Employment Law & Title IX

Ohio School Support Staff Layoffs: Rights for Classified Employees

Aides, bus drivers, custodians, and other classified staff have real RIF and recall rights under R.C. 3319.081. What a lawful layoff must follow.

Ohio School Administrator RIF and Nonrenewal

When a district abolishes an administrator's position or nonrenews a principal, R.C. 3319.02 and 3319.171 set the rules and the protections you keep.

Coaches and Supplemental Contracts: Nonrenewal Rights in Ohio

Coaching contracts are easy to nonrenew, but not for an unlawful reason. When a coaching nonrenewal crosses into retaliation or a Title IX problem.

Faculty Retrenchment in Ohio: Tenure, Exigency, and Rights

When a college cuts faculty through retrenchment, tenure, financial exigency, and the faculty handbook control. What protection you actually keep.

Ohio School RIFs 2026: What Riffed Teachers Need to Know

How Ohio teacher reductions in force work this year, the recall rights you keep, the deadlines that start now, and when a RIF is really something else.

What to Do After a RIF or Nonrenewal Notice

The documents to save, the deadlines that start now, and the first moves that protect an Ohio teacher's rights after a notice.

RIF, Nonrenewal, or Termination? Know the Difference

Three different actions under three different Ohio statutes, each with its own rights and deadlines. How to tell which one you are facing.

Teacher Recall Rights After a RIF in Ohio

How recall order works, how long the rights last, and what to do if a district refills your role instead of recalling you.

Continuing Contracts, Tenure, and RIFs in Ohio

A continuing contract gives real protection, but not full immunity from a RIF. What tenure does and does not shield, and where districts overreach.

Ohio Teacher Nonrenewal: The June 1 Deadline and Your Rights

What the June 1 deadline means, the evaluation rules a district must follow, and when a nonrenewal can still be challenged.

Riffed After a Title IX Complaint? That May Be Retaliation

A teacher or coach whose role vanishes after a Title IX complaint may have a retaliation claim, not just a layoff.

Equity and Deferred Compensation: What Executives Need to Understand

A plain guide to executive equity and deferred compensation: options, RSUs, the 83(b) election, nonqualified deferred comp, 409A, and what to protect.

Physician and Partner Expulsion: Being Forced Out of a Practice or Partnership

How physician and partner expulsions work in Ohio: the governing agreement, no-cause vs for-cause removal, buyout, non-competes, and your leverage.

How a Qui Tam Whistleblower Case Works (and the Relator's Share)

How qui tam cases work under the False Claims Act: filing, the government's decision, treble damages, and the whistleblower's share of recovery.

Filing a Qui Tam Case: The Seal, the Complaint, and the Government's Decision

How a qui tam complaint is filed under seal, what the disclosure statement requires, how long the seal lasts, and why filing early matters.

False Claims Act Retaliation: Your Rights Under 31 U.S.C. 3730(h)

Section 3730(h) of the False Claims Act protects whistleblowers fired or demoted for reporting fraud. What is protected and what you can recover.

Executive Non-Competes, Garden Leave, and Forfeiture-for-Competition in Ohio

Executives face the most aggressive non-competes. How Ohio enforces them, what garden leave and forfeiture-for-competition really do, and how to negotiate.

How Executives Negotiate Severance: Beyond the Cash Number

For executives, the cash severance line is the smallest part of the deal. How to negotiate equity, bonus, the cause label, and covenants before you sign.

What Happens to Your Unvested Equity When You Leave

What happens to your unvested RSUs and stock options when you leave a job, how acceleration and forfeiture work, and where the terms can be negotiated.

Change in Control, Golden Parachutes, and the 280G Excise Tax

How change-in-control payouts work for executives, what the golden parachute rules under IRC 280G and 4999 do, and why gross-up versus cutback matters.

“For Cause” vs. “Without Cause”: The Words That Control Your Exit

Why the cause definition in an executive agreement controls severance and equity, what good reason means, and how to contest a for-cause label.

Why a Faculty Member Shouldn't Serve as Your Title IX Advisor

Students often ask a trusted professor to be their Title IX advisor. Why that choice can quietly hurt both the student and the faculty member, and what to do instead.

You Reported Discrimination. Now Protect Yourself From Retaliation

Reporting is protected, but the weeks after are when retaliation happens. How to protect yourself, and why the retaliation claim can be the stronger case.

