Ohio haunted house incident brings focus on proposed bill.
We all know that rare and sometimes completely benign events can lead to some terrible laws. In Ohio, a woman employed in a haunted house quit her job after realizing that two of her coworkers at “Spooky Ranch” were on the registry. It’s not that they did anything to her or anyone while employed there, it’s just their presence that she made issue of.
Ultimately the two employees were fired and now the news media brought it to the local police who indicate they are going to arrest the men (not because they did anything, but because they failed to register their employment at the haunted house). It doesn’t end there though – now there’s a bill introduced in Ohio that would prevent people on the registry from working in certain places.
The Bill, HB 459 would prevent registrants from working in “any capacity in which a person would be working directly and in an unaccompanied setting with minor children on more than an incidental and occasional basis or would have supervision or disciplinary power over minor children.” That capacity “includes, but is not limited to, providing goods or services to minors.”
So what would constitute an “unaccompanied setting” and would it be the minor who would need to be accompanied or would it be the worker? Say, for example, you’re working the counter at a pizza shop and a kid walks in for a slice and he’s unaccompanied. Would that be restricted employment? Or does the “accompanied” burden fall on the worker? Say you’re working as a plumber, do you need to bring a chaperone with you to fix a toilet?
Then there’s the encompassing “providing goods or services to minors”. Unless you work in a sex shop or nightclub, it’s hard to think of many retail establishments that expressly exclude minors. A clerk in a convenience store or a waiter in a restaurant serves minors all the time so that wouldn’t be “incidental or occasional”? Plus, with all these subjective restrictions, who gets to make the decision on what qualifies as an OK job vs. an off limits job?
Here’s the reality… even if this bill were to pass, would it have solved this haunted house non-problem? No, it wouldn’t have. Unless there was only one employee and one customer at the time, how can it constitute an “unaccompanied setting”? And even if people on the registry were prohibited from working in any job in any capacity anywhere in the state, would it prevent sexual abuse? No, it wouldn’t. 97% of sex offenses are committed by someone NOT on the registry, so sadly there could still be sexual assaults taking place in haunted houses.
The only problem here is that Kim Neubauer didn’t want to work with her co-workers at the haunted house. Well Boo! Ms. Kim Neubuer! Boo Hoo! That’s your problem. If it makes you feel better that you got two guys fired who probably needed the job more than you do, you should feel great right now! How would you feel if you were trying to work to support your family, weren’t doing anything wrong, but someone didn’t like the fact that Kim Neubauer from Sheffield Lake, Ohio happened to work there because they thought Kim Neubauer is a horrible worker?
Discover more from Florida Action Committee
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So many ‘do-gooders’ out there protecting the public from a threat that does not exist. Oh, how grateful we should be for them…tongue in cheek.
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, this bill is a clear violation of The United States Constitution. We have a right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That includes where ever we choose to work, that includes anybody. Whether your on some kind of registry or not, we all have a right to make a living no matter were that might be period. I hope these to men sue the crap out of the haunted house business, and definitely sue the the state of this, when are state legislators going to realize that they are not above the law and most definitely are not above the constitution. Every state that pulls and city or town that pulls this stuff needs to have the crap sued of of them. If not for anything else to proof they are not above the law nor the constitution.
Lol. Not sure what fairy tale world you live in but no one would win a case fighting that. I knew a guy who was a college professor, phd candidate. He did whatever he did, went to prison, got out. I met him in group. No place of education would ever hire him to be a janitor, much less a professor. There are jobs it just doesn’t make sense to do, ie anything where someone could even imply you did something out of sorts.
Wow – the haunted house owner/operator really is missing the boat on this one – the point of the haunted houses is to be scary… I mean just whisper in everyone’s ear going through the house that they may encounter one or more “SO’s” in their journey…
That’ll scare everyone to death… 🙂
sigh
made me smile anyway
What do you mean “incident”? There was no incident!
Kim Neubauer has a right to her own views, including her view that anyone who’s committed a sex offense shouldn’t be able to work for a living. But if she has a problem with her co-workers, the proper response would be to quit. Instead Kim Neubauer took the cowardly route.
Yes, it would have been far more professional if Kim Neubauer from Sheffield Lake, Ohio was not such a mean person. It seems to me like Kim Neubauer is a whiny Karen who is a liability to any employer. Kim Neubauer got a job and then runs to the media to tell on her employer!
Hiring someone like Kim Neubauer (of Sheffield Lake, OH) would present a certain risk for any employer. That’s because Kim Neubauer is likely to search for personal dirt on her co-workers and use that to attract unwanted press attention to her employer, who may then feel pressured to fire productive workers and train new ones.
Were I a would-be employer, I would wonder, will Kim Neubauer stop at registered sex offenders, or are there other things in my employees’ background that Kim Neubauer would run to the press about. “No, I only worry about registered sex offenders, all other co-workers with past issues are not a problem,” is not something I, as employer, would believe coming from Kim Neubauer.
You make some very valid points, warning Ohio employers against hiring Kimberly Sue Neubauer. If I were in Sheffield Lake, I would certainly advise companies, Don’t hire Kim Neubauer!
These laws are quite similar to the Jim Crow laws that once existed. They also are similar to the Jewish restriction laws that were in Germany in the middle of the 20th century.
These laws are a cancer! They are government organized and government sponsored hate!
I really enjoy articles like this that remind me of how the registry is not punishment.