To amend sections 2305.07, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.08, and 4112.99, to amend, for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses, sections 4112.051 (4112.054) and 4112.052 (4112.055), to enact new sections 4112.051, 4112.052, and 4112.14 and sections 2305.071 and 4112.053, and to repeal section 4112.14 of the Revised Code to modify Ohio civil rights laws related to employment and the statute of limitations for other specified claims against an employer.

Section 1. That sections 2305.07, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.08, and 4112.99 be amended, sections 4112.051 (4112.054) and 4112.052 (4112.055) be amended for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses, and new sections 4112.051, 4112.052, and 4112.14 and sections 2305.071 and 4112.053 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 2305.07.  Except as provided in sections 126.301 and, 1302.98, and 2305.071 of the Revised Code, an action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, or upon a liability created by statute other than a forfeiture or penalty, shall be brought within six years after the cause thereof accrued.

Sec. 2305.071. (A) A civil action against an employer alleging a claim of promissory estoppel, breach of an implied contract, or intentional infliction of emotional distress shall be commenced within one year after the cause accrued.

(B) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting or limiting an employee's use of evidence of promissory estoppel, breach of an implied contract, or intentional infliction of emotional distress on the part of the employer as an affirmative defense against an action brought by an employer against the employee.

(C) As used in this section, "employer" has the same meaning as in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code.

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" includes means the state, any political subdivision of the state, any or a person employing four or more persons within the state, and any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

(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 at least an individual aged forty years old 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, mental retardation, 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, mental retardation, 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 an unlawful discriminatory practice prohibited by division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of that section.

(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, except a religious organization making employment decisions regarding individuals working in a ministerial capacity, 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) 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 disabled tenant from conditioning permission for a proposed modification upon the disabled tenant's 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 disabled tenant who makes payments into the account.

(b) A landlord shall not condition permission for a proposed modification upon a disabled tenant'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.

(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)(1) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any nonprofit charitable or educational organization that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of housing accommodations that it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference in the sale, rental, or occupancy of such housing accommodations to persons of the same religion, unless membership in the religion is restricted on account of race, color, or national origin.

(2) Nothing in division (H) of this section shall bar any bona fide private or fraternal organization that, incidental to its primary purpose, owns or operates lodgings for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of the lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members.

(3) Nothing in division (H) of this section limits the applicability of any reasonable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations. Nothing in that division prohibits the owners or managers of housing accommodations from implementing reasonable occupancy standards based on the number and size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of a dwelling unit, provided that the standards are not implemented to circumvent the purposes of this chapter and are formulated, implemented, and interpreted in a manner consistent with this chapter and any applicable local, state, or federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy housing accommodations.

(4) Nothing in division (H) of this section requires that housing accommodations be made available to an individual whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.

(5) Nothing in division (H) of this section pertaining to discrimination on the basis of familial status shall be construed to apply to any of the following:

(a) Housing accommodations provided under any state or federal program that have been determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended, to be specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons;

(b) Housing accommodations intended for and solely occupied by persons who are sixty-two years of age or older;

(c) Housing accommodations intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person who is fifty-five years of age or older per unit, as determined under the "Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988," 102 Stat. 1623, 42 U.S.C.A. 3607, as amended.

(L) 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.

(M) Nothing in divisions (H)(1) to (18) of this section shall be construed to require any person selling or renting property to modify the property in any way or to exercise a higher degree of care for a person with a disability, to relieve any person with a disability of any obligation generally imposed on all persons regardless of disability in a written lease, rental agreement, or contract of purchase or sale, or to forbid distinctions based on the inability to fulfill the terms and conditions, including financial obligations, of the lease, agreement, or contract.

(N) An aggrieved individual may enforce the individual's rights relative to discrimination on the basis of age as provided for in this section by instituting a civil action, within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, in any court with jurisdiction for any legal or equitable relief that will effectuate the individual's rights.

A person who files a civil action under this division is barred, with respect to the practices complained of, from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 of the Revised Code and from filing a charge with the commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.

(O) 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.

(P)(O) 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).

(Q)(P)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (Q)(P)(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 (Q)(P)(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 (Q)(P)(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 is an alcoholic 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 (Q)(P) 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.

Sec. 4112.04.  (A) The commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Establish and maintain a principal office in the city of Columbus and any other offices within the state that it considers necessary;

(2) Appoint an executive director who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission and be its principal administrative officer. The executive director shall be paid a salary fixed pursuant to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code.

