Over the past 12 years, Ohio’s employment discrimination laws have been mutated beyond recognition by a series of 4-3 Ohio Supreme Court decisions and “creative lawyering” by the plaintiff’s bar.

Until 1999, state and federal law directed that employment discrimination claims be filed against the employing company. Both laws recognized that employers could be held vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of employees. In 1999, however, the Ohio Supreme Court dramatically widened the scope of the law by allowing plaintiffs to also sue individual managers and supervisors for discrimination. Today, plaintiffs typically name several co-workers and managers – as well as the company – to increase the pressure for a settlement. Managers, human resources professionals, company owners and co-workers are being imtimidated and discouraged from making effective business decisions for fear of being named in a lawsuit.

HB 300 – The Employment Lawsuit Fairness Act.
HB 300 (Reidelbach, R-Columbus) makes Ohio law consistent with federal employment discrimination laws by overruling, limiting or clarifying the impact of several 4-3 Ohio Supreme Court decisions.

The bill provides sensible reforms to ohio’s employment discrimination law, protects employees’ civil rights while returning the law to its original intent and makes ohio law
consistent with federal civil rights laws.

HB 300 will enact sensible employment discrimination reforms.
HB 300 will protect employee's civil rights.
HB 300 will make Ohio law consistent with federal civil rights laws.
HB 300 will reverse tortured Supreme Court decisions that added individual liability for managers.
HB 300 will enact reasonable caps on non-economic and punitive damages.
HB 300 will end “piggy-backing” of duplicative tort claims.
HB 300 will eliminate wasted time & costs associated with defending the same claim in two forums.
HB 300 will accept the Supreme Court’s invitation to set a reasonable statute of limitations.

125th General Assembly (2003-04)

HB 300 (Reidelbach, R-Columbus)

Bill Text LSC Bill Analysis

Testimony

Sponsor Testimony – January 7, 2004 Rep. Linda Reidelbach (R-Columbus)

Proponent Testimony – January 21, 2004 Kevin Griffith, Attorney, Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur Fred Ungerman, Attorney, Cool, Wall, Womsley & Lombard Laura Rees, Human Resources Manager, Information Control Corp. Andrew Marfurt, VP of Human Resources, CMHC Systems