Ohio’s 8^th District Court of Appeals ruled House Bill 180, which banned residency requirements on public construction projects, as unconstitutional.

The ruling upheld a Cleveland residency law that requires contractors who successfully bid on certain public construction projects within the city, to guarantee 20 percent of the hours worked must be performed by Cleveland residents, and 4 percent of that 20 percent must be allocated for low-income Cleveland residents.

By striking down H.B. 180, the court has granted chartered municipalities the right to enforce hiring requirements on certain publicly-funded construction projects. This means cities such as Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati can require contractors hire a designated percentage of their residents to work on certain construction projects. Continue reading →