OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 205 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 205’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the House
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Swearingen and Plummer
Effective Date:
Kelly Bomba, Attorney
SUMMARY
 Requires a contractor or subcontractor that performs construction services on a
building, structure, facility, or installation that emits or may emit certain regulated air
pollutants (“stationary source”) to perform the services using individuals who
demonstrate proficiency in English and meet specific training requirements.
 Allows a contractor or subcontractor to complete the services using individuals who do
not satisfy the requirements under certain conditions outside of the contractor’s or
subcontractor’s control.
 Requires a contractor or subcontractor to keep records and file reports demonstrating
that the contractor or subcontractor is using individuals that satisfy the bill’s training
requirements to perform construction services at a stationary source.
 Requires an owner or operator of a stationary source to contract for construction
services on the stationary source only with contractors who use individuals that satisfy
the bill’s training requirements and subcontract with only subcontractors whose
workers satisfy the requirements.
 Requires an owner or operator to, within a specific time period, provide written notice
to the Director of Commerce when the owner or operator believes that a contractor or
subcontractor is failing or has failed to use individuals that satisfy the bill’s training
requirements.
 Subjects contractors, subcontractors, owners, and operators that violate the bill to civil
penalties of up to $10,000 per violation and requires the Director to investigate possible
violations.
 Authorizes the Director to adopt rules to administer and enforce the bill.
June 27, 2023
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
DETAILED ANALYSIS
The bill, known as the Protect Ohio Workers Act, applies to construction services
performed on “stationary sources,” which are buildings, structures, facilities, and installations
that emit or may emit regulated air pollutants or any pollutant listed in the “Clean Air Act”
other than emissions resulting directly from internal combustion engines. Its requirements
apply to a stationary source even if the stationary source is offline for the purpose of being
revamped, renewed, or repaired.1
Examples of stationary sources include certain factories, refineries, boilers, and power
plants. The Clean Air Act directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to control emissions
from stationary sources by developing and implementing standards and guidelines.2
Staffing requirements for construction at stationary sources
Unless one of the exceptions described below applies, the bill requires a contractor or
subcontractor that performs construction services on a stationary source to use only the
following individuals to perform the services:
 Class A skilled journeypersons: Individuals who graduate from a registered
apprenticeship program and complete a 30-hour training course in safety and health
hazard recognition and prevention approved by the federal Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA);
 Class B skilled journeypersons: Individuals who complete the 30-hour OSHA approved
safety and health hazard recognition and prevention training course and who acquire at
least 6,000 hours of experience in the occupation or trade in which the individual is
providing or assigned to provide construction services at the stationary source;
 Apprentices: Individuals who are participating in a registered apprenticeship program to
learn a skilled occupation pursuant to a registered apprenticeship agreement.3
A “registered apprenticeship program” is any of the following programs:
 A program that trains an individual for a trade or occupation through paid on-the-job
training and related instruction that has been registered by the U.S. Department of
Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship as meeting certain minimum standards under federal
law;
1 R.C. 4145.01(I) and Section 3.
2See 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 85 et seq. and EPA, Stationary Sources of Air Pollution, which may be
accessed by conducting a keyword “stationary source” search on the U.S. EPA website:
https://www.epa.gov/.
3 R.C. 4145.01(A), (F), and (G), 4145.02, and 4145.03(B)(1).
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 An apprenticeship program registered by the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services (JFS);
 An apprenticeship program registered by a state apprenticeship agency of another state
that has been authorized to register apprenticeship programs for federal purposes
under that state’s laws.
A registered apprenticeship program may include any apprenticeship program subject
to the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974” or an apprenticeship program
supported through an employer’s general funds. However, a registered apprenticeship program
does not include an Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP). An IRAP was an
apprenticeship developed or delivered by a trade or industry group, corporation, nonprofit
organization, educational institution, union, or joint labor-management organization that
resulted in an industry-recognized credential. The U.S. Department of Labor published a rule
rescinding IRAPs on September 26, 2022.4
The bill also requires a contractor or subcontractor to ensure that all class A and class B
skilled journeypersons and apprentices performing services at a stationary source demonstrate
proficiency in spoken English.5 The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the
agency that enforces federal employment discrimination laws, has adopted a regulation stating
that requiring employees to speak only English at all times in the workplace presumptively
violates federal anti-discrimination law. The EEOC has, however, determined an English-only
rule may be appropriate in emergencies or other situations in which employees must speak a
common language to promote safety.6
Implementation schedule
A contractor or subcontractor must comply with the following implementation schedule
with respect to the proportion of employees who meet the classifications described above:
 Beginning on January 1, 2024, at least 65% class A skilled journeypersons or apprentices
and 35% class B skilled journeypersons;
 Beginning on January 1, 2025, at least 80% class A skilled journeypersons or apprentices
and 20% class B skilled journeypersons.7
4R.C. 4145.01(E) and R.C. 4139.01, not in the bill; see also 29 U.S.C. 1001, et seq., 29 Code of Federal
Regulations (C.F.R.) 29.2 and 29.20., and US Department of Labor to Refocus on Proven Registered
Apprenticeship Model, Rescind Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program which may be accessed by
conducting a keyword “rescind industry-recognized apprenticeship program” search on the U.S.
Department of Labor website: www.dol.gov.
5 R.C. 4145.03(B)(4).
6See 29 C.F.R. 1606.7 and What do I need to know about…English-Only Rules, which can be accessed by
conducting a keyword “English-only rules” search on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website: dol.gov.
