| (1) "Person" includes one or more individuals,
partnerships, | 50 |
|
associations, organizations, corporations, legal
representatives, | 51 |
|
trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers, and
other organized | 52 |
|
groups of persons. "Person" also includes, but
is not limited to, | 53 |
|
any owner, lessor, assignor, builder, manager,
broker, | 54 |
|
salesperson, appraiser, agent, employee,
lending
institution, and | 55 |
|
the state and all political subdivisions,
authorities, agencies, | 56 |
|
boards, and commissions of the state. | 57 |
| (9) "Place of public accommodation" means any inn, | 80 |
|
restaurant, eating house, barbershop, public conveyance by air, | 81 |
|
land, or water, theater, store, other place for the sale of | 82 |
|
merchandise, or any other place of public accommodation or | 83 |
|
amusement of which the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or | 84 |
|
privileges are available to the public. | 85 |
| (10) "Housing accommodations" includes any building or | 86 |
|
structure, or portion of a building or structure, that is used or | 87 |
|
occupied or is intended, arranged, or designed to be used or | 88 |
|
occupied as the home residence, dwelling, dwelling unit, or | 89 |
|
sleeping place of one or more individuals, groups, or families | 90 |
|
whether or not living independently of each other; and any vacant | 91 |
|
land offered for sale or lease. "Housing accommodations" also | 92 |
|
includes any housing accommodations held or offered for sale or | 93 |
|
rent by a real estate broker, salesperson, or agent, by
any other | 94 |
|
person pursuant to authorization of the owner, by the owner, or
by | 95 |
|
the owner's legal representative. | 96 |
| (11) "Restrictive covenant" means any specification
limiting | 97 |
|
the transfer, rental, lease, or other use of any housing | 98 |
|
accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, military | 99 |
|
status, familial
status, national origin, disability, or ancestry, | 100 |
|
or
any
limitation
based upon affiliation with or approval by any | 101 |
|
person,
directly
or indirectly, employing race, color, religion, | 102 |
|
sex, military status,
familial
status, national origin, | 103 |
|
disability, or ancestry as a
condition of
affiliation or approval. | 104 |
| (13) "Disability" means a physical or mental
impairment
that | 110 |
|
substantially limits one or more major life activities, including | 111 |
|
the functions of caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, | 112 |
|
walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and | 113 |
|
working; a record of a physical or mental impairment; or being | 114 |
|
regarded as having a physical or mental impairment. | 115 |
| (iii) Diseases and conditions, including, but not limited
to, | 139 |
|
orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments, cerebral | 140 |
|
palsy, autism, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, | 141 |
|
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus | 142 |
|
infection, mental retardation, emotional illness, drug addiction, | 143 |
|
and alcoholism. | 144 |
| (18) "Common use areas" means rooms, spaces, or elements | 157 |
|
inside or outside a building that are made available for the use | 158 |
|
of residents of the building or their guests, and includes, but
is | 159 |
|
not limited to, hallways, lounges, lobbies, laundry rooms,
refuse | 160 |
|
rooms, mail rooms, recreational areas, and passageways
among and | 161 |
|
between buildings. | 162 |
| (B) For the purposes of divisions (A) to (F) of section | 173 |
|
4112.02 of the Revised Code, the terms "because of sex" and "on | 174 |
|
the basis of sex" include, but are not limited to, because of or | 175 |
|
on the basis of pregnancy, any illness arising out of and | 176 |
|
occurring during the course of a pregnancy, childbirth, or
related | 177 |
|
medical conditions. Women affected by pregnancy,
childbirth, or | 178 |
|
related medical conditions shall be treated the
same for all | 179 |
|
employment-related purposes, including receipt of
benefits under | 180 |
|
fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so
affected but | 181 |
|
similar in their ability or inability to work, and
nothing in | 182 |
|
division (B) of section 4111.17 of the Revised Code
shall be | 183 |
|
interpreted to permit otherwise. This division shall
not be | 184 |
|
construed to require an employer to pay for health
