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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 135
2025-2026
Representatives Upchurch, Lawson-Rowe
Cosponsors: Representatives Denson,
Isaacsohn, Russo, McNally, Mohamed, Rader
A
BILL
To
amend sections 4112.01 and 4112.02 of the Revised Code to
prohibit
discrimination in rental housing based on lawful source of income.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 4112.01 and 4112.02 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, 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 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, 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;
(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.
(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 accordance with section
4112.052 of the Revised Code.
(26)
"Lawful source of income" means any lawful and verifiable
source of money paid directly, indirectly, or on behalf of a person,
including income derived from any lawful profession or occupation, as
well as assistance through private grant or loan programs, and
payments, benefits, or subsidies derived from a federal, state, or
local government program such as:
(a)
Low-income housing assistance under the "United States Housing
Act of 1937," 42 U.S.C. 1437f;
(b)
The Ohio works first program established by Chapter 5107. of the
Revised Code;
(c)
Assistance through the Ohio housing finance agency under Chapter 175.
of the Revised Code;
(d)
The medicaid program;
(e)
A program administered by the United States department of veterans'
affairs or veterans' administration for any service-connected
disability;
(f)
The supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the
"Food and Nutrition Act of 2008," 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.,
and administered by the department of job and family services under
section 5101.54 of the Revised Code;
(g)
The special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and
children established under the "Child Nutrition Act of 1966,"
42 U.S.C. 1786, and administered by the department of health under
section 3701.132 of the Revised Code;
(h)
Supplemental security income under the "Social Security Act,"
42 U.S.C. 1383;
(i)
Social security disability benefits provided under the "Social
Security Act," 42 U.S.C. 401.
(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.
Sec.
4112.02.
It
shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:
(A)
For any employer, because of the race, color, religion, sex, military
status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any person,
to discharge without just cause, to refuse to hire, or otherwise to
discriminate against that person with respect to hire, tenure, terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or
indirectly related to employment.
(B)
For an employment agency or personnel placement service, because of
race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin,
disability, age, or ancestry, to do any of the following:
(1)
Refuse or fail to accept, register, classify properly, or refer for
employment, or otherwise discriminate against any person;
(2)
Comply with a request from an employer for referral of applicants for
employment if the request directly or indirectly indicates that the
employer fails to comply with the provisions of sections 4112.01 to
4112.07 of the Revised Code.
(C)
For any labor organization to do any of the following:
(1)
Limit or classify its membership on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or
ancestry;
(2)
Discriminate against, limit the employment opportunities of, or
otherwise adversely affect the employment status, wages, hours, or
employment conditions of any person as an employee because of race,
color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability,
age, or ancestry.
(D)
For any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management
committee controlling apprentice training programs to discriminate
against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, military
status, national origin, disability, or ancestry in admission to, or
employment in, any program established to provide apprentice
training.
(E)
Except where based on a bona fide occupational qualification
certified in advance by the commission, for any employer, employment
agency, personnel placement service, or labor organization, prior to
employment or admission to membership, to do any of the following:
(1)
Elicit or attempt to elicit any information concerning the race,
color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability,
age, or ancestry of an applicant for employment or membership;
(2)
Make or keep a record of the race, color, religion, sex, military
status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any
applicant for employment or membership;
(3)
Use any form of application for employment, or personnel or
membership blank, seeking to elicit information regarding race,
color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability,
age, or ancestry; but an employer holding a contract containing a
nondiscrimination clause with the government of the United States, or
any department or agency of that government, may require an employee
or applicant for employment to furnish documentary proof of United
States citizenship and may retain that proof in the employer's
personnel records and may use photographic or fingerprint
identification for security purposes;
(4)
Print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or
advertisement relating to employment or membership indicating any
preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based upon
race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin,
disability, age, or ancestry;
(5)
Announce or follow a policy of denying or limiting, through a quota
system or otherwise, employment or membership opportunities of any
group because of the race, color, religion, sex, military status,
national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of that group;
(6)
Utilize in the recruitment or hiring of persons any employment
agency, personnel placement service, training school or center, labor
organization, or any other employee-referring source known to
discriminate against persons because of their race, color, religion,
sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.
(F)
For any person seeking employment to publish or cause to be published
any advertisement that specifies or in any manner indicates that
person's race, color, religion, sex, military status, national
origin, disability, age, or ancestry, or expresses a limitation or
preference as to the race, color, religion, sex, military status,
national origin, disability, age, or ancestry of any prospective
employer.
