Alfonso Guise bought his home on South Champion Avenue more than 40 years ago and remembers seeing language in the deed saying the house could not be sold or leased to a negro or mulatto.

Guise says he didn’t think much of it at the time.

“We had already purchased the house, so I didn’t think anyone would come back and say we couldn’t live here because of this in the deed,” Guise said.

But Guise says the language is offensive and he would like to see it taken out of his deed.

State Rep. Hearcel Craig and Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor hope to make that happen. They have teamed up to promote a state legislative proposal to give property owners the freedom and county recorders the authority to redact the discriminatory language from their online deeds. O’Connor says there are at least 5,000 deeds on file that could contain discriminatory language.

“I believe there is a way to balance remembering the darkest moments in our country without allowing relics of discrimination and injustice to eclipse the progress we have made by working together,” Craig said. “This language undermines our strides, advancement and progress as a community and nation. Redacting it is a small, but simple step we can take to further thoughtful dialogue within our communities while showing would-be residents and businesses that we are not stuck in shadows of our past.”

Read and watch the whole story from NBC 4 here.

Read the full story from The Athens News here.

State Rep. Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus) yesterday announced the unanimous passage of House Bill (HB) 98, the Ohio High School Career Opportunity Act, an effort to provide high school students with information on career and education opportunities after graduation.

 

“Life after graduation is rarely one size fits all. Everyone’s path is different,” said Rep. Boggs. “As college costs continue to rise, it’s incredibly important for young people to know their options. HB 98 gives students the information and tools they need to make the career decision that best fits them.”

 

There is no current standard in place to ensure that Ohio’s high school students have access to a variety of recruiters to learn about career opportunities available after graduation. HB 98 gives equal opportunity for representatives from colleges and universities, the armed forces, skilled trades, businesses and charitable organizations to present information on future career and post-graduate opportunities to high school students.

 

HB 98 now moves to the Senate for further consideration.

The war against wage disparity in Ohio is coming to the statehouse.

State Representative Thomas West just introduced a bill that would make it OK for some employees to talk about their wages freely, and would prohibit some employers from seeking wage history on applications.

West was appalled when he found out he was paid more than a woman who did the exact same tasks at a previous job. It is what led him to led him to put forth legislation to end that practice as a freshman lawmaker.

According to West, the first step in ending the wage gap is to make a few changes. House Bill 385 would prohibit state agencies from seeking wage history on applications.

According to the city of Columbus, this is something it is already contemplating doing.

“If we could eliminate that question altogether, then that will help us to reduce the wage disparity gap that exists within Ohio,” West said.

A key part of West’s legislation is that it would only apply to state agencies; the private sector would not be affected directly.

West also wants to allow state employees to be able to discuss their wages openly.

Private companies prohibit such talk to maintain a positive work environment and limit turnover of unhappy employees leaving over earnings disputes.

West says this mentality allows companies to create gender and racial inequality in wages.

“If you give a person adequate income, then they’re going to be able to meet your needs and actually probably reduce the amount of money they have to pay out,” West said.

Despite the fact that public sector wages aren’t hidden like in the private sector, West wants to start eliminating the wage gap within the public sector.

“We’ve learned that the government actually is a worse offender,” West said.

That brings us to the final part of HB 385, which would create a commission to study how these changes affect things for five years, and at the end of the study the commission would publish a report.

It is West’s hope that the private sector will see that the long term benefits of being open an honest about employee wages, and treating everyone fairly, that will create a better work environment than one shrouded in secrecy.

If things work out the way West would like them to, the private sector may adopt the changes he is proposing on its own.

Read the full story from WKBN here

State Reps. John Patterson (D-Jefferson) recently announced the introduction of House Bill 396, bipartisan legislation to create the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Degree Loan Repayment Program.

“The Ohio ‘brain drain’ is not a new issue,” said Patterson. “It is a known fact that for years, many STEM students who attend our universities leave Ohio upon graduation for better-paying jobs in other states. This legislation will help incentivize STEM specialists to stay in Ohio, fostering economic development that will benefit our students, our business community and our state as we strive to establish a workforce for the economy of the future.”

As the bill is currently written, eligible participants of the program would include Ohio college or university graduates from 2017 or later who hold an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree in a STEM-related field and are also employed in a STEM-related field in Ohio.

“This legislation addresses a convergence of two problems that are dramatically impacting Ohio’s economy: we are among the worst in the nation for student debt burden, and we continue to hear from the business community about Ohio’s lack of STEM-related skilled labor,” remarked Rep. Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Township), Rep. Patterson’s bipartisan partner on the bill. “Ohio has the 10^th highest average student debt, while our continued brain drain of STEM talent continues to hamper Ohio employers’ ability to grow facilities and add workers. I’m eager to begin discussions on how we can best retain our skilled talent in a way that provides economic opportunities for our graduates, stimulates STEM entrepreneurship, and grows emerging technology sectors right here in Ohio.”

Under HB 396, the Ohio Department of Higher Education would repay program participants’ student loans by making direct payments to their loan companies. The annual award amounts under the program would be as follows: $2,000 for Associate’s degrees, $4,000 for Bachelor’s degrees, and $8,000 for Master’s degrees and PhDs. Eligible participants could remain in the program for up to five years.