insurance | 185 |
|
benefits for abortion, except where the life of the
mother would | 186 |
|
be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or
except where | 187 |
|
medical complications have arisen from the abortion,
provided that | 188 |
|
nothing in this division precludes an employer from
providing | 189 |
|
abortion benefits or otherwise affects bargaining
agreements in | 190 |
|
regard to abortion. | 191 |
| (2) "Racial profiling" means the practice of a law | 196 |
|
enforcement officer or law enforcement agency that relies, to any | 197 |
|
degree, on race, ethnicity, or national origin in selecting which | 198 |
|
individual to subject to any routine or spontaneous investigatory | 199 |
|
activity or in deciding upon the scope and substance of any law | 200 |
|
enforcement activity following an initial investigatory procedure, | 201 |
|
except when there is trustworthy information that is relevant to | 202 |
|
the locality and time frame and that links a person of a | 203 |
|
particular race, ethnicity, or national origin to an identified | 204 |
|
criminal incident or scheme. | 205 |
| (C) Not later than January 1, 2010, the commission shall | 225 |
|
inform law enforcement agencies in this state that employ or are | 226 |
|
served by any law enforcement officer of the types of information | 227 |
|
the commission needs to perform its duties under divisions (E) and | 228 |
|
(F) of this section and shall inform the agencies that, on and | 229 |
|
after January 1, 2010, they must include all of those types of | 230 |
|
information for each entry the agencies make on the law | 231 |
|
enforcement automated data system for a routine or spontaneous | 232 |
|
investigatory activity. | 233 |
| (D) The commission, as a governmental, noncriminal justice | 234 |
|
agency created by state statute that has a mission to enforce or | 235 |
|
assist in enforcing federal, state, and local laws and ordinances, | 236 |
|
shall be entitled to participate in and have access to the law | 237 |
|
enforcement automated data system for the purposes of collecting, | 238 |
|
compiling, maintaining, and analyzing data from law enforcement | 239 |
|
agencies as described in divisions (E) and (F) of this section. | 240 |
| (E) Through its access to the law enforcement automated data | 241 |
|
system granted under division (D) of this section, on and after | 242 |
|
January 1, 2010, the commission shall collect, compile, and | 243 |
|
maintain data from all law enforcement agencies in this state | 244 |
|
regarding all routine or spontaneous investigatory activities of | 245 |
|
the officers of the agencies. The commission shall compile and | 246 |
|
maintain the data in five separate data sets. One data set shall | 247 |
|
contain the data for all persons who were the subjects of the | 248 |
|
routine or spontaneous investigatory activities, one data set | 249 |
|
shall separate the data into subsets that are based on the race of | 250 |
|
the persons who were the subjects of the activities, one data set | 251 |
|
shall separate the data into subsets that are based on the | 252 |
|
ethnicity of the persons who were the subjects of the activities, | 253 |
|
one data set shall separate the data into subsets that are based | 254 |
|
on the national origin of the persons who were the subjects of the | 255 |
|
activities, and one data set shall separate the data into subsets | 256 |
|
that are based on the gender of the persons who were the subjects | 257 |
|
of the activities. In each data set, the information provided for | 258 |
|
each routine or spontaneous investigatory activity shall include | 259 |
|
the date, time, and location of the activity, shall indicate | 260 |
|
whether or not a search of any vehicle was conducted, and shall | 261 |
|
indicate if any search conducted resulted in a seizure of any | 262 |
|
item. | 263 |
| (F) For calendar year 2010 and each calendar year thereafter, | 264 |
|
the commission shall analyze the data collected, compiled, and | 265 |
|
maintained as described in division (E) of this section for any | 266 |
|
significantly significant disparities related to the race, | 267 |
|
ethnicity, national origin, or gender of the persons who were the | 268 |
|
subjects of the routine or spontaneous investigatory activities, | 269 |
|
including, but not limited to, any of the following: | 270 |
| (1) Any disparity in the percentage of drivers or pedestrians | 271 |
|
