Quietly and with little fan fair, a bill has passed the Ohio House of Representatives with OCSEA’s support that will protect the personal information of OCSEA members who work at Ohio’s six, state-operated, behavioral health hospitals. House Bill 61 will exempt the residential information of employees of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services from being disclosed under the Ohio public records law due to a potential personal security risk.
OCSEA Pres. Chris Mabe wrote a letter to Speaker of the House Larry Householder (R-72) and Minority Leader Emelia Sykes (D-34) thanking them for supporting the bill. Download the letter HERE.
The exemption will ensure that members in ODMH who work with forensic patients on a daily basis are not targeted or endangered by those they take care of once they’re released from the hospital. Currently, this personal data exemption applies only to a limited number of OCSEA members, including members in Corrections and Youth Services.
The bill passed almost unanimously in the House and now will move to the Senate for consideration.