(3) Appoint hearing examiners and other employees and agents who it considers necessary and prescribe their duties subject to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code;

(4) Adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind rules to effectuate the provisions of this chapter and the policies and practice of the commission in connection with this chapter;

(5) Formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and make recommendations to agencies and officers of the state or political subdivisions to effectuate the policies;

(6) Receive, investigate, and pass upon written charges made under oath of unlawful discriminatory practices;

(7) Make periodic surveys of the existence and effect of discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry on the enjoyment of civil rights by persons within the state;

(8) Report, from time to time, but not less than once a year, to the general assembly and the governor, describing in detail the investigations, proceedings, and hearings it has conducted and their outcome, the decisions it has rendered, and the other work performed by it, which report shall include a copy of any surveys prepared pursuant to division (A)(7) of this section and shall include the recommendations of the commission as to legislative or other remedial action;

(9) Prepare a comprehensive educational program, in cooperation with the department of education, for the students of the public schools of this state and for all other residents of this state that is designed to eliminate prejudice on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry in this state, to further good will among those groups, and to emphasize the origin of prejudice against those groups, its harmful effects, and its incompatibility with American principles of equality and fair play;

(10) Receive progress reports from agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities of this state or any of its political subdivisions and their agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities regarding affirmative action programs for the employment of persons against whom discrimination is prohibited by this chapter, or regarding any affirmative housing accommodations programs developed to eliminate or reduce an imbalance of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, or ancestry. All agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities of this state or its political subdivisions, and all political subdivisions, that have undertaken affirmative action programs pursuant to a conciliation agreement with the commission, an executive order of the governor, any federal statute or rule, or an executive order of the president of the United States shall file progress reports with the commission annually on or before the first day of November. The commission shall analyze and evaluate the progress reports and report its findings annually to the general assembly on or before the thirtieth day of January of the year immediately following the receipt of the reports.

(11) Notify an individual who files a charge with the commission regarding the individual's rights relative to unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment, that in accordance with division (C) of section 4112.051 of the Revised Code, the individual is barred from bringing a civil action under this chapter with respect to the practices complained of in the charge filed with the commission.

(B) The commission may do any of the following:

(1) Meet and function at any place within the state;

(2) Initiate and undertake on its own motion investigations of problems of employment or housing accommodations discrimination;

(3) Hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony of any person under oath, require the production for examination of any books and papers relating to any matter under investigation or in question before the commission, and make rules as to the issuance of subpoenas by individual commissioners.

(a) In conducting a hearing or investigation, the commission shall have access at all reasonable times to premises, records, documents, individuals, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and may examine, record, and copy the premises, records, documents, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence and take and record the testimony or statements of the individuals as reasonably necessary for the furtherance of the hearing or investigation. In investigations, the commission shall comply with the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution relating to unreasonable searches and seizures. The commission or a member of the commission may issue subpoenas to compel access to or the production of premises, records, documents, and other evidence or possible sources of evidence or the appearance of individuals, and may issue interrogatories to a respondent, to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as would apply if the subpoenas or interrogatories were issued or served in aid of a civil action in a court of common pleas.

(b) Upon written application by a party to a hearing under division (B) of section 4112.05 or division (G) of section 4112.051 of the Revised Code, the commission shall issue subpoenas in its name to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as subpoenas issued by the commission. Subpoenas issued at the request of a party shall show on their face the name and address of the party and shall state that they were issued at the party's request.

(c) Witnesses summoned by subpoena of the commission are entitled to the witness and mileage fees provided for under section 119.094 of the Revised Code.

(d) Within five days after service of a subpoena upon any person, the person may petition the commission to revoke or modify the subpoena. The commission shall grant the petition if it finds that the subpoena requires an appearance or attendance at an unreasonable time or place, that it requires production of evidence that does not relate to any matter before the commission, that it does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence to be produced, that compliance would be unduly onerous, or for other good reason.

(e) In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena, the commission or person at whose request it was issued may petition for its enforcement in the court of common pleas in the county in which the person to whom the subpoena was addressed resides, was served, or transacts business.

(4) Create local or statewide advisory agencies and conciliation councils to aid in effectuating the purposes of this chapter. The commission may itself, or it may empower these agencies and councils to, do either or both of the following:

(a) Study the problems of discrimination in all or specific fields of human relationships when based on race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry;

(b) Foster through community effort, or otherwise, good will among the groups and elements of the population of the state.