Denied a Reasonable Accommodation? Your Rights While Still on the Job

If your employer is stonewalling a disability, pregnancy, or medical accommodation, you have rights under the ADA, the PWFA, and R.C. 4112.

Blowing the Whistle: Protecting Yourself When You Report Wrongdoing

Ohio protects whistleblowers, but only if you follow strict steps. The written report, the 24-hour rule, and how to keep your protection.

Signs You're About to Be Fired (and How to Protect Yourself)

The warning signs are usually there before a termination. How to recognize them and what to do while you still have the job.

What to Do When You're Written Up at Work

A write-up can be the first brick in a termination case, or evidence for yours. Whether to sign, how to respond, and when it may be unlawful.

Put on a PIP? What a Performance Improvement Plan Really Means

A performance improvement plan is often the first step toward a termination, not a real path to keep your job. What a PIP means and what to do if you get one.

Can You Record Your Boss in Ohio?

Ohio is a one-party consent state, so you can often record a conversation you are part of. But legal does not mean smart. The rules and the real risks.

ADEA or Ohio R.C. 4112: Which Age Claim Should You Bring?

Most Ohio age cases can be brought more than one way. How the choice between the federal ADEA, R.C. 4112.02, and R.C. 4112.14 changes your deadlines, damages, and fees.

How to Prove Age Discrimination in Ohio

Age discrimination is almost never admitted out loud. The evidence, the fact patterns, and the deadlines that decide whether an Ohio worker 40 or older can prove a claim.

Forced Out, Not Fired: Coerced Early Retirement and the ADEA

A retirement is only voluntary if it is truly a choice. When pressure to retire becomes constructive discharge or a disguised age-based termination under the ADEA and Ohio law.

Laid Off Over 40? How to Read the OWBPA Disclosure List

A group layoff over 40 comes with a required list of ages and job titles. How to read it for an age pattern, and when the list itself voids your severance waiver.

Can You Be Fired for Being Sick in Ohio?

Ohio is at-will, but FMLA, the ADA, workers' compensation, and pregnancy law create real exceptions. When a sickness-related firing crosses the line into illegal, and what to do about it.

Wrongful Termination in Ohio: When Is a Firing Illegal?

In Ohio, unfair and illegal are not the same thing. The exceptions to at-will employment, discrimination, retaliation, public policy, and contract, and how these cases are actually proven.

Title IX Rights for Pregnant and Parenting Students

Title IX protects pregnant and parenting students from discrimination at school, from voluntary participation and excused medical absences to reasonable accommodations and lactation space. What students should know.

Constructive Discharge in Ohio: When Quitting Counts as Being Fired

If your employer made conditions so intolerable that you had no real choice but to resign, you may have been constructively discharged. Ohio's standard, how it differs from the Sixth Circuit, and the deadline that runs from your resignation.

Post-Termination Commissions in Ohio: The Procuring Cause Doctrine and Its Limits

When a salesperson closes a deal but is terminated before it pays out, Ohio's procuring cause doctrine provides a default right to the commission. But contract language often controls. The doctrine, forfeiture-clause rules, and R.C. 4113.15.

Title IX in K-12 Versus Higher Education: How the Frameworks Differ

Title IX applies to both K-12 schools and colleges, but the procedural framework, mandatory reporting, and liability standards differ significantly between the two settings. What students, families, and educators need to know.

Successor Liability in FMLA and Title VII Cases: When an Acquirer Inherits the Seller's Employment Liability

When a business is acquired or merged, employment claims do not always disappear. Federal law applies a substantial-continuity test that can make the successor liable for the predecessor's FMLA and Title VII violations.

Sham Reductions in Force: Pretext Indicators and Discovery Strategy in Ohio Employment Cases

A reduction in force can be a legitimate business decision or a pretextual cover for unlawful termination. The pretext indicators that courts evaluate, the borrowed civil service framework, and discovery strategy for sham RIF cases.

When Your Employer Cuts Your Digital Access: Retaliation, Spoliation, and the Modern Workplace Record

Revoking an employee's access to Slack, Google Workspace, Hudl, Salesforce, or other workplace tools after a complaint can be both retaliation and spoliation of evidence. The legal frameworks and what to document.

Internal Investigation Traps: What to Say (and Not Say) When HR Calls You In

An HR investigation often precedes termination. The strategic questions employees face when called into an investigation meeting, and the legal frameworks that govern what they must say.

