As Reported by House Commerce and Labor Committee 1
123rd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Sub. H. B. No. 122 5
1999-2000 6
REPRESENTATIVES CATES-CORBIN-EVANS-HAINES-HOOD-MOTTLEY- 8
OLMAN-TIBERI-VAN VYVEN-VESPER-WILLAMOWSKI-COUGHLIN- 9
WILLIAMS-BUEHRER-YOUNG-HARRIS-HOOD 10
_________________________________________________________________ 11
A B I L L
To amend section 4123.54 of the Revised Code to 12
provide a rebuttable presumption that the 13
proximate cause of an injury of an employee, who, 14
through a blood, breath, or urine test, tests 15
positive for the use of alcohol or a controlled 17
substance not prescribed by a physician, is the 18
alcohol or controlled substance. 20
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 22
Section 1. That section 4123.54 of the Revised Code be 24
amended to read as follows: 25
Sec. 4123.54. Every employee, who is injured or who 34
contracts an occupational disease, and the dependents of each 35
employee who is killed, or dies as the result of an occupational 36
disease contracted in the course of employment, wherever such 37
injury has occurred or occupational disease has been contracted, 38
provided the same were not: 39
(A) Purposely self-inflicted; or 41
(B) Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under the 43
influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a physician 44
where the intoxication or being under the influence of the 45
controlled substance not prescribed by a physician was the 46
proximate cause of the injury, is entitled to receive, either 47
directly from his THE EMPLOYEE'S self-insuring employer as 48
provided in section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, or from the 50
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state insurance fund, the compensation for loss sustained on 51
account of the injury, occupational disease, or death, and the 52
medical, nurse, and hospital services and medicines, and the 53
amount of funeral expenses in case of death, as are provided by 54
this chapter.
FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION, IF AN EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A 56
CHEMICAL TEST OF THE EMPLOYEE'S BLOOD, BREATH, URINE, OR OTHER 57
BODILY SUBSTANCE ADMINISTERED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AFTER THE 59
OCCURRENCE OF THE INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE A BLOOD ALCOHOL 60
CONCENTRATION LEVEL OF FIFTEEN ONE-HUNDREDTHS OF ONE PER CENT OR 61
MORE BY WEIGHT OF ALCOHOL IN THE EMPLOYEE'S BLOOD OR, IN THE CASE 62
OF A CHEMICAL TEST OF THE EMPLOYEE'S BREATH, URINE, OR OTHER 63
BODILY SUBSTANCE, AN ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION EQUAL TO OR IN EXCESS 65
OF THE APPLICABLE CONCENTRATION SPECIFIED IN SECTION 4511.19 OF 67
THE REVISED CODE OR TO HAVE A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED
BY THE EMPLOYEE'S PHYSICIAN FOR THE EMPLOYEE'S USE IN THE 68
EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE THRESHOLDS ESTABLISHED BY THE 70
BUREAU OF WORKERS COMPENSATION BY RULES ADOPTED PURSUANT TO 71
SECTION 4123.29 OF THE REVISED CODE WHEN THE TESTS ARE PERFORMED 73
IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES, IN SUCH MANNER, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH
STANDARDS ESTABLISHED BY THOSE RULES, IT IS A REBUTTABLE 74
PRESUMPTION THAT THE EMPLOYEE WAS INTOXICATED OR UNDER THE 75
INFLUENCE OF THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AND THAT THE INTOXICATION 76
OR BEING UNDER THAT INFLUENCE IS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE 78
INJURY. AN EMPLOYEE'S REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO A CHEMICAL TEST OF 79
THE EMPLOYEE'S BLOOD, BREATH, URINE, OR OTHER BODILY SUBSTANCE IS
ADMISSIBLE AS EVIDENCE OF THE EMPLOYEE'S INTOXICATION OR BEING 82
UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED BY A 83
PHYSICIAN AT ANY HEARING HELD PURSUANT TO SECTION 4123.511 OF THE 85
REVISED CODE TO DETERMINE THE ALLOWANCE OF THE EMPLOYEE'S CLAIM
AND ON ANY APPEAL HELD PURSUANT TO SECTION 4123.512 OF THE 86
REVISED CODE.
Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer who is 88
subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is 89
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possibility of conflict with respect to the application of 90
workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is 91
entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be 92
performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and 93
the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or 94
by the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of 95
the work of the employee is to be performed. The agreement shall 96
be in writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers' 97
compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall 98
remain in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the 99
parties similarly filed. If the agreement is to be bound by the 100
laws of this state and the employer has complied with this 101
chapter, then the employee is entitled to compensation and 102
benefits regardless of where the injury occurs or the disease is 103
contracted and the rights of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S 104
dependents under the laws of this state are the exclusive remedy 106
against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in 107
the course of and arising out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment. 108
If the agreement is to be bound by the laws of another state and 110
the employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights 111
of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws 113
of that state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on 114
account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and arising 115
out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment without regard to the place 118
where the injury was sustained or the disease contracted. 119
If any employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are 121
awarded workers' compensation benefits or recover damages from 123
the employer under the laws of another state, the amount awarded 124
or recovered, whether paid or to be paid in future installments, 125
shall be credited on the amount of any award of compensation or 126
benefits made to the employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents by 127
the bureau. 128
If an employee is a resident of a state other than this 130
state and is insured under the workers' compensation law or 131
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similar laws of a state other than this state, the employee and 132
his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are not entitled to receive 133
compensation or benefits under this chapter, on account of 135
injury, disease, or death arising out of or in the course of 136
employment while temporarily within this state, and the rights of 137
the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws of 138
the other state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on 139
account of the injury, disease, or death. 140
Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant 142
during the period of confinement of the claimant in any state or 143
federal correctional institution whether in this or any other 144
state for conviction of violation of any state or federal 145
criminal law.
Section 2. That existing section 4123.54 of the Revised 147
Code is hereby repealed. 148