The agencies and councils may make recommendations to the commission for the development of policies and procedures in general. They shall be composed of representative citizens who shall serve without pay, except that reimbursement for actual and necessary traveling expenses shall be made to citizens who serve on a statewide agency or council.

(5) Issue any publications and the results of investigations and research that in its judgment will tend to promote good will and minimize or eliminate discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry.

Sec. 4112.05.  (A) The 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, provided that, before instituting the formal hearing authorized by division (B) of this section, it shall attempt, by informal methods of conference, conciliation, 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 described in division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (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.

(2) Upon receiving a charge, 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 described in division (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (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, and persuasion 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 complaint in the matter;

(ii) Initiate a complaint and schedule it for informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion;

(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 4112.05 4112.02 of the Revised Code.

(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, and persuasion, 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 the 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, and persuasion.

(5) Nothing said or done during informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion 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. If, after a preliminary investigation and the use of informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion 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, and persuasion 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 4112.051 4112.054 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 process under this section or to proceed under division (A)(2) of section 4112.051 4112.054 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) 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, at any time prior to or during the hearing. 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 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.

(G)(1) 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 cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice, requiring the respondent to 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, and requiring the respondent to report to the commission the manner of compliance. If the commission directs payment of back pay, it shall make allowance for interim earnings. If it finds a violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the commission additionally shall require the respondent to pay actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees, and may award to the complainant punitive damages as follows:

(a) If division (G)(1)(b) or (c) of this section does not apply, punitive damages in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars;

(b) If division (G)(1)(c) 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, punitive damages in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars;

(c) 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, punitive 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 to the attorney general and any other public officers whom the commission considers proper.

(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.

Sec. 4112.051.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Complainant" means a person who files a charge under this section.

(2) "Respondent" means an employer that is the subject of a charge filed under this section.

(3) "Discriminatory practice" means a discriminatory practice relating to employment.

(B) Any person who believes that a person has been the subject of an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment may file a charge with the commission alleging that an employer, employment agency, personnel placement service, or labor organization has engaged or is engaging in such a practice. Such a charge shall be in writing, under oath, and shall be filed with the commission within three hundred sixty-five days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. The commission may also conduct, upon its own initiative and independent of the filing of any charge, a preliminary investigation relating to any alleged unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment.

(C) A person who files a charge with the commission under this section shall not institute a civil action pursuant to section 4112.052 of the Revised Code with respect to the allegations and practices set forth in the charge filed.

(D) Upon receiving a charge under this section, the commission may initiate a preliminary investigation to determine whether it is probable that an alleged unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment has occurred or is occurring.

(E) If, after a preliminary investigation, the commission determines that it is not probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment has occurred or is occurring, then the commission shall notify the complainant of its determination and that it will not issue a complaint in the matter. Members of the commission, as well as its officers and employees, shall retain as confidential all information that was obtained as a result of or that relates to such a preliminary investigation. The commission may share such information with the commission's legal counsel. The confidentiality requirement shall not apply after the commission determines from a preliminary investigation that there is probable cause that an unlawful discriminatory practice has or is occurring.

(F)(1) If, after a preliminary investigation, the commission determines that it is probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has occurred or is occurring, the commission may invite the complainant and respondent to engage in mediation.

(2)(a) If the parties agree to mediation, the commission shall attempt to mediate and resolve the dispute.

(b) If the parties are able to resolve the dispute through mediation, the commission shall treat the charge as being resolved and enter that disposition on the records of the commission.

(3)(a) If the parties do not agree to mediation, then the commission shall endeavor to eliminate the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion.

(b) If, after the use of the informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion, the commission is satisfied that the unlawful discriminatory practice in question will be eliminated, it may treat the charge as being conciliated and enter that disposition on the records of the commission.

(4) None of the proceedings in either mediation or the informal methods of conference, conciliation, or persuasion shall be disclosed by any member of the commission or its staff or be used as evidence in any subsequent hearing or other proceeding.

(G) If the commission fails to effect the elimination of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice and is unable to obtain voluntary compliance with this chapter through those methods outlined in division (F) of this section, the commission shall issue a complaint to the respondent, the complainant, and any indispensable party.

(1) The complaint shall state the charges involved and shall contain a notice of a hearing before the commission, a member of the commission, or a hearing examiner, as well as the hearing's location. Any such hearing shall be held in the county in which the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred or is occurring or in which the respondent transacts business, and shall be held not less than thirty days after service of the complaint.

