How do I get a right-to-sue notice in Ohio?

There are several routes. The commission issues a notice after a finding of no probable cause, or on your request that it cease its investigation, or by default if it does not issue a requested notice within 45 days of when it may grant the request. A complainant who receives a probable cause finding may also elect to withdraw the charge in order to sue. Section 4112.051(D)(2) then prohibits refiling the charge with the commission, so asking for an early notice permanently ends the agency route.

How long do I have to file a harassment lawsuit in Ohio court?

Section 4112.052(C)(1) requires a civil action to be filed within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. Section 4112.052(C)(2) tolls that two-year period while your charge is pending before the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, so time spent in the agency process does not simply burn the court deadline. Because both clocks run from the date the conduct happened, keeping accurate dates matters more here than almost anything else.

Can I sue the coworker or supervisor who harassed me in Ohio?

Not under Chapter 4112. Section 4112.08(A) provides that no person has a cause of action based on an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment against a supervisor, manager, or other employee of an employer unless that supervisor, manager, or other employee is the employer. Section 4112.08(B) also makes the chapter's procedures and remedies the sole and exclusive ones for the discrimination it covers. Whether any separate claim exists on your facts is a question for an Ohio lawyer.

What kinds of harassment does Ohio law cover?

Section 4112.02(A) covers race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, and ancestry. Military status and ancestry go beyond the federal list. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not enumerated in the Ohio statute, so coverage for that conduct is argued through the federal reading of sex discrimination rather than through Ohio text. Section 4112.01(B) folds pregnancy, illness arising during pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions into because of sex.

Does my employer have to provide harassment training in Ohio?

Not under the Ohio civil rights chapter. Every section of Chapter 4112 was reviewed and none imposes a training requirement on employers. Ohio instead pushes employers toward training through liability, since the Section 4112.054(B) defense depends on the employer having exercised reasonable care to prevent harassment. Training or licensure rules outside that chapter were not part of this review, so check with a lawyer if your industry has its own requirements.

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Ohio

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Ohio - Last updated September 15, 2026

Ohio requires you to go through the Ohio Civil Rights Commission before you can sue for workplace harassment. Ohio Rev. Code Section 4112.052(B)(1) allows a civil action for an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment only if the person has first filed a charge with the commission and has then obtained a notice of right to sue. That was not the rule before April 15, 2021, when an Ohio employee could file suit directly with no agency step at all. The deadline moved at the same time, and it moved in your favor. Section 4112.051(C)(2) requires a charge to be in writing, under oath, and filed with the commission within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. The old rule was six months, and it lived in Section 4112.05. House Bill 352 of the 133rd General Assembly moved employment out of that section entirely into the new Section 4112.051, so a guide that cites Section 4112.05 or says six months for an employment charge is quoting a rule that no longer applies to your situation. Do not rely on the old answer, and do not assume the new two-year window means there is no hurry, because evidence and witnesses do not wait. Coverage in Ohio starts at four. Section 4112.01(A)(2) defines an employer as the state, any political subdivision, or a person employing four or more persons within the state, so a worker at a five-person Ohio company is covered by state law while federal Title VII, which needs fifteen employees, would not reach that employer at all. Ohio also lists two bases federal law does not, military status and ancestry. The federal route still runs in parallel: the EEOC's own charge deadline is 180 days from the act, extended to 300 days in states with a fair employment practice agency, so the federal window closes long before the Ohio one does.

Find out where you stand in Ohio

Where are you with the harassment complaint?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Ohio?

Two years. Ohio Rev. Code Section 4112.051(C)(2) requires a charge to be in writing, under oath, and filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. The clock runs from the date of the act itself, not from when you discovered it or when you left the job. Your federal EEOC window is much shorter, so do not let the two-year state figure lull you into waiting.

Why do so many sources say the Ohio deadline is six months?

Because that was the rule until April 15, 2021. House Bill 352 of the 133rd General Assembly moved employment discrimination out of Section 4112.05, which carried a six-month deadline, into a new Section 4112.051 with a two-year deadline. Section 4112.05 still exists, but it now governs non-employment practices. A page citing Section 4112.05 for a workplace harassment charge is citing a rule that no longer applies to you.

Do I have to file with a state agency before I can sue in Ohio?

Yes, for the claims Chapter 4112 covers. Section 4112.052(B)(1) allows a civil action for an unlawful discriminatory practice relating to employment only if the person has first filed a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and has obtained a notice of right to sue. A charge with the commission plus a timely EEOC charge and an EEOC right-to-sue notice also satisfies that condition. Suits seeking only injunctive relief are treated differently, which is worth asking a lawyer about.

Ohio rewrote this area of law in April 2021, and a great deal of what is still published about the state describes the rules that were repealed.

