Civil Rights Reporter 

Issue: Do the provisions of the Fair Housing Act only provide legal protection against acts that have made housing unavailable or resulted in the denial of housing to a protected class?

Welcome to the first issue of the Civil Rights Reporter, an Ohio Attorney General’s Office newsletter aimed at raising awareness of Ohio’s laws against discrimination as well as important civil rights issues and cases.

Issue:  Is employer ordered counseling a medical appointment and therefore restricted by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 USC 12112(d)(4)(A)) which does not allow employers to compel employees to submit to medical examination except in specific circumstances?

As the launch of the Civil Rights Reporter approached, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine discussed civil rights issues in a conversation with Marilyn Tobocman, a principal assistant attorney general in the office’s Civil Rights Section. Attorney General DeWine has been involved in civil rights issues throughout his career, primarily during his years in Congress. Tobocman, a civil rights attorney for three decades, has been with the Attorney General’s Office for 19 years and was in private practice for 11 years.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects those returning from service in the uniformed services, including those called up from the Reserves or National Guard, and prohibits employer discrimination based on time in the military.