(G)
For any proprietor or any employee, keeper, or manager of a place of
public accommodation to deny to any person, except for reasons
applicable alike to all persons regardless of race, color, religion,
sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry,
the full enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or
privileges of the place of public accommodation.
(H)
Subject to section 4112.024 of the Revised Code, for any person to do
any of the following:
(1)
Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance
housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of
housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing
accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, military
status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;
(2)
Represent to any person that housing accommodations are not available
for inspection, sale, or rental, when in fact they are available,
because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial
status, ancestry, disability, or national origin;
(3)
Discriminate against any person in the making or purchasing of loans
or the provision of other financial assistance for the acquisition,
construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing
accommodations, or any person in the making or purchasing of loans or
the provision of other financial assistance that is secured by
residential real estate, because of race, color, religion, sex,
military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national
origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in
which the housing accommodations are located, provided that the
person, whether an individual, corporation, or association of any
type, lends money as one of the principal aspects or incident to the
person's principal business and not only as a part of the purchase
price of an owner-occupied residence the person is selling nor merely
casually or occasionally to a relative or friend;
(4)
Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of
selling, transferring, assigning, renting, leasing, or subleasing any
housing accommodations or in furnishing facilities, services, or
privileges in connection with the ownership, occupancy, or use of any
housing accommodations, including the sale of fire, extended
coverage, or homeowners insurance, because of race, color, religion,
sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or
national origin or because of the racial composition of the
neighborhood in which the housing accommodations are located;
(5)
Discriminate against any person in the terms or conditions of any
loan of money, whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for
the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance
of housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex,
military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national
origin or because of the racial composition of the neighborhood in
which the housing accommodations are located;
(6)
Refuse to consider without prejudice the combined income of both
husband and wife for the purpose of extending mortgage credit to a
married couple or either member of a married couple;
(7)
Print, publish, or circulate any statement or advertisement, or make
or cause to be made any statement or advertisement, relating to the
sale, transfer, assignment, rental, lease, sublease, or acquisition
of any housing accommodations, or relating to the loan of money,
whether or not secured by mortgage or otherwise, for the acquisition,
construction, rehabilitation, repair, or maintenance of housing
accommodations, that indicates any preference, limitation,
specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion,
sex, military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or
national origin, or an intention to make any such preference,
limitation, specification, or discrimination;
(8)
Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(8) or (17) of this
section, make any inquiry, elicit any information, make or keep any
record, or use any form of application containing questions or
entries concerning race, color, religion, sex, military status,
familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin in
connection with the sale or lease of any housing accommodations or
the loan of any money, whether or not secured by mortgage or
otherwise, for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, repair,
or maintenance of housing accommodations. Any person may make
inquiries, and make and keep records, concerning race, color,
religion, sex, military status, familial status, ancestry,
disability, or national origin for the purpose of monitoring
compliance with this chapter.
(9)
Include in any transfer, rental, or lease of housing accommodations
any restrictive covenant, or honor or exercise, or attempt to honor
or exercise, any restrictive covenant;
(10)
Induce or solicit, or attempt to induce or solicit, a housing
accommodations listing, sale, or transaction by representing that a
change has occurred or may occur with respect to the racial,
religious, sexual, military status, familial status, or ethnic
composition of the block, neighborhood, or other area in which the
housing accommodations are located, or induce or solicit, or attempt
to induce or solicit, a housing accommodations listing, sale, or
transaction by representing that the presence or anticipated presence
of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, military status,
familial status, ancestry, disability, or national origin, in the
block, neighborhood, or other area will or may have results
including, but not limited to, the following:
(a)
The lowering of property values;
(b)
A change in the racial, religious, sexual, military status, familial
status, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or other
area;
(c)
An increase in criminal or antisocial behavior in the block,
neighborhood, or other area;
(d)
A decline in the quality of the schools serving the block,
neighborhood, or other area.
(11)
Deny any person access to or membership or participation in any
multiple-listing service, real estate brokers' organization, or other
service, organization, or facility relating to the business of
selling or renting housing accommodations, or discriminate against
any person in the terms or conditions of that access, membership, or
participation, on account of race, color, religion, sex, military
status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry;
(12)
Coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the
exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of that person's having
exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person
in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by
division (H) of this section;
(13)
Discourage or attempt to discourage the purchase by a prospective
purchaser of housing accommodations, by representing that any block,
neighborhood, or other area has undergone or might undergo a change
with respect to its religious, racial, sexual, military status,
familial status, or ethnic composition;
(14)
Refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease, or finance,
or otherwise deny or withhold, a burial lot from any person because
of the race, color, sex, military status, familial status, age,
ancestry, disability, or national origin of any prospective owner or
user of the lot;
(15)
Discriminate in the sale or rental of, or otherwise make unavailable
or deny, housing accommodations to any buyer or renter because of a
disability of any of the following:
(a)
The buyer or renter;
(b)
A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing
accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;
(c)
Any individual associated with the person described in division
(H)(15)(b) of this section.