7 R.C. 4145.03(B)(2) and (3).
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Exceptions
The bill exempts an individual from the requirement to be a class A or class B skilled
journeyperson or apprentice if the individual is employed as a project superintendent, project
manager, engineer, safety professional, quality control professional, or clerical employee and
the individual does not perform construction services.
Additionally, a contractor or subcontractor is not required to comply with the bill’s
staffing requirements and implementation schedule under either of the following
circumstances:
 An emergency during or after which compliance is impracticable, including an
emergency that requires immediate action to prevent imminent harm to public health,
public safety, or the environment;
 The contractor or subcontractor is performing construction services on a petroleum
refinery that has a total operable capacity of less than 120,000 barrels of crude oil per
day.
For purposes of the second exception listed above, the total operable capacity of a
petroleum refinery in operation on or before the bill’s effective date is based on the report its
owner or operator filed with the U.S. Department of Energy pursuant to the Federal Energy
Administration Act of 1974, covering January 1, 2023.8
Recordkeeping
The bill requires each contractor and subcontractor that performs construction services
on a stationary source to keep the following records for a period of not less than five years after
the construction services have been completed:
 Payroll records for all individuals who performed construction services;
 Apprenticeship records;
 Copies of the reports described below.
The Director of Commerce or the Attorney General may request to inspect the records
any time during the five years a contractor or subcontractor must keep them. A contractor or
subcontractor must make the records available no later than seven days from the date the
Director or Attorney General makes the request.9
8 R.C. 4145.03(B)(5) and (C), by reference to 15 U.S.C. 772.
9 R.C. 4145.05.
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Reports
Contractor compliance reports
A contractor subject to the bill’s staffing requirement must prepare a quarterly
compliance report for each calendar quarter during which the contractor provided construction
services at a stationary source. The contractor must submit each report to the Director not later
than 30 days after the last day of the calendar quarter and a final report to the Director not
later than 30 days after construction services under a contract are completed. Each report must
include all of the following information with respect to the calendar quarter covered by the
report:
 The contractor’s name and address;
 The name and title of the individual preparing the report on behalf of the contractor;
 The name and address of the owner or operator of the stationary source at which
construction services were performed;
 The name of the project and project number, if any;
 The total dollar value of the contract;
 The name and address of all subcontractors involved in providing construction services
at the stationary source;
 The total number of class A and class B skilled journeypersons and apprentices who
performed construction services;
 The name and address of each registered apprenticeship program from which class A
skilled journeypersons graduated and each registered apprenticeship program that
provided training to apprentices;
 A certification that the contractor complied with the bill’s staffing requirements and
implementation schedule;
 All of the following:
 The total number of class A skilled journeypersons who performed construction
services;
 The total number of class B skilled journeypersons who performed construction
services;
 The total number of apprentices who performed construction services;
 The numbers of class A and class B skilled journeypersons and apprentices
represented as a percent of the total number of class A and class B skilled
journeypersons and apprentices who performed construction services.
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When the contractor submits a report to the Director, the contractor must provide a
copy to the owner or operator of the stationary source at which the services were provided.10
The Director must create and make available a form on which a contractor can include
the information required in the contractor’s compliance report. Not later than 30 days after a
report is submitted to the Director, the Director must publicly post it on the Department of
Commerce’s website.11
Subcontractor workforce report
Not later than ten days after the end of each calendar quarter, a subcontractor subject
to the bill’s staffing requirement must submit a workforce report to each contractor for which
the subcontractor provided construction services at a stationary source. Each report must
include the following information regarding individuals who performed construction services
during that calendar quarter:
 The total number of class A and class B skilled journeypersons and apprentices who
performed construction services;
 The total number of class A skilled journeypersons and apprentices who performed
construction services;
 The total number of class B skilled journeypersons who performed construction services
and the means by which the subcontractor verified that each class B skilled
journeyperson has satisfied the experience requirement to be considered a class B
skilled journeyperson;
 The name and address of each registered apprenticeship program from which class A
skilled journeypersons graduated and each registered apprenticeship program that
provided training to apprentices.12
Owner and operator obligations
An owner or operator of a stationary source that contracts for construction services at
the stationary source on or after the bill’s effective date must do both of the following:
 Engage only a contractor that complies with the bill’s staffing requirements for
construction services at stationary sources;
 Require, in the contract, that the contractor use only subcontractors that comply with
the bill’s staffing requirements when providing services at the stationary sources.13
10 R.C. 4145.06.
11 R.C. 4145.11(B).
12 R.C. 4145.07.
13 R.C. 4145.03(A).
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If an owner or operator believes that a contractor or subcontractor has failed to comply
with the implementation schedule described above, the owner or operator must notify the
Director in writing. The notice must be provided no later than seven days after the date on
which the owner or operator first believes a contractor or subcontractor has failed to comply.
The owner or operator must include all off the following in the notice:
 A summary describing the contractor’s or subcontractor’s alleged noncompliance,
including the applicable dates of noncompliance and degree to which the contractor or
subcontractor has allowed the proportion of the contractor’s or subcontractor’s
employees performing construction services to deviate from the implementation
schedule;
 The corrective actions, if any, that the owner or operator has taken to ensure the
contractor or subcontractor is complying with the implementation schedule, and the
date by which the owner or operator expects the contractor or subcontractor to comply
with the implementation schedule.14
Prohibitions
The bill prohibits the owner or operator of a stationary source from doing any of the
following:
 Failing to enter a contract that complies with the requirements described in “Owner
and operator obligations,” above;
 Failing to provide written notice to the Director within the specified time when the
owner or operator believes that a contractor or subcontractor has failed to comply with
the bill’s staffing requirements;
 Submitting a notice