Ohio recently set up a portal on its unemployment page for employers to narc on employees who refused to come back to work during the pandemic for fear of contracting the virus. Not only did the state decide to offer the snitching tool in the midst of stay-at-home orders, it took the added step of widely advertising it in mass emails sent out to Ohio businesses in early May.
This did not sit well with workers, worker advocates and normal human beings who recognize the power imbalance between business owners and low-paid workers who, given the current landscape, would be forced to choose between losing their unemployment benefits or heading back to the workplace in possibly unsafe conditions.
A hacker helpfully built a tool to flood the portal with a bunch of false claims to make it harder for the state to sift the legit complaints from the bunk ones. Shortly after, the state said it was looking to reevaluate the tool and had decided, in the meantime, to put it on hold.
“No benefits are being denied right now as a result of a person’s decision not to return to work while we continue to evaluate the policy,” Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kimberly Hall told Cleveland.com earlier this week.
That’s a positive step, but as the state reopens in stages throughout the month it’s still considering policies that coddle and protect business owners at the expense of workers.
An Ohio Senate Committee heard testimony from business owners and lobbyist groups including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday for SB 308, which would provide immunity to business owners from COVID-19 related lawsuits.
In theory, it would protect business owners from expensive lawsuits brought against them by employees even if they were operating in full compliance with all state and federal safety guidelines.
“The last thing struggling businesses need is to face a financially crippling lawsuit,” the Ohio Chamber of Commerce tweeted of the bill.
Of course, the last thing a struggling worker needs is COVID-19 or expensive medical bills.
And in practice, some argue, the bill would shield business owners who act badly, who fail to provide proper safety measures for employees, and even incentivize lax protocols.
“The message we send to any business by providing them with immunity is, ‘We want you to act safely, but we will not hold you responsible if you don’t,’” Robert Wagoner of the Ohio Association of Justice testified.
So what can you do, as an employee, if you feel like your employer is putting you in danger?
The answer hasn’t been obvious nor advertised as thoroughly as the unemployment snitch line. But the answer is your local health department.
The City of Cincinnati health department and Mayor John Cranley issued an Emergency Order this week requiring businesses to post this placard.
And if you don’t feel like a business is following those guidelines, you can — and should — immediately file a safety complaint by calling 513-357-7462 or emailing COVID.complaint@cincinnati-oh.gov.
Hamilton County Public Health also has a portal where you can file a COVID-19 complaint — just select COVID-19 from the drop-down menu at hamiltoncountyhealth.org/services/for-businesses/file-a-public-health-complaint.
This article appears in May 6 – Jun 14, 2020.
