as provided in this section, shall prevent any person from
engaging in unlawful discriminatory practices.
(2) The commission may at any time attempt to resolve
allegations of unlawful discriminatory practices other than
allegations concerning unlawful discriminatory practices
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relating to employment by the use of alternative dispute
resolution, provided that, before instituting the formal hearing
authorized by division (B) of this section, it shall attempt, by
informal methods of conference, conciliation, mediation, and
persuasion, to induce compliance with this chapter.
(B)(1) Any person may file a charge with the commission
alleging that another person has engaged or is engaging in an
unlawful discriminatory practice. In the case of a charge
alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice that is not an
unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment and that
is described in division (G), (I), or (J) of section 4112.02 or
in section 4112.021 or 4112.022 of the Revised Code, the charge
shall be in writing and under oath and shall be filed with the
commission within six months after the alleged unlawful
discriminatory practice was committed. In the case of a charge
alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the charge
shall be in writing and under oath and shall be filed with the
commission within one year after the alleged unlawful
discriminatory practice was committed.
(a) An oath under this section may be made in any form of
affirmation the person deems binding on the person's conscience.
Acceptable forms include, but are not limited to, declarations
made under penalty of perjury.
(b) Any charge timely received, via facsimile, postal
mail, electronic mail, or otherwise, may be signed under oath
after the limitations period for filing set forth under division
(B)(1) of this section and will relate back to the original
filing date.
(2) Upon receiving a charge other than a charge concerning
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unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment, the
commission may initiate a preliminary investigation to determine
whether it is probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice
has been or is being engaged in. The commission also may
conduct, upon its own initiative and independent of the filing
of any charges, a preliminary investigation relating to any of
the unlawful discriminatory practices that are not unlawful
discriminatory practices relating to employment and that are
described in division (I) or (J) of section 4112.02 or in
section 4112.021 or 4112.022 of the Revised Code. Prior to a
notification of a complainant under division (B)(4) of this
section or prior to the commencement of informal methods of
conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion, or
alternative dispute resolution, under that division, the members
of the commission and the officers and employees of the
commission shall not make public in any manner and shall retain
as confidential all information that was obtained as a result of
or that otherwise pertains to a preliminary investigation other
than one described in division (B)(3) of this section.
(3)(a) Unless it is impracticable to do so and subject to
its authority under division (B)(3)(d) of this section, the
commission shall complete a preliminary investigation of a
charge filed pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section that
alleges an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, and shall
take one of the following actions, within one hundred days after
the filing of the charge:
(i) Notify the complainant and the respondent that it is
not probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice described
in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code has been
or is being engaged in and that the commission will not issue a
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complaint in the matter;
(ii) Initiate a complaint and schedule it for informal
methods of conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion,
or alternative dispute resolution;
(iii) Initiate a complaint and refer it to the attorney
general with a recommendation to seek a temporary or permanent
injunction or a temporary restraining order. If this action is
taken, the attorney general shall apply, as expeditiously as
possible after receipt of the complaint, to the court of common
pleas of the county in which the unlawful discriminatory
practice allegedly occurred for the appropriate injunction or
order, and the court shall hear and determine the application as
expeditiously as possible.
(b) If it is not practicable to comply with the
requirements of division (B)(3)(a) of this section within the
one-hundred-day period described in that division, the
commission shall notify the complainant and the respondent in
writing of the reasons for the noncompliance.
(c) Prior to the issuance of a complaint under division
(B)(3)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section or prior to a
notification of the complainant and the respondent under
division (B)(3)(a)(i) of this section, the members of the
commission and the officers and employees of the commission
shall not make public in any manner and shall retain as
confidential all information that was obtained as a result of or
that otherwise pertains to a preliminary investigation of a
charge filed pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section that
alleges an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code.