Ohio requires the agency step before suit. Section 4112.052(B)(1) permits a civil action for employment discrimination only if the person has first filed a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and has obtained a notice of right to sue. This has been the rule only since April 15, 2021; before that an Ohio employee could sue directly. Older guidance describing a direct route to court is describing repealed law.

Relevant Laws

ORC Section 4112.051(C)(2): Two Years to File an OCRC Charge

A charge must be filed with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. The period runs from the date of the act, not from discovery or from the end of employment.

ORC Section 4112.05: The Old Six-Month Deadline No Longer Governs Employment

Employment discrimination moved to Section 4112.051 effective April 15, 2021 under House Bill 352 of the 133rd General Assembly. Section 4112.05 and its six-month period now apply only to non-employment practices.

ORC Section 4112.01(A)(2): Four Employees Within Ohio

Employer means the state, any political subdivision of the state, or a person employing four or more persons within the state, and any agent of those. Employees outside Ohio do not count toward the threshold.

ORC Section 4112.02(A): Bases Covered, Including Military Status and Ancestry

Ohio covers race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, and ancestry. Because of sex includes pregnancy, illness arising during pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions under Section 4112.01(B).

ORC Section 4112.08(A): The Individual Harasser Is Not the Defendant

No claim lies against a supervisor, manager, or other employee unless that person is the employer. Name the employer as the respondent even where a specific individual engaged in the conduct.

Regional Variances

How Ohio differs

The Ohio charge deadline is two years. Section 4112.051(C)(2)

The Ohio charge deadline is two years. Section 4112.051(C)(2) requires a charge to be in writing, under oath, and filed with the commission within two years after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice was committed. The clock runs from the date of the act, not from when you discovered it and not from when your employment ended. Two years is far longer than the 180 days the EEOC allows, or the 300 days it allows in a state with a fair employment practice agency.

Six months is the answer most sources still give

Six months is the answer most sources still give, and it is wrong for employment. The six-month deadline sat in Section 4112.05, which after House Bill 352 governs only non-employment discriminatory practices. Employment moved to Section 4112.051 with its own two-year deadline. If a page cites Section 4112.05 for your harassment charge, it has not been updated since 2021.

Ohio covers employers with four or more employees. Section

Ohio covers employers with four or more employees. Section 4112.01(A)(2) defines employer as the state, any political subdivision of the state, or a person employing four or more persons within the state, and any agent of those. The counting is limited to persons within Ohio, so an out-of-state headcount does not pull a small Ohio operation into coverage. A worker with no federal Title VII claim can still have a full Ohio claim.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

ORC Section 4112.02(A): Bases Covered, Including Military Status and Ancestry

See your deadline days after starting

ORC Section 4112.052(C): Two Years to Sue, Tolled While a Charge Is Pending

See your deadline days after starting

A civil action must be filed within two years after the practice was committed, and that period is tolled while a charge is pending before the commission. Record the date you filed and the date the charge closed.

ORC Section 4112.08(A): The Individual Harasser Is Not the Defendant

See your deadline days after starting

No claim lies against a supervisor, manager, or other employee unless that person is the employer. Name the employer as the respondent even where a specific individual engaged in the conduct.

ORC Section 4112.054(B): Use and Document the Employer's Complaint Process

See your deadline days after starting

An employer has an affirmative defense if it exercised reasonable care to prevent or promptly correct sexually harassing behavior and the employee unreasonably failed to use the opportunities provided. A dated written internal report is the practical answer to that defense.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
ORC Section 4112.02(A): Bases Covered, Including Military Status and Ancestry	Ohio covers race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, and ancestry. Because of sex includes pregnancy, illness arising during pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions under Section 4112.01(B).	-	See your deadline
ORC Section 4112.052(C): Two Years to Sue, Tolled While a Charge Is Pending	A civil action must be filed within two years after the practice was committed, and that period is tolled while a charge is pending before the commission. Record the date you filed and the date the charge closed.	-	See your deadline
ORC Section 4112.08(A): The Individual Harasser Is Not the Defendant	No claim lies against a supervisor, manager, or other employee unless that person is the employer. Name the employer as the respondent even where a specific individual engaged in the conduct.	-	See your deadline
ORC Section 4112.054(B): Use and Document the Employer's Complaint Process	An employer has an affirmative defense if it exercised reasonable care to prevent or promptly correct sexually harassing behavior and the employee unreasonably failed to use the opportunities provided. A dated written internal report is the practical answer to that defense.	-	See your deadline

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Ohio guides

Adverse Possession in Ohio: Twenty One Years and a Stringent Standard of Proof

Asset Protection Planning in Ohio (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Ohio (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Ohio (2026)

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Ohio (2026)

Firing an Employee in Ohio (2026)

Ready to Draft Your Document?

Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.

Get Started