Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) Toledo Office

Toll Free 1-800-278-7101

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) was established July 1959 by the Ohio Legislature. The powers, duties, jurisdiction, practices, and procedures of the Commission are specified in Section 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code.

The primary function of The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is to enforce state laws against discrimination. OCRC receives and investigates charges of discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing, credit and higher education on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, ancestry or familial status.

The Commission has statutory authority to:

* initiate investigations of discriminatory practices;

* formulate policies to effectuate the purposes of Section 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code, and make recommendations to agencies and offices of the state or local subdivisions of government to effectuate such policies;

* make periodic surveys of the existence and effect of discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, age, ancestry or familial status on the enjoyment of civil rights by persons within the state;

* receive progress reports from agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities of this state or any of its political subdivisions and their agencies, instrumentalities, institutions, boards, commissions, and other entities regarding affirmative action programs for the employment of persons against whom discrimination is prohibited;

* prepare a comprehensive educational program, in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Education, for the students of Ohio’s public schools and for all other residents of Ohio that is designed to eliminate prejudice on the bases of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, age, ancestry or familial status, further good will among those groups and emphasize the origin of prejudice against those groups and its harmful effects.

State Office in Columbus OH: 30 East Broad Street, Fifth Floor, Columbus OH, 43215 | 614-466-2785