What are my rights against workplace harassment in Ohio?

1. Federal Floor. Title VII (15+ employees) and Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986), establish the hostile-work-environment baseline.

2. State Statute & Agency. Ohio's anti-discrimination law is codified at Ohio Rev. Code Ch. 4112 and enforced by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC). It covers employers with 4 or more employees (R.C. § 4112.01(A)(2)).

3. Standard for Hostile Work Environment. Ohio applies the federal "severe or pervasive" standard. The Employment Law Uniformity Act (H.B. 352, effective April 15, 2021) aligned Ohio's framework more closely with Title VII and imposed administrative-exhaustion requirements.

4. Protected Categories. Race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age (40+), and ancestry. Ohio does not protect sexual orientation or gender identity statewide; Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020), supplies federal protection.

5. Quid Pro Quo vs Hostile Environment. Ohio courts follow Faragher and Ellerth.

6. Employer Liability. Under H.B. 352, individual supervisor liability was eliminated for most claims; employers remain liable, and the Faragher/Ellerth defense applies to hostile-environment claims without tangible action.

7. Mandatory Training. Ohio has no statewide sexual-harassment training mandate for private employers.

8. Filing Deadline. EEOC: 300 days. OCRC: 2 years from the harassing act (R.C. § 4112.052(B)(1), as amended by H.B. 352). Administrative exhaustion is required before filing in court.

9. NDA Restrictions. Ohio has not enacted a broad ban on sexual-harassment NDAs; standard contract-law principles apply, and confidentiality clauses remain generally enforceable.

This is legal information, not legal advice.