who were stopped in a particular neighborhood and who are of a | 272 |
|
particular race, ethnicity, national origin, or gender relative to | 273 |
|
the total number of drivers or pedestrians passing through that | 274 |
|
neighborhood who were stopped and relative to the percentage of | 275 |
|
drivers or pedestrians who were stopped in that neighborhood and | 276 |
|
who are not of that race, ethnicity, national origin, or gender; | 277 |
| Sec. 4112.05. (A) The commission, as provided in this | 296 |
|
section, shall prevent any person from engaging in unlawful | 297 |
|
discriminatory practices, provided that, before instituting the | 298 |
|
formal hearing authorized by division (B) of this section, it | 299 |
|
shall attempt, by informal methods of conference, conciliation, | 300 |
|
and persuasion, to induce compliance with this chapter. | 301 |
| (B)(1) Any person may file a charge with the commission | 302 |
|
alleging that another person has engaged or is engaging in an | 303 |
|
unlawful discriminatory practice. In the case of a charge
alleging | 304 |
|
an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division (A), | 305 |
|
(B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (I), or (J) of
section 4112.02 or in | 306 |
section 4112.021 or, 4112.022, or 4112.024 of the Revised
Code, | 307 |
|
the charge shall
be in writing and under oath and shall be
filed | 308 |
|
with the
commission within six months after the alleged
unlawful | 309 |
|
discriminatory practice was committed. In the case of a
charge | 310 |
|
alleging an unlawful discriminatory practice described in
division | 311 |
|
(H) of section 4112.02 of the Revised Code, the charge
shall be in | 312 |
|
writing and under oath and shall be filed with the
commission | 313 |
|
within one year after the alleged unlawful
discriminatory practice | 314 |
|
was committed. | 315 |
| (2) Upon receiving a charge, the commission may initiate a | 316 |
|
preliminary investigation to determine whether it is probable
that | 317 |
|
an unlawful discriminatory practice has been or is being
engaged | 318 |
|
in. The commission also may conduct, upon its own
initiative and | 319 |
|
independent of the filing of any charges, a
preliminary | 320 |
|
investigation relating to any of the unlawful
discriminatory | 321 |
|
practices described in division (A), (B), (C),
(D), (E), (F), (I), | 322 |
or (J) of section 4112.02 or in section
4112.021 or, 4112.022, or | 323 |
|
4112.024 of
the Revised Code. Prior to a
notification of a | 324 |
|
complainant under
division (B)(4) of this
section or prior to the | 325 |
|
commencement of
informal methods of
conference, conciliation, and | 326 |
|
persuasion under
that division, the
members of the commission and | 327 |
|
the officers and
employees of the
commission shall not make | 328 |
|
public in any manner
and shall retain
as confidential all | 329 |
|
information that was obtained
as a result of
or that otherwise | 330 |
|
pertains to a preliminary
investigation other
than one described | 331 |
|
in division (B)(3) of this
section. | 332 |
| (iii) Initiate a complaint and refer it to the attorney | 348 |
|
general with a recommendation to seek a temporary or permanent | 349 |
|
injunction or a temporary restraining order. If this action is | 350 |
|
taken, the attorney general shall apply, as expeditiously as | 351 |
|
possible after receipt of the complaint, to the court of common | 352 |
|
pleas of the county in which the unlawful discriminatory practice | 353 |
|
allegedly occurred for the appropriate injunction or order, and | 354 |
|
the court shall hear and determine the application as | 355 |
|
expeditiously as possible. | 356 |
| (c) Prior to the issuance of a complaint under division | 362 |
|
(B)(3)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section or prior to a notification | 363 |
|
of the complainant and the respondent under division (B)(3)(a)(i) | 364 |
|
of this section, the members of the commission and the officers | 365 |
|
and employees of the commission shall not make public in any | 366 |
|
manner and shall retain as confidential all information that was | 367 |
|
obtained as a result of or that otherwise pertains to a | 368 |
|
preliminary investigation of a charge filed pursuant to division | 369 |
|
(B)(1) of this section that alleges an unlawful discriminatory | 370 |
|
practice described in division (H) of section 4112.05 of the | 371 |
|
Revised Code. | 372 |