(2) The attorney general shall represent the commission at any such hearing and shall present the evidence in support of the complaint.

(3) Any such complaint may be amended by the commission, a member of the commission, or the commission's legal counsel at any time prior to the hearing if the respondent is given sufficient and reasonable notice. The respondent shall have the right to file an answer or an amended answer to the original, and any amended, complaints.

(4) The respondent shall have the right to appear at the hearing in person, by attorney, or otherwise to examine and cross-examine witnesses.

(5) The complainant shall be a party to a hearing under this section. Any person who is an indispensable party to a complete determination or settlement of the complaint central to the hearing shall be joined.

(6) For any hearing initiated under this section, the commission, a member of the commission, or a hearing officer, is not bound by the rules of evidence, but shall take into account all reliable, probative, and substantial statistical or other evidence produced at the hearing that may prove the existence of a predetermined pattern of employment or membership.

(7)(a) The testimony provided during a hearing under this section shall be under oath and shall be transcribed in writing and filed with the commission.

(b) The commission, at its discretion, may hear further testimony or argument after the initial hearing if notice, that indicates an opportunity to be present, is provided to the complainant and the respondent.

(H) If, after a hearing carried out under division (G) 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 adversely affected by the allegations in the complaint, the commission shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law and shall issue and cause to be served to the respondent, subject to the provisions of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, an order to cease and desist from the unlawful discriminatory practice.

(1) The order shall require the respondent to take affirmative or other action necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, including hiring, reinstating, or promoting the complainant or others adversely affected by the unlawful discriminatory practice and shall require the respondent to report to the commission the manner of compliance.

(2)(a) The order may require back pay or admission or restoration to union membership.

(b) If the order requires back pay, the commission shall take into account earnings collected during the resolution of the complaint.

(3) Upon receipt of the report of compliance required under this division, the commission may issue a declaratory order stating that the respondent has ceased to engage in the unlawful discriminatory practices that were the subject of the complaint.

(I) If, after a hearing carried out under division (G) of this section, the commission finds that a respondent has not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory practice against the complainant or others, it shall issue an order stating its findings of fact and dismissing the complaint to the complainant, respondent, and any other affected party. A copy of the order shall also be delivered to the attorney general and any other public officer the commission considers appropriate.

(J) The commission, according to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, upon reasonable notice to the respondent and claimant and in the manner it considers proper, may modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any finding or order made under this section until the time period for appeal set forth in section 4112.06 of the Revised Code has passed.

(K) The commission shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, to carry out this section.

(L) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or require any person to observe in hiring 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 other criteria than the qualifications of applicants.

Sec. 4112.052.  A person alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment in violation of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(A) Such a civil action shall be filed within three hundred sixty-five days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed.

(B) A person instituting a civil action under this section is prohibited from concurrently, or subsequently, filing a charge with the Ohio civil rights commission, pursuant to section 4112.051 of the Revised Code, alleging the same violation that is the subject of the civil action.

(C) A cause of action, and any other remedies available under this chapter, for an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment based on age shall not be allowed in situations in which a discharged employee has available the opportunity to arbitrate the discharge or a discharge has been arbitrated and has been found to be for just cause.

(D) A civil action based on 42 U.S.C. 1981a, 42 U.S.C. 1983, and 42 U.S.C. 1985 shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. The period of limitations set forth in this division does not apply to causes of action based on 42 U.S.C. 1981 as amended by the "Civil Rights Act of 1991," Pub. L. No. 102-166.

Sec. 4112.053. (A) An employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability resulting from an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment in a charge filed pursuant to section 4112.051 of the Revised Code or a civil action filed pursuant to section 4112.052 of the Revised Code, if the employer proves both of the following by a preponderance of the evidence:

(1) The employer exercised reasonable care to prevent or promptly correct the unlawful discriminatory practice or harassing behavior. The employer may satisfy this element of the affirmative defense with proof that the employer has promulgated an applicable, reasonable anti-discrimination or anti-harassment policy that includes a complaint procedure, provided that the employer does all of the following:

(a) Publishes and distributes the policy to its employees and managers;

(b) Informs employees about the prohibited conduct and complaint procedure;

(c) Publishes and enforces a reasonable policy prohibiting retaliation for reporting, participating in investigations, or opposing harassment or discrimination;

(d) Acts upon internal complaints concerning discrimination, harassment, or hostile work environments in a prompt and reasonable manner;

(e) Enables an employee alleging discrimination, harassment, or a hostile work environment to pursue a complaint through individuals that are not the individual or individuals that are alleged to have committed such violations.

