As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 510

2025-2026

A BILL

To amend sections 9.81, 4117.09, and 4117.11 and to enact sections 4119.01, 4119.02, 4119.07, 4119.08, and 4119.99 of the Revised Code to prohibit any requirement that employees join or pay dues to an employee organization.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 9.81, 4117.09, and 4117.11 be amended and sections 4119.01, 4119.02, 4119.07, 4119.08, and 4119.99 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.81. After an authorization adopted under section 9.80 of the Revised Code, any public officer or employee of any department or division of the state, any political subdivision or school district thereof, or of any institution supported in whole or in part by the state, a county, or municipal corporation, who desires to make a contribution by the payroll deduction plan to one or more of the specified charitable agencies which are corporations not for profit, community chests, united funds, or other similar united community fund organizations, may be permitted to have such contribution payments deducted from the salary or wages due such public officer or employee by filing a written request and authorization signed by such public officer or employee and specifying the amount of the deduction in each payroll period with the fiscal officer of the state, political subdivision, or school district, or institution by which such public officer or employee is employed. Such authorization may be withdrawn in writing by such public officer or employee at any time. No funds may be withheld from the salary or wages of any such public officer or employee for the purposes permitted by sections 9.80 and 9.81 of the Revised Code unless the withholding is specifically, freely, and voluntarily authorized by that public officer or employee in writing.

Upon receipt of evidence of such request by the appropriate fiscal officer, or upon receipt of a written deduction authorization under division (B)(2) ~~or (C)~~ of section 4117.09 of the Revised Code, such fiscal officer shall make such deduction and shall, at periodic intervals to the extent of the amount collected, pay the designated charitable agencies which are corporations not for profit, community chests, united funds, or other similar united community fund organizations, or the exclusive representative designated under section 4117.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4117.09. (A) The parties to any collective bargaining agreement shall reduce the agreement to writing and both execute it.

(B) The agreement shall contain a provision that:

(1) Provides for a grievance procedure which may culminate with final and binding arbitration of unresolved grievances, and disputed interpretations of agreements, and which is valid and enforceable under its terms when entered into in accordance with this chapter. No publication thereof is required to make it effective. A party to the agreement may bring suits for violation of agreements or the enforcement of an award by an arbitrator in the court of common pleas of any county wherein a party resides or transacts business.

(2) Authorizes the public employer to deduct the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments of members of the exclusive representative upon presentation of a written deduction authorization by the employee.

(C) The agreement may contain a provision that requires as a condition of employment, on or after a mutually agreed upon probationary period or sixty days following the beginning of employment, whichever is less, or the effective date of a collective bargaining agreement, whichever is later, that the employees in the unit who are not members of the employee organization pay to the employee organization a fair share fee. The arrangement does not require any employee to become a member of the employee organization, nor shall fair share fees exceed dues paid by members of the employee organization who are in the same bargaining unit. Any public employee organization representing public employees pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any, for nonmembers which conforms to federal law, provided a nonmember makes a timely demand on the employee organization. Absent arbitrary and capricious action, such determination is conclusive on the parties except that a challenge to the determination may be filed with the state employment relations board within thirty days of the determination date specifying the arbitrary or capricious nature of the determination and the board shall review the rebate determination and decide whether it was arbitrary or capricious. The deduction of a fair share fee by the public employer from the payroll check of the employee and its payment to the employee organization is automatic and does not require the written authorization of the employee.

The internal rebate procedure shall provide for a rebate of expenditures in support of partisan politics or ideological causes not germaine to the work of employee organizations in the realm of collective bargaining.

Any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization and which is exempt from taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment. Upon submission of proper proof of religious conviction to the board, the board shall declare the employee exempt from becoming a member of or financially supporting an employee organization. The employee shall be required, in lieu of the fair share fee, to pay an amount of money equal to the fair share fee to a nonreligious charitable fund exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code mutually agreed upon by the employee and the representative of the employee organization to which the employee would otherwise be required to pay the fair share fee. The employee shall furnish to the employee organization written receipts evidencing such payment, and failure to make the payment or furnish the receipts shall subject the employee to the same sanctions as would nonpayment of dues under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

No public employer shall agree to a provision requiring that a public employee become a member of an employee organization as a condition for securing or retaining employment.

(D) As used in this division, "teacher" means any employee of a school district certified to teach in the public schools of this state.

The agreement may contain a provision that provides for a peer review plan under which teachers in a bargaining unit or representatives of an employee organization representing teachers may, for other teachers of the same bargaining unit or teachers whom the employee organization represents, participate in assisting, instructing, reviewing, evaluating, or appraising and make recommendations or participate in decisions with respect to the retention, discharge, renewal, or nonrenewal of, the teachers covered by a peer review plan.

The participation of teachers or their employee organization representative in a peer review plan permitted under this division shall not be construed as an unfair labor practice under this chapter or as a violation of any other provision of law or rule adopted pursuant thereto.

(E) No agreement shall contain an expiration date that is later than three years from the date of execution. The parties may extend any agreement, but the extensions do not affect the expiration date of the original agreement.