(16)
Discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale or
rental of housing accommodations to any person or in the provision of
services or facilities to any person in connection with the housing
accommodations because of a disability of any of the following:
(a)
That person;
(b)
A person residing in or intending to reside in the housing
accommodations after they are sold, rented, or made available;
(c)
Any individual associated with the person described in division
(H)(16)(b) of this section.
(17)
Except as otherwise provided in division (H)(17) of this section,
make an inquiry to determine whether an applicant for the sale or
rental of housing accommodations, a person residing in or intending
to reside in the housing accommodations after they are sold, rented,
or made available, or any individual associated with that person has
a disability, or make an inquiry to determine the nature or severity
of a disability of the applicant or such a person or individual. The
following inquiries may be made of all applicants for the sale or
rental of housing accommodations, regardless of whether they have
disabilities:
(a)
An inquiry into an applicant's ability to meet the requirements of
ownership or tenancy;
(b)
An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for housing
accommodations available only to persons with disabilities or persons
with a particular type of disability;
(c)
An inquiry to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a
priority available to persons with disabilities or persons with a
particular type of disability;
(d)
An inquiry to determine whether an applicant currently uses a
controlled substance in violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised
Code or a substantively comparable municipal ordinance;
(e)
An inquiry to determine whether an applicant at any time has been
convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense, an element of which is
the illegal sale, offer to sell, cultivation, manufacture, other
production, shipment, transportation, delivery, or other distribution
of a controlled substance.
(18)(a)
Refuse to permit, at the expense of a person with a disability,
reasonable modifications of existing housing accommodations that are
occupied or to be occupied by the person with a disability, if the
modifications may be necessary to afford the person with a disability
full enjoyment of the housing accommodations. This division does not
preclude a landlord of housing accommodations that are rented or to
be rented to a tenant with a disability from conditioning permission
for a proposed modification upon the tenant with a disability doing
one or more of the following:
(i)
Providing a reasonable description of the proposed modification and
reasonable assurances that the proposed modification will be made in
a workerlike manner and that any required building permits will be
obtained prior to the commencement of the proposed modification;
(ii)
Agreeing to restore at the end of the tenancy the interior of the
housing accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the
proposed modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during
the period of occupancy, if it is reasonable for the landlord to
condition permission for the proposed modification upon the
agreement;
(iii)
Paying into an interest-bearing escrow account that is in the
landlord's name, over a reasonable period of time, a reasonable
amount of money not to exceed the projected costs at the end of the
tenancy of the restoration of the interior of the housing
accommodations to the condition they were in prior to the proposed
modification, but subject to reasonable wear and tear during the
period of occupancy, if the landlord finds the account reasonably
necessary to ensure the availability of funds for the restoration
work. The interest earned in connection with an escrow account
described in this division shall accrue to the benefit of the tenant
with a disability who makes payments into the account.
(b)
A landlord shall not condition permission for a proposed modification
upon a tenant with a disability's payment of a security deposit that
exceeds the customarily required security deposit of all tenants of
the particular housing accommodations.
(19)
Refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies,
practices, or services when necessary to afford a person with a
disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit,
including associated public and common use areas;
(20)
Fail to comply with the standards and rules adopted under division
(A) of section 3781.111 of the Revised Code;
(21)
Discriminate against any person in the selling, brokering, or
appraising of real property because of race, color, religion, sex,
military status, familial status, ancestry, disability, or national
origin;
(22)
Fail to design and construct covered multifamily dwellings for first
occupancy on or after June 30, 1992, in accordance with the following
conditions:
(a)
The dwellings shall have at least one building entrance on an
accessible route, unless it is impractical to do so because of the
terrain or unusual characteristics of the site.
(b)
With respect to dwellings that have a building entrance on an
accessible route, all of the following apply:
(i)
The public use areas and common use areas of the dwellings shall be
readily accessible to and usable by persons with a disability.
