Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio
Discharge of a Felon in Ohio
My employees work on site for my customers. My customer just found out that my employee had a felony 7 years ago. They would like to have him removed. He works in Ohio. Can I reassign him to another postition that is not equal?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Discharge of a Felon in Ohio
In general, neither Ohio nor federal law protects convicted felons from adverse employment actions by their employers. As long as the adverse decision to reassign is based solely on the felony conviction and customer request, the decision is likely to be permissible under the law. If, however, other factors are involved such as the felony conviction combined with the employee's race, gender, national origin, or other protected characteristic, then the adverse decision would be motivated by reasons prohibited under the law. So, the reassignment you suggest is likely permissible if you similarly treat all other employees who have been convicted of felonies and subjected to a customer request for reassignment.
Re: Discharge of a Felon in Ohio
It depends on past practice and whether he would consider the reassignment disparate treatment.