In Meyer, the plaintiff was fired – for a third time – by UPS after 25 years of employment. Having been reinstated twice before by using the grievance process in the collective bargaining agreement, he again filed a grievance, but it was denied and his discharge was upheld – by a panel of union members and management -- for being due to just cause under the bargaining agreement. He also filed a lawsuit alleging workers compensation retaliation and later amended his complaint to add claims for age discrimination (in that he was replaced by an employee decades younger than himself) under Ohio Revised Code § 4112.99 and public policy. Both claims were tried to a jury and he was awarded $336,208 in back pay, punitive damages and pre-judgment interest and $135,147 in attorney fees and court costs. On appeal, the appellate court ruled that the workers compensation claim should not have been tried to a jury, but rejected the employer’s argument that the §4112.99 age discrimination claim should have been barred by the arbitration prohibition provision in §4112.14(C) and remanded the case to the trial court. The employer appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed only to resolve the dispute involving the age discrimination claim.
Under Ohio law, plaintiffs may chose between a variety of age discrimination statutes. Section 4112.02(N) provides that an
aggrieved individual may enforce the individual’s rights relative to discrimination on the basis of age as provided for in this section by instituting a civil action, within one hundred eighty days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, in any court with jurisdiction for any legal or equitable relief that will effectuate the individual’s rights. (italics added).
This provision authorizes compensatory and punitive damages for successful plaintiffs. However, a plaintiff who files a lawsuit under §4112.02(N) “is barred, with respect to the practices complained of, from instituting a civil action under section 4112.14 of the Revised Code and from filing a charge with the commission under section 4112.05 of the Revised Code.”
Section 4112.05 permits individuals to file Charges of Discrimination with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission within six months of the alleged discrimination.
Section 4112.14 (formerly codified at § 4101.17) prohibits age discrimination in hiring and firing, permits the filing of a lawsuit by an aggrieved employee or applicant, and provides reinstatement, back pay and attorneys fees to successful plaintiff. However, plaintiffs who file under § 4112.14 may not file a Charge of Discrimination with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission or file a lawsuit under § 4112.02(N). This section also provides that the remedies available “are coexistent with remedies available pursuant to sections 4112.01 to 4112.11 of the Revised Code,” but it seems unlikely that plaintiffs under §4112.14 may obtain compensatory or punitive damages. In addition, when this statute was codified at § 4101.17, the statute of limitations for these age discrimination claims were held to be six years. Since this statute was recodified at § 4112.14, it is no longer clear whether the limitations period for claims brought under § 4112.14 are still six years, but the Supreme Court has refused to confirm this or limit the claims to 180 days as in §4112.02(N). Importantly for the Meyer case, § 4112.14(C) provides that § 4112.14 lawsuits and other lawsuits brought
pursuant to sections 4112.01 to 4112.11 of the Revised Code shall not be available in the case of discharges where the employee has available to the employee the opportunity to arbitrate the discharge or where a discharge has been arbitrated and has been found to be for just cause. (italics added).
Notably, § 4112.14(C) does not specifically address claims brought under § 4112.99 (but, rather, addresses only claims brought under §§ 4112.01 to 4112.11).
Section 4112.99 provides that “Whoever violates this chapter is subject to a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or any other appropriate relief.” This is a general statute and must be paired with a more specific statute, like §4112.02(N) or § 4112.14. In any event, this general provision authorizes compensatory and punitive damages regardless of whether it is paired with more specific statutes like § 4112.02(N) or § 4112.14. This is important because there is an argument that §4112.14 does not otherwise authorize compensatory or punitive damages. Plaintiffs who bring an action under § 4112.99 need not specify which more specific statute supports their claims.
In Meyer, the Court held that age discrimination lawsuits may not be brought “where the employee has available to the employee the opportunity to arbitrate the discharge or where a discharge has been arbitrated and has been found to be for just cause.” Therefore, even if the employee filed a lawsuit within 180 days under §4112.02(N) and even thought that statute does not mention arbitration proceedings, that age discrimination lawsuit is still governed by § 4112.14(C). In addition, even though Meyer’s grievance was not arbitrated by a single arbitrator, the bargaining agreement’s grievance procedure was equivalent to an arbitration and, thus, was covered by § 4112.14(C) arbitration clause.
Friends of the court filed briefs in the Meyer case urging the Court to address other questions posed by §4112.14, such as the length of its limitations period and whether it authorizes compensatory and punitive damages. However, the Court declined to do so. Instead, the reasoning of the Court was that all age discrimination claims brought under §4112.99 are subject to §4112.02(N) and §4112.14 and because §4112.14(C) prohibits age discrimination claims where the plaintiff had arbitration available to him or her, no age discrimination claims can be brought under §4112.99 if an arbitrator – or effective equivalent – upheld the discharge under a just cause standard. This might indicate that plaintiffs should only file claims under §4112.02(N) and not mention § 4112.99, but the syllabus of the Court’s opinion – which states the law of the case – does not limit its holding to §4112.99 claims. Rather, the syllabus refers to all age discrimination claims.
Insomniacs can read the full court opinion at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2009/2009-ohio-2463.pdf.
NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.
