Ohio Civil Rights Commission

What Ohio Civil Rights Commission does

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) is the State of Ohio's executive-branch agency responsible for enforcing Ohio's Laws Against Discrimination under Ohio Revised Code 4112. Founded in 1959 as the Ohio Fair Employment Practices Commission and renamed in 1961, OCRC receives, investigates, renders formal determinations, and conciliates charges of unlawful discrimination across employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, and disability in institutions of higher education. The agency operates a central office in Columbus and five regional offices (Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton) plus one satellite office, serving Ohio residents through in-person services, a toll-free phone line, and an online charge filing portal on civ.ohio.gov. Core operational products include the Discrimination Charge Filing System, Charge Investigation Services, the Voluntary Mediation Program (with an 85% successful resolution rate), the Administrative Law Judge Hearing System, Enforcement Services for conciliation agreements, the Reconsideration Process, and the BFOQ Application Process. Supporting educational and recognition programs include OCRC Academy, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art/Writing/Multimedia Contest, the Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

OCRC's revenue model is state government appropriations; all services are provided free of charge to the public. The agency's go-to-market is direct-to-consumer intake through online filing, phone, mail, and in-person channels, followed by investigation, voluntary mediation, and administrative hearings. The Commission's enforcement authority is reinforced by Work Sharing Agreements with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1978) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (1988), enabling dual filing for employment and housing charges. Technology infrastructure is built on IBM WebSphere Portal hosted on the Innovate Ohio Platform, with WCAG 2.1 AA digital accessibility compliance. Leadership consists of an Executive Director (Angela Phelps-White, appointed March 2020) and five Commissioners appointed by the Governor with Senate consent, currently chaired by Valerie A. Lemmie (appointed May 2023).

Name

Ohio Civil Rights Commission

Legal name

Ohio Civil Rights Commission

Website

https://civ.ohio.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is a State of Ohio executive-branch agency that enforces Ohio's Laws Against Discrimination through charge filing, investigation, mediation, and administrative hearings, serving Ohio residents, employers, and housing providers across five regional offices and a central Columbus headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Rights Regulatory Enforcement

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD), Labor, Employment Standards & Occupational Licensing Boards (BPAIAOAF), Equity, Inclusion & Civil Rights Reporting (Disparities, Access, Outcomes) (EDADAIAH)

Keywords

• Civil rights enforcement
• Discrimination charge filing
• Anti-discrimination laws
• Regulatory mediation services
• Employment discrimination investigation

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. State Government Appropriations: Funded through Ohio state government budget appropriations as a state regulatory agency. No commercial revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is a state government agency that enforces Ohio's Laws Against Discrimination under Ohio Revised Code 4112. It receives, investigates, conciliates, and renders formal determinations on charges of unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, and disability in institutions of higher education. Services are delivered at no cost through a central office, five regional offices, one satellite office, an online filing portal, and a toll-free phone line.

Product overview

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission operates as a unified enforcement agency offering a comprehensive suite of civil rights services centered on its charge filing, investigation, mediation, and enforcement capabilities. The core operations include the Discrimination Charge Filing System for receiving complaints, Charge Investigation Services for examining allegations, the Voluntary Mediation Program for consensual resolution (achieving 85% success), and Enforcement Services for monitoring compliance with agreements. Supporting services include the Administrative Law Judge Hearing System for contested cases, the Reconsideration Process for appeals, and the BFOQ Application Process for occupational qualification exemptions. The Commission also provides educational programs including OCRC Academy (training on ORC 4112 and case management), the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art/Writing/Multimedia Contest, Excellence in Teaching Award, and Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame recognition. Public services include disability access accommodations and public records requests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Discrimination Charge Filing System
• Charge Investigation Services
• Voluntary Mediation Program
• Reconsideration Process
• Enforcement Services
• BFOQ Application Process
• Administrative Law Judge Hearing System
• Public Records Request System
• Disability Access Request System

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of cases electing mediation option are successfully resolved
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HondacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Founding co-sponsor of the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame established in 2009. Honda collaborated with the Commission, Wright State University, and PNC to create the Hall of Fame acknowledging outstanding Ohioans in human and civil rights.
• Wright State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Founding co-sponsor of the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame established in 2009. Collaborated with the Commission, Honda, and PNC to create the Hall of Fame.
• PNCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Founding co-sponsor of the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame established in 2009. Collaborated with the Commission, Honda, and Wright State University.
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988Work Sharing Agreement with HUD to investigate and eradicate housing discrimination. Joint work sharing agreement enables dual filing of housing discrimination charges.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1978Work Sharing Agreement (WSA) providing dual filing for employment discrimination charges. The Commission's Director of Compliance and Enforcement serves as agency liaison to EEOC.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Lambda Legal: National civil rights organization focused on litigation and advocacy for LGBTQ+ civil rights. Adjacent to OCRC's enforcement work on protected-class discrimination but operates as a private legal-advocacy NGO rather than a state agency.
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund: National civil rights law organization with a long history of anti-discrimination litigation and policy advocacy. Operates in the same civil-rights domain as OCRC but functions as a private legal-advocacy organization rather than a state regulatory body.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity: Federal agency administering the Fair Housing Act and sharing jurisdiction with OCRC on housing discrimination via the 1988 Work Sharing Agreement. Federal counterparty with overlapping housing-discrimination enforcement authority.
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): Federal counterpart that enforces Title VII and related employment discrimination laws nationally. OCRC's 1978 Work Sharing Agreement with EEOC creates direct operational overlap on employment discrimination charges filed in Ohio.

Direct peers

• Michigan Department of Civil Rights: Michigan's statewide civil rights enforcement agency investigating complaints of discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations. Regionally adjacent peer with overlapping mandate.
• Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission: Pennsylvania's state civil rights agency with jurisdiction over employment, housing, education, and public accommodations discrimination. Functionally analogous to OCRC at the state level.
• California Civil Rights Department: California's state civil rights enforcement agency (formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) covering employment, housing, and hate-violence enforcement. Comparable in statutory scope and adjudicative function to OCRC.
• Illinois Department of Human Rights: Illinois state agency enforcing the Illinois Human Rights Act across employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. Directly comparable in scope, structure, and charge-investigation workflow to OCRC.
• New York State Division of Human Rights: Other state-level human/civil rights agency enforcing state anti-discrimination statutes across employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. Closely analogous in mission, structure, and statutory authority to OCRC.
• Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division: Texas state-level body investigating employment discrimination complaints. Comparable state-agency enforcement model, though narrower in scope (employment-focused) than OCRC.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=yqQvkFnN_bM&t=9s
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ohio-civil-rights-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Ohio Civil Rights Commission