As Re-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. (A) 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)(1) Purposely self-inflicted; or 41
(B)(2) Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under 43
the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a 44
physician where the intoxication or being under the influence of 45
the 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
2
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.
(B) FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION, THERE IS A REBUTTABLE 57
PRESUMPTION THAT AN EMPLOYEE IS INTOXICATED OR UNDER THE 58
INFLUENCE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED BY A PHYSICIAN 59
AND THAT BEING INTOXICATED OR UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A CONTROLLED 60
SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED BY A PHYSICIAN IS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF 61
AN INJURY WHEN ANY ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING IS TRUE: 62
(1) THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED 64
WITHIN EIGHT HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE AN ALCOHOL 65
CONCENTRATION LEVEL EQUAL TO OR IN EXCESS OF THE LEVELS 66
ESTABLISHED IN DIVISIONS (A)(2) TO (7) OF SECTION 4511.19 OF THE 67
REVISED CODE; 68
(2) THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED 70
WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE ONE 71
OF THE FOLLOWING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES NOT PRESCRIBED BY THE 72
EMPLOYEE'S PHYSICIAN IN THE EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE 73
THE FOLLOWING LEVELS IN AN ENZYME MULTIPLIED IMMUNOASSAY 74
TECHNIQUE SCREENING TEST AND ABOVE THE LEVELS ESTABLISHED IN 75
DIVISION (B)(3) OF THIS SECTION IN A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS 76
SPECTROMETRY TEST:
(a) FOR AMPHETAMINES, ONE THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER 78
MILLILITER OF URINE; 79
(b) FOR CANNABINOIDS, FIFTY NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF 81
URINE; 82
(c) FOR COCAINE, INCLUDING CRACK COCAINE, THREE HUNDRED 84
NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF URINE; 86
(d) FOR OPIATES, TWO THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF 88
URINE; 89
(e) FOR PHENCYCLIDINE, TWENTY-FIVE NANOGRAMS PER 91
MILLILITER OF URINE. 92
3
(3) THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED 94
WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE ONE 95
OF THE FOLLOWING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES NOT PRESCRIBED BY THE 96
EMPLOYEE'S PHYSICIAN IN THE EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE 97
THE FOLLOWING LEVELS BY A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS SPECTROMETRY 98
TEST:
(a) FOR AMPHETAMINES, FIVE HUNDRED NANOGRAMS PER 100
MILLILITER OF URINE; 101
(b) FOR CANNABINOIDS, FIFTEEN NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF 103
URINE; 104
(c) FOR COCAINE, INCLUDING CRACK COCAINE, ONE HUNDRED 106
FIFTY NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF URINE; 107
(d) FOR OPIATES, TWO THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF 109
URINE; 110
(e) FOR PHENCYCLIDINE, TWENTY-FIVE NANOGRAMS PER 112
MILLILITER OF URINE. 113
(4) THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED 115
WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE 116
BARBITURATES, BENZODIAZEPINES, METHADONE, OR PROPOXYPHENE IN THE 117
EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE LEVELS ESTABLISHED BY 118
LABORATORIES CERTIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 119
AND HUMAN SERVICES.
(5) THE EMPLOYEE REFUSES TO SUBMIT TO A REQUESTED CHEMICAL 121
TEST.
Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer who is 123
subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is 124
possibility of conflict with respect to the application of 125
workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is 126
entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be 127
performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and 128
the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or 129
by the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of 130
the work of the employee is to be performed. The agreement shall 131
be in writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers' 132
4
compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall 133
remain in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the 134
parties similarly filed. If the agreement is to be bound by the 135
laws of this state and the employer has complied with this 136
chapter, then the employee is entitled to compensation and 137
benefits regardless of where the injury occurs or the disease is 138
contracted and the rights of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S 139
dependents under the laws of this state are the exclusive remedy 141
against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in 142
the course of and arising out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment. 143
If the agreement is to be bound by the laws of another state and 145
the employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights 146
of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws 148
of that state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on 149
account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and arising 150
out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment without regard to the place 153
where the injury was sustained or the disease contracted. 154
If any employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are 156
awarded workers' compensation benefits or recover damages from 158
the employer under the laws of another state, the amount awarded 159
or recovered, whether paid or to be paid in future installments, 160
shall be credited on the amount of any award of compensation or 161
benefits made to the employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents by 162
the bureau. 163
If an employee is a resident of a state other than this 165
state and is insured under the workers' compensation law or 166
similar laws of a state other than this state, the employee and 167
his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are not entitled to receive 168
compensation or benefits under this chapter, on account of 170
injury, disease, or death arising out of or in the course of 171
employment while temporarily within this state, and the rights of 172
the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws of 173
the other state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on 174
account of the injury, disease, or death. 175
5
Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant 177
during the period of confinement of the claimant in any state or 178
federal correctional institution whether in this or any other 179
state for conviction of violation of any state or federal 180
criminal law.
Section 2. That existing section 4123.54 of the Revised 182
Code is hereby repealed. 183