| (d) Notwithstanding the types of action described in | 373 |
|
divisions (B)(3)(a)(ii) and (iii) of this section, prior to the | 374 |
|
issuance of a complaint or the referral of a complaint to the | 375 |
|
attorney general and prior to endeavoring to eliminate an
unlawful | 376 |
|
discriminatory practice described in division (H) of
section | 377 |
|
4112.02 of the Revised Code by informal methods of
conference, | 378 |
|
conciliation, and persuasion, the commission may seek
a temporary | 379 |
|
or permanent injunction or a temporary restraining
order in the | 380 |
|
court of common pleas of the county in which the
unlawful | 381 |
|
discriminatory practice allegedly occurred. | 382 |
| (4) If the commission determines after a preliminary | 383 |
|
investigation other than one described in division (B)(3) of this | 384 |
|
section that it is not probable that an unlawful discriminatory | 385 |
|
practice has been or is being engaged in, it shall notify any | 386 |
|
complainant under division (B)(1) of this section that it has so | 387 |
|
determined and that it will not issue a complaint in the matter. | 388 |
|
If the commission determines after a preliminary investigation | 389 |
|
other than the one described in division (B)(3) of this section | 390 |
|
that it is probable that an unlawful discriminatory practice has | 391 |
|
been or is being engaged in, it shall endeavor to eliminate the | 392 |
|
practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, and | 393 |
|
persuasion. | 394 |
| (5) Nothing said or done during informal methods of | 395 |
|
conference, conciliation, and persuasion under this section shall | 396 |
|
be disclosed by any member of the commission or its staff or be | 397 |
|
used as evidence in any subsequent hearing or other proceeding. | 398 |
|
If, after a preliminary investigation and the use of informal | 399 |
|
methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion under this | 400 |
|
section, the commission is satisfied that any unlawful | 401 |
|
discriminatory practice will be eliminated, it may treat the | 402 |
|
charge involved as being conciliated and enter that disposition
on | 403 |
|
the records of the commission. If the commission fails to
effect | 404 |
|
the elimination of an unlawful discriminatory practice by
informal | 405 |
|
methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion
under this | 406 |
|
section and to obtain voluntary compliance with this
chapter, the | 407 |
|
commission shall issue and cause to be served upon
any person, | 408 |
|
including the respondent against whom a complainant
has filed a | 409 |
|
charge pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, a
complaint | 410 |
|
stating the charges involved and containing a notice of
an | 411 |
|
opportunity for a hearing before the commission, a member of
the | 412 |
|
commission, or a hearing examiner at a place that is stated
in the | 413 |
|
notice and that is located within the county in which the
alleged | 414 |
|
unlawful discriminatory practice has occurred or is
occurring or | 415 |
|
in which the respondent resides or transacts
business. The hearing | 416 |
|
shall be held not less than thirty days
after the service of the | 417 |
|
complaint upon the complainant, the
aggrieved persons other than | 418 |
|
the complainant on whose behalf the
complaint is issued, and the | 419 |
|
respondent, unless the complainant,
an aggrieved person, or the | 420 |
|
respondent elects to proceed under
division (A)(2) of section | 421 |
|
4112.051 of the Revised Code when that
division is applicable. If | 422 |
|
a complaint pertains to an alleged
unlawful discriminatory | 423 |
|
practice described in division (H) of
section 4112.02 of the | 424 |
|
Revised Code, the complaint shall notify
the complainant, an | 425 |
|
aggrieved person, and the respondent of the
right of the | 426 |
|
complainant, an aggrieved person, or the respondent
to elect to | 427 |
|
proceed with the administrative hearing process under
this section | 428 |
|
or to proceed under division (A)(2) of section
4112.051 of the | 429 |
|
Revised Code. | 430 |
| (C) Any complaint issued pursuant to division (B) of this | 439 |
|
section may be amended by the commission, a member of the | 440 |
|
commission, or the hearing examiner conducting a hearing under | 441 |
|
division (B) of this section, at any time prior to or during the | 442 |
|
hearing. The respondent has the right to file an answer or an | 443 |
