The Ohio Board of Health and the Ohio Governor's office have released additional information for dispute resolutions for essential and non-essential businesses to offer assistance for owners and employees on the Stay-at-Home Order.

According to the release, some of the clarifications for the order which goes into effect Tuesday, include:

• If a public official enforcing the Order has questions regarding what services are prohibited or what is an essential business or non-essential business, the Director of Health delegates to local health departments the authority to answer questions in writing. This does not require local health departments to provide advisory opinions to nongovernmental entities.
• A Dispute Resolution Commission will evaluate and render guidance in situations where two local health departments have come to a different conclusion for similar businesses on what is or is not an essential business. o This will help provide uniformity. For example, a chain store may be operating as an essential business in one jurisdiction, but not another.
• The conflict may be submitted to the Ohio Department of Health by either of the local health departments or an entity or person subject to the determination. The Dispute Resolution Commission will review the conflict and make a determination as to the application of the Order to the conflict. The decision of the Dispute Resolution Commission shall be final.
• The Stay At Home Order may be enforced by state and local law enforcement to the extent set forth in Ohio law.
• Per Ohio R.C. 3701.352, “no person shall violate any rule the director of health or department of health adopts or any order the director or department of health issues under this chapter to prevent a threat to the public caused by a pandemic, epidemic, or bioterrorism event.”
• Ohio R.C. 3701.56 provides that “boards of health of a general or city health district, health authorities and officials, officers of state institutions, police officers, sheriffs, constables, and other officers and employees of the state or any county, city, or township, shall enforce quarantine and isolation orders, and the rules the department of health adopts.”

This updated order will be in effect through May 1 at 11:59 p.m. by Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, M.D., MPH under the direction of Governor Mike DeWine.

For additional information, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov.

If you have questions concerning COVID-19, call 1-833-427-5634.

If you are experiencing coronavirus pandemic anxiety, call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 (1-800-846-8517 TTY) to connect with a trained counselor through the Ohio Crisis Text Line by texting the keyword “4HOPE” to 741 741; or call the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services helpline at 1-877-275-6364 to find local resources.

For more information, visit: coronavirus.ohio.gov

Download the Dispute Resolutions Guidelines here.