(2) The employee alleging the unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise. The employer may satisfy this element of the affirmative defense with proof that the employee failed to do either of the following:

(a) Take advantage of or abide by preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer;

(b) Utilize a complaint procedure provided by the employer.

(B) The requirement of division (A)(2) of this section shall be considered to not have been met if an employee alleging discrimination related to employment can demonstrate that use of the preventive or corrective opportunities provided would have been futile.

(C) The affirmative defense set forth in this section shall not be available to an employer where the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice resulted in an adverse, tangible employment action against the employee.

(D) As used in this section, "adverse, tangible employment action" means an action resulting in material economic detriment such as failure to hire or promote, firing, or demotion.

Sec. 4112.051 4112.054.  (A)(1) Aggrieved persons may enforce the rights granted by division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code by filing a civil action in the court of common pleas of the county in which the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred within one year after it allegedly occurred. Upon application by an aggrieved person, upon a proper showing, and under circumstances that it considers just, a court of common pleas may appoint an attorney for the aggrieved person and authorize the commencement of a civil action under this division without the payment of costs.

Each party to a civil action under this division has the right to a jury trial of the action. To assert the right, a party shall demand a jury trial in the manner prescribed in the Rules of Civil Procedure. If a party demands a jury trial in that manner, the civil action shall be tried to a jury.

(2)(a) If a complaint is issued by the commission under division (B)(5) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code for one or more alleged unlawful discriminatory practices described in division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the complainant, any aggrieved person on whose behalf the complaint is issued, or the respondent may elect, following receipt of the relevant notice described in division (B)(5) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code, to proceed with the administrative hearing process under that section or to have the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices covered by the complaint addressed in a civil action commenced in accordance with divisions (A)(1) and (2)(b) of this section. An election to have the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices so addressed shall be made in a writing that is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the commission, to the civil rights section of the office of the attorney general, and to the other parties to the pending administrative process within thirty days after the electing complainant, aggrieved person, or respondent received the relevant notice described in division (B)(5) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.

(b) Upon receipt of a timely mailed election to have the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices addressed in a civil action, the commission shall authorize the office of the attorney general to commence and maintain the civil action in the court of common pleas of the county in which the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices occurred. Notwithstanding the period of limitations specified in division (A)(1) of this section, the office of the attorney general shall commence the civil action within thirty days after the receipt of the commission's authorization to commence the civil action.

(c) Upon commencement of the civil action in accordance with division (A)(2)(b) of this section, the commission shall prepare an order dismissing the complaint in the pending administrative matter and serve a copy of the order upon the complainant, each aggrieved person on whose behalf the complaint was issued, and the respondent.

(d) If an election to have the alleged unlawful discriminatory practices addressed in a civil action is not filed in accordance with division (A)(2)(a) of this section, the commission shall continue with the administrative hearing process described in section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.

(e) With respect to the issues to be determined in a civil action commenced in accordance with division (A)(2)(b) of this section, any aggrieved person may intervene as a matter of right in that civil action.

(B) If the court or the jury in a civil action under this section finds that a violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code is about to occur, the court may order any affirmative action it considers appropriate, including a permanent or temporary injunction or temporary restraining order.

(C) Any sale, encumbrance, or rental consummated prior to the issuance of any court order under the authority of this section and involving a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant without actual notice of the existence of a charge under division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code or a civil action under this section is not affected by the court order.

(D) If the court or the jury in a civil action under this section finds that a violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code has occurred, the court shall award to the plaintiff or to the complainant or aggrieved person on whose behalf the office of the attorney general commenced or maintained the civil action, whichever is applicable, actual damages, reasonable attorney's fees, court costs incurred in the prosecution of the action, expert witness fees, and other litigation expenses, and may grant other relief that it considers appropriate, including a permanent or temporary injunction, a temporary restraining order, or other order and punitive damages.

(E) Any civil action brought under this section shall be heard and determined as expeditiously as possible.

(F) The court in a civil action under this section shall notify the commission of any finding pertaining to discriminatory housing practices within fifteen days after the entry of the finding.

