A judge’s preliminary injunction against a new state law prohibiting local hiring requirements could have larger implications for all Ohio cities.
Cleveland sued the state over the law which would overturn its local ordinance requiring 20 percent of the work on city-funded projects be done by city residents. Cleveland State University employment law professor Candice Hoke says keeping the law intact goes beyond the benefit to Cleveland residents.
“Yes, this is a very important law for Cleveland and Cleveland residents and the economic welfare of the city as a whole. But the bigger even larger issue that impacts all Ohioans is the power of self-government.”
The Cuyahoga County judge who issued the preliminary injunction against the state law said that it violates Cleveland’s constitutional right to local control. The state law is sponsored by mostly rural legislators who say local hiring ordinances reduce their constituents’ chances of being hired for urban construction projects.