|
amended answer to the original and amended complaints and to | 444 |
|
appear at the hearing in person, by attorney, or otherwise to | 445 |
|
examine and cross-examine witnesses. | 446 |
| (D) The complainant shall be a party to a hearing under | 447 |
|
division (B) of this section, and any person who is an | 448 |
|
indispensable party to a complete determination or settlement of
a | 449 |
|
question involved in the hearing shall be joined. Any person
who | 450 |
|
has or claims an interest in the subject of the hearing and
in | 451 |
|
obtaining or preventing relief against the unlawful
discriminatory | 452 |
|
practices complained of may be permitted, in the
discretion of the | 453 |
|
person or persons conducting the hearing, to
appear for the | 454 |
|
presentation of oral or written arguments. | 455 |
| (E) In any hearing under division (B) of this section, the | 456 |
|
commission, a member of the commission, or the hearing examiner | 457 |
|
shall not be bound by the Rules of Evidence but, in ascertaining | 458 |
|
the practices followed by the respondent, shall take into account | 459 |
|
all reliable, probative, and substantial statistical or other | 460 |
|
evidence produced at the hearing that may tend to prove the | 461 |
|
existence of a predetermined pattern of employment or membership, | 462 |
|
provided that nothing contained in this section shall be
construed | 463 |
|
to authorize or require any person to observe the
proportion that | 464 |
|
persons of any race, color, religion, sex, military status, | 465 |
|
familial status, national origin, disability, age, or
ancestry | 466 |
|
bear
to the total population or in accordance with any criterion | 467 |
|
other
than the individual qualifications of the applicant. | 468 |
| (G)(1) If, upon all reliable, probative, and substantial | 475 |
|
evidence presented at a hearing under division (B) of this | 476 |
|
section, the commission determines that the respondent has
engaged | 477 |
|
in, or is engaging in, any unlawful discriminatory
practice, | 478 |
|
whether against the complainant or others, the
commission shall | 479 |
|
state its findings of fact and conclusions of
law and shall issue | 480 |
|
and, subject to the provisions of Chapter
119. of the Revised | 481 |
|
Code, cause to be served on the respondent an
order requiring the | 482 |
|
respondent to cease and desist from the
unlawful discriminatory | 483 |
|
practice, requiring the respondent to
take any further affirmative | 484 |
|
or other action that will effectuate
the purposes of this chapter, | 485 |
|
including, but not limited to,
hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading | 486 |
|
of employees with or without
back pay, or admission or restoration | 487 |
|
to union membership, and
requiring the respondent to report to the | 488 |
|
commission the manner
of compliance. If the commission directs | 489 |
|
payment of back pay, it
shall make allowance for interim earnings. | 490 |
|
If it finds a
violation of division (H) of section 4112.02 of the | 491 |
|
Revised Code,
the commission additionally shall require the | 492 |
|
respondent to pay
actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees, | 493 |
|
and may award to
the complainant punitive damages as follows: | 494 |
| (H) If the commission finds that no probable cause exists
for | 517 |
|
crediting charges of unlawful discriminatory practices or if,
upon | 518 |
|
all the evidence presented at a hearing under division (B)
of this | 519 |
|
section on a charge, the commission finds that a
respondent has | 520 |
|
not engaged in any unlawful discriminatory
practice against the | 521 |
|
complainant or others, it shall state its
findings of fact and | 522 |
|
shall issue and cause to be served on the
complainant an order | 523 |
|
dismissing the complaint as to the
respondent. A copy of the order | 524 |
|
shall be delivered in all cases
to the attorney general and any | 525 |
|
other public officers whom the
commission considers proper. | 526 |
| (I) Until the time period for appeal set forth in division | 527 |
|
(H) of section 4112.06 of the Revised Code expires, the | 528 |
|
commission, subject to the provisions of Chapter 119. of the | 529 |
|
Revised Code, at any time, upon reasonable notice, and in the | 530 |
|
manner it considers proper, may modify or set aside, in whole or | 531 |
|
in part, any finding or order made by it under this section. | 532 |