Sec. 4117.11. (A) It is an unfair labor practice for a public employer, its agents, or representatives to:

(1) Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or an employee organization in the selection of its representative for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;

(2) Initiate, create, dominate, or interfere with the formation or administration of any employee organization, or contribute financial or other support to it; except that a public employer may permit employees to confer with it during working hours without loss of time or pay, permit the exclusive representative to use the facilities of the public employer for membership or other meetings, or permit the exclusive representative to use the internal mail system or other internal communications system;

(3) Discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment on the basis of the exercise of rights guaranteed by Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. ~~Nothing precludes any employer from making and enforcing an agreement pursuant to division (C) of section 4117.09 of the Revised Code.~~

(4) Discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he the employee has filed charges or given testimony under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code;

(5) Refuse to bargain collectively with the representative of ~~his~~ the employer's employees recognized as the exclusive representative or certified pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code;

(6) Establish a pattern or practice of repeated failures to timely process grievances and requests for arbitration of grievances;

(7) Lock out or otherwise prevent employees from performing their regularly assigned duties where an object thereof is to bring pressure on the employees or an employee organization to compromise or capitulate to the employer's terms regarding a labor relations dispute;

(8) Cause or attempt to cause an employee organization, its agents, or representatives to violate division (B) of this section.

(B) It is an unfair labor practice for an employee organization, its agents, or representatives, or public employees to:

(1) Restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. This division does not impair the right of an employee organization to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership therein, or an employer in the selection of ~~his~~ the employer's representative for the purpose of collective ~~brgaining~~ bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.

(2) Cause or attempt to cause an employer to violate division (A) of this section;

(3) Refuse to bargain collectively with a public employer if the employee organization is recognized as the exclusive representative or certified as the exclusive representative of public employees in a bargaining unit;

(4) Call, institute, maintain, or conduct a boycott against any public employer, or picket any place of business of a public employer, on account of any jurisdictional work dispute;

(5) Induce or encourage any individual employed by any person to engage in a strike in violation of Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code or refusal to handle goods or perform services; or threaten, coerce, or restrain any person where an object thereof is to force or require any public employee to cease dealing or doing business with any other person, or force or require a public employer to recognize for representation purposes an employee organization not certified by the state employment relations board;

(6) Fail to fairly represent all public employees in a bargaining unit;

(7) Induce or encourage any individual in connection with a labor relations dispute to picket the residence or any place of private employment of any public official or representative of the public employer;

(8) Engage in any picketing, striking, or other concerted refusal to work without giving written notice to the public employer and to the state employment relations board not less than ten days prior to the action. The notice shall state the date and time that the action will commence and, once the notice is given, the parties may extend it by the written agreement of both.

(C) The determination by the board or any court that a public officer or employee has committed any of the acts prohibited by divisions (A) and (B) of this section shall not be made the basis of any charge for the removal from office or recall of the public officer or the suspension from or termination of employment of or disciplinary acts against an employee, nor shall the officer or employee be found subject to any suit for damages based on such a determination; however nothing in this division prevents any party to a collective bargaining agreement from seeking enforcement or damages for a violation thereof against the other party to the agreement.

(D) As to jurisdictional work disputes, the board shall hear and determine the dispute unless, within ten days after notice to the board by a party to the dispute that a dispute exists, the parties to the dispute submit to the board satisfactory evidence that they have adjusted, or agreed upon the method for the voluntary adjustment of, the dispute.

Sec. 4119.01. As used in this chapter:

(A)(1) "Employer" means any person who has one or more employees and includes an agent of an employer, the state or any agency or instrumentality of the state, and any municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision or any agency or instrumentality thereof.

(2) "Employer" does not include either of the following:

(a) The United States or any corporation or enclave wholly owned or controlled by the United States;

(b) Any person subject to the "Railway Labor Act of 1926," 45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.

(B) "Employee organization" means any labor or bona fide organization in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment.

Sec. 4119.02. (A) No employer or employee organization shall recklessly require any person to do any of the following as a condition of employment or continued employment:

(1) Become or remain a member of any employee organization;

(2) Pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to an employee organization;

(3) Pay any amount to a charity or other third party in lieu of paying dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to an employee organization.

(B) An employer and an employee organization shall not enter into an oral or written agreement, contract, or promise that violates division (A) of this section. Any such agreement, contract, or promise is void.

Sec. 4119.07. Any person who is injured or is likely to be injured as a result of a violation of section 4119.02 of the Revised Code may bring an action in the court of common pleas in the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The person may obtain injunctive relief and recover costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, and any actual damages the person sustained as a result of the violation or threatened violation. Remedies available under this section are independent of and in addition to penalties under section 4119.99 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4119.08. Any person may file a complaint alleging a violation of section 4119.02 of the Revised Code with the attorney general. The attorney general shall investigate any complaints of an alleged violation of that section and shall prosecute any violation the attorney general determines has occurred based on that investigation.

Sec. 4119.99. Any employer or employee organization who violates section 4119.04 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.

Section 2. That existing sections 9.81, 4117.09, and 4117.11 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Section 1 of this act applies to any agreement, contract, or promise entered into, renewed, or extended on or after the effective date of this section.