OP&F Mandamus: Challenging Disability Benefit Cuts Based on Unlicensed Physician Reviews

Ohio police officers and firefighters whose OP&F disability benefits are reduced based on out-of-state physician file reviews may have mandamus remedies under R.C. 4731.34. The framework, the unlicensed-practice issue, and what to do.

Ohio's Public-Policy Wrongful Termination Tort: The 4-Year Window When Other Claims Have Closed

Ohio's Greeley/Collins public-policy wrongful termination tort has a 4-year statute of limitations. When statutory employment claims have run, the common-law tort may still be available. The full framework and when the theory fits.

Ohio School Administrators: Contract Abolishment Under R.C. 3319.171

R.C. 3319.171 governs the abolishment of school administrative positions through reductions in force. The procedural requirements, the bona-fide-versus-pretextual analysis borrowed from civil service case law, and what administrators facing position abolishment should know.

Teacher Free Speech: The Pickering-Garcetti Framework After Kennedy v. Bremerton

Public school teachers and administrators have First Amendment protection against retaliation, but the doctrine has been narrowed by Garcetti and reshaped by Kennedy v. Bremerton. The full framework with current Sixth Circuit case law.

R.C. 3319.16 and Ohio Teacher Termination: What the Statute Actually Requires

The Ohio statute governing tenured teacher termination has specific procedural and substantive requirements. The full framework, recent case law, and what teachers facing charges need to know.

EEOC Mediation: A Practical Guide for Employees

EEOC mediation is offered to most employees who file a charge. The decision to accept, how to prepare, and how to negotiate at the mediation matter more than most people realize.

Common Title IX Litigation Scenarios: A Practitioner's Overview

Title IX litigation runs on five recurring scenarios. A practitioner-oriented overview of complainant claims, respondent challenges, retaliation, and damages, with current Sixth Circuit and Supreme Court authority.

The OWBPA: Severance Agreement Requirements for Employees Over 40

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act sets strict requirements for severance agreements offered to employees age 40 and older. When those requirements are not met, the ADEA waiver is void.

Ohio Public Employees: Rights Your Private-Sector Colleagues Don't Have

Public employees have constitutional and statutory protections private employees don't. Loudermill, First Amendment, Section 1983, FMLA. The framework in one place.

First Amendment Retaliation for Ohio Public Employees

Public employees can sue for retaliation over protected speech. The Pickering, Connick, Garcetti, and Lane framework walked through for Ohio practitioners.

The PUMP Act: Federal Lactation Rights in the Workplace

The PUMP Act expanded federal protections for nursing employees, covering break time, private space, and creating a private right of action with damages.

FMLA Rights for Pregnant and New Parent Employees

The FMLA provides 12 weeks of leave for pregnancy, childbirth, and bonding. How eligibility works and how it interacts with the PWFA, ADA, and Ohio law.

PWFA Litigation Update: The Status of the Abortion Provisions

How states have challenged the EEOC's PWFA final rule on abortion-related accommodations, the core legal questions, and what Ohio practitioners need to know.

Title IX 2020 vs 2024 Rules: A Side-by-Side Comparison

How the 2020 and 2024 Title IX rules differ on harassment definitions, hearings, cross-examination, and procedural rights. What applies now and why.

Title IX Coordinator Compliance in 2026: An Audit Guide

A 2026 audit guide for Title IX coordinators: policy review, training, athletics, parallel Title VI, and when to bring in outside investigators.

Title IX Policy Update: Where Things Stand in May 2026

Where Title IX stands as of May 2026, including the LAUSD investigation, current OCR enforcement priorities, pending Supreme Court cases, and forecasted federal rulemaking.

Title IX Regulations in 2026: Where Things Actually Stand

The 2024 Title IX rule was vacated nationwide in January 2025. Here is how we got here, what the 2020 framework now requires, and what to expect under the current administration.

Title IX Retaliation: What It Is and How It Is Proven

Retaliation against participants in a Title IX proceeding is itself a Title IX violation. Here is who is protected, what counts as retaliation, and how to prove a claim.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Ohio Employees Need to Know

The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Here is how the law works and how to enforce it.

Section 1983 Claims for Public Employees: A Practical Overview

42 U.S.C. § 1983 lets public employees sue government employers for constitutional violations. Here is how the statute works and how it differs from Title VII.

What Is a Title IX Hearing and What Should You Expect?

