Lame duck legislative sessions are often fraught with risk, as legislators who have been defeated or are retiring have a last chance to leave a “legacy” and the others have the maximum time before their next election. Often, more gets done in the lame duck sessions than in any comparable time period during the rest of the General Assembly’s term. In the 2018 post-election session of the General Assembly, the House Leadership controversy created even greater compression of official activity. However, two laws were passed that may help employers, at least in the long run.
HB 271 enacted Ohio Revised Code Section 4112.16 to provide that individuals claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of an accessibility standard can notify the person alleged to be responsible for the violation. If no notice is provided, the aggrieved party can file a civil action, but is precluded from receiving attorneys’ fees, unless the judge specifically orders them. If the party provides the notice, he or she is not entitled to file an action until one of several things has occurred, including lack of response by the accused within 15 days; failure to make required changes within 60 days; and allegedly inadequate corrections. There are forms for the notice and procedures for resolving issues of compliance, so that the process of ensuring accessibility will be more focused upon making property accessible than upon “gotcha” cases where attorneys’ fee claims dominate any substantive relief.
SB 255 added a number of provisions to the Ohio Revised Code relating to occupational licensing. Many employers must deal with requirements that some of their employees be licensed to do their jobs. Many otherwise qualified individuals encounter barriers to their employment because past criminal records preclude their being eligible for licenses under current rules of the many Ohio licensing boards. SB 255 takes a welcome step of sunsetting all occupational licensing systems every 6 years, and allows licensing boards to review past convictions on a case-by-case basis as to whether the convictions should preclude licensing. To avoid being sunset, the licensing will need to go through a process of examination for need, consumer protection, fairness, market impact and so forth. The Common Sense Initiative is mandated to participate. Thus, over a period of time, the abundance of licensing requirements in Ohio should diminish. Of course, the temptation to add new requirements in response to constituent complaints about bad behavior can be irresistible. SB 255 also adds an entire licensing regimen for home inspectors, and requires real estate agents who recommend a home inspector to a client to provide a list of other inspectors. The law also adds “makeup artist” to the list of beauty salon workers who require state licensure. Overall, however, the bill is a giant step forward, and just a couple of small steps back.