Ohio Civil Rights Commission (“OCRC”) Update

The OCRC held a public meeting on Thursday, June 30, 2016 (the “Meeting”). During the Meeting, OCRC commissioners attended to regular business matters and also heard arguments from the request for reconsideration, filed by former employee Lei Liu (the “Charging Party”), in the matter of Lei Liu v. Regal Beloit America, Inc. (the “Matter”). In the Matter, the Charging Party’s employer, Regal Beloit America, Inc., (the “Respondent”) laid off the Charging Party and other employees as the result of a reduction in force due to certain business reasons. OCRC’s assigned investigator found that the Respondent had a legitimate business reason for laying off the Charging Party. Thus, it also found no probable cause to Lei Liu’s charge allegations, which included (i) discrimination and harassment based upon race and national origin and (ii) retaliation. Lei Liu filed a request for reconsideration of the “no probable cause” decision with the OCRC. After hearing arguments from both parties, the OCRC upheld the investigator’s “no probable cause” decision in the Matter. The OCRC’s next public meeting will be held on Thursday, July 28, 2016 in the Lobby Hearing Room of the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus, Ohio. See the following link from OCRC’s website for other scheduled 2016 public meeting dates: //crc.ohio.gov/AboutUs/CommissionMeetings.aspx.