The Title IX hearing is the most consequential stage of the grievance process. Here is how it works, who is present, and how to prepare effectively.

Respondents in Title IX Proceedings: What You Need to Know

Being named a respondent in a Title IX proceeding is one of the most disorienting experiences a student or employee can face.

What Happens After a Title IX Finding of Responsibility?

A Title IX finding is serious but not necessarily final. Here is what sanctions are possible, how to appeal, and what external options remain.

Severance Agreements and Negotiation: What Ohio Employees Need to Know

Severance agreements are almost always negotiable. Here is what to look for, what to push back on, and how to use your legal claims as leverage.

Can You Appeal a Title IX Decision?

Both parties in a Title IX proceeding have the right to appeal. Here is when an appeal makes sense, what grounds are available, and how the process works.

Title IX and Study Abroad: What Happens When Misconduct Occurs Overseas

Title IX can apply to study abroad programs, but jurisdiction and investigation get complicated quickly. Here is what students need to know.

Title IX and Athletics: What Student Athletes Need to Know

Student athletes face unique Title IX pressures as complainants and respondents. Here is what is at stake and how the athletic context changes the process.

FMLA in Ohio: What Employees Need to Know

The FMLA gives eligible Ohio employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. Here is who qualifies, what it covers, and what to do if your employer interferes or retaliates.

Title IX and Faculty: What Professors and Staff Need to Know

Faculty and staff face unique Title IX risks as respondents, complainants, and mandatory reporters. Here is what everyone working in higher education needs to understand.

I Received a Title IX Notice: What Does It Mean and What Should I Do?

Receiving a Title IX notice marks the start of a formal process with real consequences. Here is what to know and what to do first.

Retaliation in the Workplace: What It Is and How to Prove It in Ohio

Retaliation is one of the most common employment claims in Ohio. Here is what counts as protected activity, what qualifies as an adverse action, and how to build your case.

What Is a Right to Sue Letter and What Do You Do With It?

Receiving a right to sue letter from the EEOC opens a strict 90-day window to file suit. Here is what it means and what to do immediately after you receive one.

Title IX Informal Resolution: What It Is and When It Makes Sense

Informal resolution is an alternative to the full Title IX grievance process. Here is how it works, who can use it, and what to consider before agreeing to participate.

Pregnancy Discrimination in the Ohio Workplace

Pregnant employees and new mothers have significant legal protections, including under the PUMP Act. Here is what the law covers and what to do if your employer crosses the line.

Title IX and K-12 Schools: How It Differs from Higher Education

Title IX applies to K-12 schools, but the process looks different than at colleges and universities. Here is what students, parents, and administrators need to know.

What Is a Loudermill Hearing?

Public employees facing termination have constitutional rights before a final decision is made. Here is what a Loudermill hearing involves and why it matters.

The Difference Between a Title IX Advisor and an Attorney

Anyone can serve as a Title IX advisor. But there are significant practical differences between a non-attorney advisor and an attorney, and those differences can affect your outcome.

Can My Employer Fire Me for Any Reason in Ohio?

Ohio is at-will, but that does not mean your employer can fire you for any reason. Here is what the law actually protects.

What Is a Title IX Investigation and How Does It Work?

A plain-language explanation of what a Title IX investigation involves, what to expect at each stage, and how the process ends.

What Happens After You File an EEOC Charge?

Filing a charge is just the beginning. Here is what to expect from the EEOC process, how long it takes, and what your options are at each stage.

What Is a Hostile Work Environment and When Is It Illegal?

Not every unpleasant workplace meets the legal standard. An Ohio employment attorney explains what the law actually requires.

What to Do When You're Asked to Sign a Severance Agreement

Before you sign, there are things you need to know. What to look for, what to negotiate, and when not to sign without legal advice.

Title IX for Employees at Colleges and Universities

Title IX protects employees, not just students. What faculty and staff need to know about the process and the stakes.

The Role of a Title IX Advisor: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Having an experienced advisor isn't optional. Here's what a Title IX advisor actually does and why it matters for both complainants and respondents.

Title IX and Graduate Students: What You Need to Know

Graduate students face unique Title IX challenges. High stakes, complex power dynamics, and consequences that extend well beyond the proceeding itself.

Non-Compete Agreements in Ohio 2026: What Workers Need to Know

The FTC's nationwide ban is dead. Here's what that means for Ohio employees and what protections still exist.