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(d) Notwithstanding the types of action described in
divisions (B)(3)(a)(ii) and (iii) of this section, prior to the
issuance of a complaint or the referral of a complaint to the
attorney general and prior to endeavoring to eliminate an
unlawful discriminatory practice described in division (H) of
section 4112.02 of the Revised Code by informal methods of
conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion, or by
alternative dispute resolution, the commission may seek a
temporary or permanent injunction or a temporary restraining
order in the court of common pleas of the county in which the
unlawful discriminatory practice allegedly occurred.
(4) If the commission determines after a preliminary
investigation other than one concerning an alleged unlawful
discriminatory practice relating to employment or one described
in division (B)(3) of this section that it is not probable that
an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is being engaged
in, it shall notify any complainant under division (B)(1) of
this section that it has so determined and that it will not
issue a complaint in the matter. If the commission determines
after a preliminary investigation other than one concerning an
alleged unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment
or one described in division (B)(3) of this section that it is
probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is
being engaged in, it shall endeavor to eliminate the practice by
informal methods of conference, conciliation, mediation, and
persuasion, or by alternative dispute resolution.
(5) Nothing said or done during informal methods of
conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion, or during
alternative dispute resolution, under this section shall be
disclosed by any member of the commission or its staff or be
used as evidence in any subsequent hearing or other proceeding.
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If, after a preliminary investigation and the use of informal
methods of conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion,
or alternative dispute resolution, under this section, the
commission is satisfied that any unlawful discriminatory
practice will be eliminated, it may treat the charge involved as
being conciliated and enter that disposition on the records of
the commission. If the commission fails to effect the
elimination of an unlawful discriminatory practice by informal
methods of conference, conciliation, mediation, and persuasion,
or by alternative dispute resolution under this section and to
obtain voluntary compliance with this chapter, the commission
shall issue and cause to be served upon any person, including
the respondent against whom a complainant has filed a charge
pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, a complaint stating
the charges involved and containing a notice of an opportunity
for a hearing before the commission, a member of the commission,
or a hearing examiner at a place that is stated in the notice
and that is located within the county in which the alleged
unlawful discriminatory practice has occurred or is occurring or
in which the respondent resides or transacts business. The
hearing shall be held not less than thirty days after the
service of the complaint upon the complainant, the aggrieved
persons other than the complainant on whose behalf the complaint
is issued, and the respondent, unless the complainant, an
aggrieved person, or the respondent elects to proceed under
division (A)(2) of section 4112.055 of the Revised Code when
that division is applicable. If a complaint pertains to an
alleged unlawful discriminatory practice described in division
(H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the complaint shall
notify the complainant, an aggrieved person, and the respondent
of the right of the complainant, an aggrieved person, or the
respondent to elect to proceed with the administrative hearing
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process under this section or to proceed under division (A)(2)
of section 4112.055 of the Revised Code.
(6) The attorney general shall represent the commission at
any hearing held pursuant to division (B)(5) of this section and
shall present the evidence in support of the complaint.
(7) Any complaint issued pursuant to division (B)(5) of
this section after the filing of a charge under division (B)(1)
of this section shall be so issued within one year after the
complainant filed the charge with respect to an alleged unlawful
discriminatory practice.
(C)(1) Any complaint issued pursuant to division (B) of
this section may be amended by the commission, a member of the
commission, or the hearing examiner conducting a hearing under
division (B) of this section.
(a) Except as provided in division (C)(1)(b) of this
section, a complaint issued pursuant to division (B) of this
section may be amended at any time prior to or during the
hearing.
(b) If a complaint issued pursuant to division (B) of this
section alleges an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the
complaint may be amended at any time up to seven days prior to
the hearing and not thereafter.
(2) The respondent has the right to file an answer or an
amended answer to the original and amended complaints and to
appear at the hearing in person, by attorney, or otherwise to
examine and cross-examine witnesses.
(D) The complainant shall be a party to a hearing under
division (B) of this section, and any person who is an
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indispensable party to a complete determination or settlement of
a question involved in the hearing shall be joined. Any
aggrieved person who has or claims an interest in the subject of
the hearing and in obtaining or preventing relief against the
unlawful discriminatory practices complained of shall be
permitted to appear only for the presentation of oral or written
arguments, to present evidence, perform direct and cross-
examination, and be represented by counsel. The commission shall
adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code
governing the authority granted under this division.
