The County Auditor is required by Ohio law to inspect all commercial devices used in retail trade for weighing or measuring. This includes checking price verification systems (scanners) and packages, such as meats, firewood, mulch, and milk. Each Inspector is required to complete eighteen hours of continuing education every year under Ohio regulations. If a device is found to be inaccurate, the Auditor, through his Inspectors, can reject the device, condemn the device, or in extreme cases, confiscate the device. If the device is rejected, the Auditor must affix a seal to it indicating it has been rejected. In Hamilton County, stickers are also affixed to devices that are not sealed or are condemned. If a package is inaccurate, the Auditor can order the packages to be repacked, order them off sale, or in extreme cases, confiscate the packages. In the case of scanners, the Auditor will normally give a merchant three chances to reduce the error rate to below 2%. If the error rate is still over 2% on the third inspection, a written Notice of Inaccuracy is given to the store manager, with a copy sent to the corporate headquarters. In all cases, for devices, packages, or scanners, if an establishment does not comply with Ohio’s Weights & Measures laws, the Auditor will turn the matter over to the County Prosecuting Attorney.
The procedures followed by the Weights & Measures Inspector are defined by the Ohio Department of Agriculture - Division of Weights and Measures (ODA/WM). In addition, the Inspectors use handbooks prepared by the United States Department of Commerce - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Conference of Weights and Measures (NCWM). Under Ohio law, these handbooks are made part of Ohio's Administrative Code under regulations adopted by the ODA/WM.
In all cases, for devices, packages, or scanners, if an establishment does not comply with Ohio's Weights and Measures laws, the Auditor will turn the matter over to the County Prosecuting Attorney. In extreme cases, the matter is turned over to the ODA/WM which in turn asks for the assistance of the Ohio Attorney General's Office.