Civil Rights Reporter 

When Samantha Elauf, who is Muslim, interviewed for a position with Abercrombie & Fitch, she wore a hijab (headscarf). 

You own a small business with a handful of employees and you don’t have in-house legal counsel. 

A pair of recent cases addressed the question of the proper standards regarding religious accommodations in the workplace. These cases came to different results based on what might be viewed as a very slight distinction.

Leonard Hubert has served on the Ohio Civil Rights Commission since 2006 and as its chairman since 2011. Before joining the commission, he was the Governor’s director of external affairs, overseeing the Office of Minority Affairs, Multicultural Affairs, Faith-Based Initiatives, and Veterans Affairs. He recently took some time to discuss the workings of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission with Assistant Attorney General Steve Schmidt of the Ohio Attorney General’s Civil Rights Section.

Here are just a few developments in the Civil Rights Section since our last issue:
 
Kudos: Marilyn Tobocman, principal assistant attorney general in the Ohio Attorney General’s Cleveland Office, earned Crain’s Cleveland Business and In-House Government Counsel Award in November for her years of service in fighting for the rights of all Ohioans.