(ii)
All the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises
shall be sufficiently wide to allow passage by persons with a
disability who are in wheelchairs.
(iii)
All premises within covered multifamily dwelling units shall contain
an accessible route into and through the dwelling; all light
switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, and other environmental
controls within such units shall be in accessible locations; the
bathroom walls within such units shall contain reinforcements to
allow later installation of grab bars; and the kitchens and bathrooms
within such units shall be designed and constructed in a manner that
enables an individual in a wheelchair to maneuver about such rooms.
For
purposes of division (H)(22) of this section, "covered
multifamily dwellings" means buildings consisting of four or
more units if such buildings have one or more elevators and ground
floor units in other buildings consisting of four or more units.
(23)
Refuse to rent, lease, or sublease a housing accommodation, refuse
access to or use of the common areas and facilities of a housing
accommodation, serve a notice of termination of tenancy, commence a
forcible entry and detainer action on grounds not authorized under
section 1923.02 of the Revised Code, or otherwise deny to or withhold
from any person or persons a housing accommodation on the basis of a
person's lawful source of income;
(24)
Represent to any person, on the basis of the person's lawful source
of income, that a housing accommodation is not available for
inspection or rental when such housing accommodation is in fact
available for inspection or rental, or to discriminate in the terms,
conditions, or privileges pertaining to the rental or lease of any
housing on the basis of a person's lawful source of income;
(25)
Make, print, or publish, or cause to be made, printed, or published,
any notice, statement, sign, advertisement, application, or contract
with regard to renting or leasing of a housing accommodation offered
by that person that indicates any preference, limitation, or
discrimination with respect to a person's lawful source of income.
(I)
For any person to discriminate in any manner against any other person
because that person has opposed any unlawful discriminatory practice
defined in this section or because that person has made a charge,
testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any
investigation, proceeding, or hearing under sections 4112.01 to
4112.07 of the Revised Code.
(J)
For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of
any act declared by this section to be an unlawful discriminatory
practice, to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with this
chapter or any order issued under it, or to attempt directly or
indirectly to commit any act declared by this section to be an
unlawful discriminatory practice.
(K)
Nothing in divisions (A) to (E) of this section shall be construed to
require a person with a disability to be employed or trained under
circumstances that would significantly increase the occupational
hazards affecting either the person with a disability, other
employees, the general public, or the facilities in which the work is
to be performed, or to require the employment or training of a person
with a disability in a job that requires the person with a disability
routinely to undertake any task, the performance of which is
substantially and inherently impaired by the person's disability.
(L)
With regard to age, it shall not be an unlawful discriminatory
practice and it shall not constitute a violation of division (A) of
section 4112.14 of the Revised Code for any employer, employment
agency, joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship
training programs, or labor organization to do any of the following:
(1)
Establish bona fide employment qualifications reasonably related to
the particular business or occupation that may include standards for
skill, aptitude, physical capability, intelligence, education,
maturation, and experience;
(2)
Observe the terms of a bona fide seniority system or any bona fide
employee benefit plan, including, but not limited to, a retirement,
pension, or insurance plan, that is not a subterfuge to evade the
purposes of this section. However, no such employee benefit plan
shall excuse the failure to hire any individual, and no such
seniority system or employee benefit plan shall require or permit the
involuntary retirement of any individual, because of the individual's
age except as provided for in the "Age Discrimination in
Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat. 189, 29 U.S.C.A.
623, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A. 623, as
amended.
(3)
Retire an employee who has attained sixty-five years of age who, for
the two-year period immediately before retirement, is employed in a
bona fide executive or a high policymaking position, if the employee
is entitled to an immediate nonforfeitable annual retirement benefit
from a pension, profit-sharing, savings, or deferred compensation
plan, or any combination of those plans, of the employer of the
employee, which equals, in the aggregate, at least forty-four
thousand dollars, in accordance with the conditions of the "Age
Discrimination in Employment Act Amendment of 1978," 92 Stat.
189, 29 U.S.C.A. 631, as amended by the "Age Discrimination in
Employment Act Amendments of 1986," 100 Stat. 3342, 29 U.S.C.A.
631, as amended;
(4)
Observe the terms of any bona fide apprenticeship program if the
program is registered with the Ohio apprenticeship council pursuant
to sections 4139.01 to 4139.06 of the Revised Code and is approved by
the federal committee on apprenticeship of the United States
department of labor.
