Although I am no longer in the state legislature, I am proud of my former colleagues’ recent work to protect local businesses and their employees. The Ohio legislature’s recent passage of the “Business Fairness Act” corrects one of the government’s biggest missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nearly all sectors of the economy were harmed by the pandemic and the government’s response to it. From shutdowns to curfews to new regulations on how businesses could operate, employers across the country faced a series of hurdles unlike anything they have seen in decades.
This affected everyone, of course, but small businesses — our local “mom and pop shops” — were disproportionately harmed by such measures. In the spring of 2020, it was common to see large national chains remain open because they were deemed “essential” by governors and health departments, while smaller local retailers and other businesses were forced to close their doors.
This situation was inherently unfair to small business owners and their employees. Here in Ohio, more than nine-out-of-ten businesses are small businesses. They employ roughly 2.2 million people across our state, making up more than 45 percent of the private workforce.
They are the backbone of our state’s economy. More importantly, they are our family, friends, and neighbors. And it almost goes without saying that every job is “essential” to the person who holds it and to the family that he or she supports.
Every business is essential to the people it employs, to those who rely on its goods or services, and to the local entrepreneurs who have invested their time and their life’s savings.
That is why I worked late last year to protect Ohio’s small businesses. As one of my last legislative acts (I left office due to term limits on December 31), I sponsored an amendment to House Bill 609 that would have prohibited such unequal treatment of our local businesses in the future.
The amendment made clear that Ohio’s health director could not issue any statewide orders that would impose different duties or requirements on small businesses than they would impose on large business providing similar products or services. The point was simple: if Target and Walmart can stay open, then so can the local stores in your town square.
In December 2020, the State Senate adopted this language unanimously, with broad support on both sides of the political aisle. Unfortunately, the legislation did not receive a final vote in the other chamber before the end of the year.
Kudos to the current General Assembly, however, for guiding a similar bill through to passage this year. House Bill 215, which the sponsors named the Business Fairness Act, makes clear that in the event of an attempted shutdown order, small businesses will remain open if they comply with the same rules as their larger competitors.
While this is not the same language that the Senate passed in 2020, it accomplishes the same purpose and will protect small businesses moving forward. It will stop the government from picking winners and losers and it could go a long way toward preventing any future shutdowns from occurring.
The legislature passed the Business Fairness Act last month and the Governor has now signed it into law. It will go into effect in March.
Larry Obhof is an attorney. He represented Ohio’s 22nd Senate District from 2011-2020, and served as Ohio Senate President from 2017-2020.