(E) In any hearing under division (B) of this section, the
commission, a member of the commission, or the hearing examiner
shall not be bound by the Rules of Evidence but, in ascertaining
the practices followed by the respondent, shall take into
account all reliable, probative, and substantial statistical or
other evidence produced at the hearing that may tend to prove
the existence of a predetermined pattern of employment or
membership, provided that nothing contained in this section
shall be construed to authorize or require any person to observe
the proportion that persons of any race, color, religion, sex,
military status, familial status, national origin, disability,
age, or ancestry bear to the total population or in accordance
with any criterion other than the individual qualifications of
the applicant.
(F) The testimony taken at a hearing under division (B) of
this section shall be under oath and shall be reduced to writing
and filed with the commission. Thereafter, in its discretion,
the commission, upon the service of a notice upon the
complainant and the respondent that indicates an opportunity to
be present, may take further testimony or hear argument.
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(G)(1)(a) If, upon all reliable, probative, and
substantial evidence presented at a hearing under division (B)
of this section, the commission determines that the respondent
has engaged in, or is engaging in, any unlawful discriminatory
practice, whether against the complainant or others, the
commission shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of
law and shall issue and, subject to the provisions of Chapter
119. of the Revised Code, cause to be served on the respondent
an order requiring the respondent to do all of the following:
(i) Cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory
practice;
(ii) Take any further affirmative or other action that
will effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including, but not
limited to, hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading of employees
with or without back pay, or admission or restoration to union
membership;
(iii) Report to the commission the manner of compliance.
If the commission directs payment of back pay, it shall
make allowance for interim earnings.
(b) If the commission finds a violation of division (H) of
section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, in addition to the action
described in division (G)(1)(a) of this section, the commission
additionally may require the respondent to undergo remediation
in the form of a class, seminar, or any other type of
remediation approved by the commission, may require the
respondent to pay actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees,
and may, to vindicate the public interest, assess a civil
penalty against the respondent as follows:
(i) If division (G)(1)(b)(ii) or (iii) of this section
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does not apply, a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed ten
thousand dollars;
(ii) If division (G)(1)(b)(iii) of this section does not
apply and if the respondent has been determined by a final order
of the commission or by a final judgment of a court to have
committed one violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of
the Revised Code during the five-year period immediately
preceding the date on which a complaint was issued pursuant to
division (B) of this section, a civil penalty in an amount not
to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars;
(iii) If the respondent has been determined by a final
order of the commission or by a final judgment of a court to
have committed two or more violations of division (H) of section
4112.02 of the Revised Code during the seven-year period
immediately preceding the date on which a complaint was issued
pursuant to division (B) of this section, a civil penalty
damages in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars.
(2) Upon the submission of reports of compliance, the
commission may issue a declaratory order stating that the
respondent has ceased to engage in particular unlawful
discriminatory practices.
(H) If the commission finds that no probable cause exists
for crediting charges of unlawful discriminatory practices or
if, upon all the evidence presented at a hearing under division
(B) of this section on a charge, the commission finds that a
respondent has not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory
practice against the complainant or others, it shall state its
findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on the
complainant an order dismissing the complaint as to the
respondent. A copy of the order shall be delivered in all cases
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to the attorney general and any other public officers whom the
commission considers proper.
If, upon all the evidence presented at a hearing under
division (B) of this section on a charge, the commission finds
that a respondent has not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory
practice against the complainant or others, it may award to the
respondent reasonable attorney's fees to the extent provided in
5 U.S.C. 504 and accompanying regulations.
(I) Until the time period for appeal set forth in division
(H) of section 4112.06 of the Revised Code expires, the
commission, subject to the provisions of Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, at any time, upon reasonable notice, and in the
manner it considers proper, may modify or set aside, in whole or
in part, any finding or order made by it under this section.
Section 2. That existing sections 4112.01 and 4112.05 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. This act upholds existing religious exemptions
currently in Ohio law.
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