Ohio Enacts Remote-Work Provisions

Effective September 13, 2022, employees of licensees under the Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act and Consumer Installment Loan Act and exempt registrants and entities (exempt registrants) will be able to work from a remote location.

Employees of licensees may work remotely so long as the licensee: (1) ensures that in-person customer interactions occur only at a licensed place of business; (2) maintains appropriate safeguards for licensee and customer data, information, and records (including the use of a virtual private network, where appropriate); (3) employs risk-based monitoring and oversight process of remote work and maintains records of such work; (4) ensures consumer information and records are not maintained at a remote location; (5) ensures consumer and licensee information and records remain accessible for regulatory oversight and exams; (6) provides appropriate employee training to keep all remote conversations about and with consumers confidential and ensures that remote employees work in an environment conducive to that confidentiality; and (7) keeps a record of all remote locations that are being used—in the form of city, state, and type of location—and makes a list of those locations available to the Ohio Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Employees of exempt registrants may work remotely so long as (1) the exempt registrant has a written policy governing the supervision of the loan originator while the loan originator transacts business on behalf of the exempt registrant from such a location; (2) access to the exempt registrant’s platform and customer information is in accordance with the exempt registrant’s written information security plan; (3) the loan originator does not interact with a customer at the loan originator’s residence, unless the residence is the exempt registrant’s principal or branch office; and (4) physical records are not maintained at such a location.