Apply employment portions of Civil Rights Law to unpaid interns

HB 588 would apply Ohio's Civil Rights Law anti-discrimination protections to unpaid interns by amending two sections of the Revised Code. Currently, these protections do not cover unpaid interns, but the bill would extend them to include unpaid interns under the same employment anti-discrimination rules as paid employees. This change directly affects unpaid interns and their employers across Ohio, requiring equal treatment in hiring, assignments, and workplace conditions. The key mechanism is the explicit amendment of state law to include unpaid interns within the scope of the Civil Rights Law's employment provisions.