Ohio Panel Sticks to "White Only" Pool Sign Ruling

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state panel on Thursday upheld its decision that a Cincinnati landlord discriminated against a black girl by posting a "White Only" sign at a swimming pool.

The Ohio Civil Rights Commission voted 4-0 against reconsidering its finding from last fall. There was no discussion.

The group found on Sept. 29 that Jamie Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at a pool at the duplex where the teenage girl was visiting her parents.

The parents filed a discrimination charge with the commission and moved out of the duplex in the racially diverse city to "avoid subjecting their family to further humiliating treatment," the commission said in a release announcing its finding.

An investigation revealed that Hein in May posted on the gated entrance to the pool an iron sign that stated "Public Swimming Pool, White Only," the commission statement said.

Several witnesses confirmed that the sign was posted, and the landlord indicated that she posted it because the girl used chemicals in her hair that would make the pool "cloudy," according to the commission.

The girl's father, Michael Gunn, said in brief comments Thursday that seeing the sign left him with feelings of "shock, disgust and outrage." He said his daughter was sad to learn they moved from the apartment complex because of the color of her skin.

Hein has repeatedly declined to comment and did not attend the hearing. A message was left at her lawyer's office Wednesday.

"I was trying to protect my assets," she told the commission's housing enforcement director in a Sept. 27 interview.

The commission's statement said that its investigation concluded that the posting of such a sign "restricts the social interaction between Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions aimed at oppressing people of color."

The case is to be referred to the Ohio attorney general's office, which would represent the commission's findings before an administrative law judge. That judge would determine any penalties, which could include a cease-and-desist order and punitive damages.

It still would be possible for the parties to reach a settlement before resorting to legal action.

Any decision by the administrative judge could be appealed to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in Cincinnati.

(Photo: AP Photo/Michael Gunn)