Sec. 4112.052 4112.055.  Whenever the Ohio civil rights commission has reasonable cause to believe that any person or persons are engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to a person or persons' full enjoyment of the rights granted by division (H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, or that any group of persons has been denied any of the rights granted by that division and the denial raises an issue of public importance, the commission may refer the matter to the attorney general for commencement of a civil action in a court of common pleas. The attorney general may seek any preventive relief considered necessary to ensure the full enjoyment of the rights granted by that division, including a permanent or temporary injunction or temporary restraining order.

Sec. 4112.08.  (A) This chapter shall be construed liberally for the accomplishment of its purposes, and any law inconsistent with any provision of this chapter shall not apply. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be considered to repeal any of the provisions of any law of this state relating to discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, military status, familial status, disability, national origin, age, or ancestry, except that any person filing a charge under division (B)(1) of section 4112.05 of the Revised Code, with respect to the unlawful discriminatory practices complained of, is barred from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 or division (N) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code.

However, no person has a cause of action or claim based on unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment against a supervisor, manager, or other employee of an employer unless that supervisor, manager, or other employee is the employer. Nothing in this division abrogates statutory claims outside this chapter or any claims of liability that exist against an individual at common law.

(B) The procedures and remedies for unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment in this chapter are the sole and exclusive procedures and remedies available to a person who alleges such discrimination. Causes of action based on public policies embodied in this chapter for unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment, or in state, federal, or local fair employment laws are barred.

(C) Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted as altering, amending, or abrogating the procedures, rights, and remedies in Chapters 5903. and 5906. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4112.14.  The sum of the amount of damages awarded for noneconomic losses, as defined under section 2315.18 of the Revised Code, and the amount of punitive damages awarded to each complaining party in a civil action based on an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment shall not exceed the following amounts:

(A) If the defendant employs four to one hundred employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, fifty thousand dollars;

(B) If the defendant employs one hundred one to two hundred employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, one hundred thousand dollars;

(C) If the defendant employs two hundred one to five hundred employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, two hundred thousand dollars;

(D) If the defendant employs more than five hundred employees in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, three hundred thousand dollars.

Sec. 4112.99.  Whoever Subject to sections 4112.052, 4112.054, and 4112.14 of the Revised Code, whoever violates this chapter is subject to a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief.

Section 2. That existing sections 2305.07, 4112.01, 4112.02, 4112.04, 4112.05, 4112.051, 4112.052, 4112.08, and 4112.99 and section 4112.14 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. The General Assembly, in amending section 4112.01 and division (A) of section 4112.08 of the Revised Code pursuant to this act, hereby declares its intent to supersede the effect of the holding of the Ohio Supreme Court in Genaro v. Central Transport, Inc., 84 Ohio St. 3d 293 (1999) and to follow the holding in Wathen v. General Electric Co., 115 F.3d 400 (1997) regarding the definition of "employer" for purposes of Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code. The General Assembly further declares its intent that individual supervisors, managers, or employees not be held liable under Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code for unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment. The General Assembly does not intend this act to abrogate the imposition at common law of vicarious liability on employers for the unlawful discriminatory practices of their employees or agents or to abrogate any other statutory claims that exist outside of Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code or claims existing at common law that may be made against an individual.

The General Assembly, in amending division (A) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code pursuant to this act, hereby declares its intent to follow the holding of the United State Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, 132 S. Ct. 694 (2012).

The General Assembly declares its intent in enacting new section 4112.14 of the Revised Code pursuant to this act that the amount of noneconomic and punitive damages awarded in civil actions alleging unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment be capped based on the size of the employer set forth in the "Civil Rights Act of 1991," 42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(3).

It is the intent of the General Assembly that common law claims for wrongful discharge are not available for actions maintainable under Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code and that the procedures and remedies set forth in Chapter 4112. of the Revised Code are the sole and exclusive procedures and remedies available under state law for claims of unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment that are governed by that chapter. The General Assembly declares its intent in amending division (B) of section 4112.08 of the Revised Code to conform to, and not to overturn, the holding of the Ohio Supreme Court in Collins v. Rizkana, 73 Ohio St. 3d 65, 73 (1995).

The General Assembly declares its intent in enacting section 4112.053 of the Revised Code pursuant to this act that employers will be encouraged to implement meaningful anti-discrimination policies and foster a work environment that is fair and tolerant. The General Assembly further declares its intent that human resource professionals should have the first opportunity to resolve personnel complaints and rectify detrimental workplace behavior before such issues result in costly litigation.

Section 4.  Section 4112.04 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 525 of the 127th General Assembly and Am. Sub. H.B. 1 of the 128th General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.