A Southwest Ohio lawmaker is circulating a proposal to make it harder to find out about applicants for state jobs.
State Rep. Lou Terhar, R-Green Township, told The Enquirer the legislation is needed to “attract the best and brightest” to work for the state. The legislation would have no impact, he said, on the hiring practices of local government or school districts.
Terhar said the state’s public records law “is necessary to ensure public transparency,” but he wants to tweek it a bit.
Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association, told The Enquirer the bill is just an example of “adding another exception to what used to be a model open records law. All the exceptions have gotten out of control. This never ends.”
Terhar said talented individuals who might be interested in working for Ohio don’t want to put their current jobs on the line, which could happen if an employer finds that person applied for another job. The lawmaker said private industry doesn’t release job applicant names and to a limited extent the state should follow that practice.
Terhar said his bill would require the name, resume and other information of a job candidate to be released should the person be offered and accept an interview for the position, but kept private until that point.
