Retaliation Cases

summary judgment, R.C. 4113.52, retaliatory discharge

A plaintiff-employee states a valid claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy where she claims that she was an at-will employee and was fired for filing a good-faith complaint with her employer and with OSHA concerning COVID-19 hazards and a mice infestation in her workplace. In a disparate treatment sex discrimination case, a defendant-employer fails to satisfy its initial burden for summary judgment to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to the similarly situated element of the plaintiff-employee's prima facie case where the defendant relies on conclusory assertions that the plaintiff has no evidence to prove that she was treated differently than similarly situated male employees. WITH CONCURRING AND DISSENTING OPINION.