(M)
Nothing in this chapter prohibiting age discrimination and nothing in
division (A) of section 4112.14 of the Revised Code shall be
construed to prohibit the following:
(1)
The designation of uniform age the attainment of which is necessary
for public employees to receive pension or other retirement benefits
pursuant to Chapter 145., 742., 3307., 3309., or 5505. of the Revised
Code;
(2)
The mandatory retirement of uniformed patrol officers of the state
highway patrol as provided in section 5505.16 of the Revised Code;
(3)
The maximum age requirements for appointment as a patrol officer in
the state highway patrol established by section 5503.01 of the
Revised Code;
(4)
The maximum age requirements established for original appointment to
a police department or fire department in sections 124.41 and 124.42
of the Revised Code;
(5)
Any maximum age not in conflict with federal law that may be
established by a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or
resolution of a board of township trustees for original appointment
as a police officer or firefighter;
(6)
Any mandatory retirement provision not in conflict with federal law
of a municipal charter, municipal ordinance, or resolution of a board
of township trustees pertaining to police officers and firefighters;
(7)
Until January 1, 1994, the mandatory retirement of any employee who
has attained seventy years of age and who is serving under a contract
of unlimited tenure, or similar arrangement providing for unlimited
tenure, at an institution of higher education as defined in the
"Education Amendments of 1980," 94 Stat. 1503, 20 U.S.C.A.
1141(a).
(N)(1)(a)
Except as provided in division (N)(1)(b) of this section, for
purposes of divisions (A) to (E) of this section, a disability does
not include any physiological disorder or condition, mental or
psychological disorder, or disease or condition caused by an illegal
use of any controlled substance by an employee, applicant, or other
person, if an employer, employment agency, personnel placement
service, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee acts
on the basis of that illegal use.
(b)
Division (N)(1)(a) of this section does not apply to an employee,
applicant, or other person who satisfies any of the following:
(i)
The employee, applicant, or other person has successfully completed a
supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in
the illegal use of any controlled substance, or the employee,
applicant, or other person otherwise successfully has been
rehabilitated and no longer is engaging in that illegal use.
(ii)
The employee, applicant, or other person is participating in a
supervised drug rehabilitation program and no longer is engaging in
the illegal use of any controlled substance.
(iii)
The employee, applicant, or other person is erroneously regarded as
engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance, but the
employee, applicant, or other person is not engaging in that illegal
use.
(2)
Divisions (A) to (E) of this section do not prohibit an employer,
employment agency, personnel placement service, labor organization,
or joint labor-management committee from doing any of the following:
(a)
Adopting or administering reasonable policies or procedures,
including, but not limited to, testing for the illegal use of any
controlled substance, that are designed to ensure that an individual
described in division (N)(1)(b)(i) or (ii) of this section no longer
is engaging in the illegal use of any controlled substance;
(b)
Prohibiting the illegal use of controlled substances and the use of
alcohol at the workplace by all employees;
(c)
Requiring that employees not be under the influence of alcohol or not
be engaged in the illegal use of any controlled substance at the
workplace;
(d)
Requiring that employees behave in conformance with the requirements
established under "The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988,"
102 Stat. 4304, 41 U.S.C.A. 701, as amended;
(e)
Holding an employee who engages in the illegal use of any controlled
substance or who has alcoholism to the same qualification standards
for employment or job performance, and the same behavior, to which
the employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, labor
organization, or joint labor-management committee holds other
employees, even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is
related to an employee's illegal use of a controlled substance or
alcoholism;
(f)
Exercising other authority recognized in the "Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 327, 42 U.S.C.A. 12101, as
amended, including, but not limited to, requiring employees to comply
with any applicable federal standards.
(3)
For purposes of this chapter, a test to determine the illegal use of
any controlled substance does not include a medical examination.
(4)
Division (N) of this section does not encourage, prohibit, or
authorize, and shall not be construed as encouraging, prohibiting, or
authorizing, the conduct of testing for the illegal use of any
controlled substance by employees, applicants, or other persons, or
the making of employment decisions based on the results of that type
of testing.
(O)
This section does not apply to a religious corporation, association,
educational institution, or society with respect to the employment of
an individual of a particular religion to perform work connected with
the carrying on by that religious corporation, association,
educational institution, or society of its activities.
The
unlawful discriminatory practices defined in this section do not make
it unlawful for a person or an appointing authority administering an
examination under section 124.23 of the Revised Code to obtain
information about an applicant's military status for the purpose of
determining if the applicant is eligible for the additional credit
that is available under that section.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 4112.01 and 4112.02 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.