As Passed by the Senate                       1            

123rd General Assembly                                             4            

   Regular Session                        Am. 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-TERWILLEGER-CALLENDER-      10           

           BUCHY-DAMSCHRODER-WIDENER-AUSTRIA-JACOBSON-             12           

          SENATORS HOTTINGER-NEIN-JOHNSON-MUMPER-SPADA                          


_________________________________________________________________   14           

                          A   B I L L                                           

             To amend section 4123.54 of the Revised Code to       15           

                provide a rebuttable presumption that the          16           

                proximate cause of an injury of an employee, who,  17           

                through a blood, breath, or urine test, tests      18           

                positive for the use of alcohol or a controlled    20           

                substance not prescribed by a physician, is the    21           

                alcohol or controlled substance.                   23           




BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:        25           

      Section 1.  That section 4123.54 of the Revised Code be      27           

amended to read as follows:                                        28           

      Sec. 4123.54.  (A)  Every employee, who is injured or who    37           

contracts an occupational disease, and the dependents of each      38           

employee who is killed, or dies as the result of an occupational   39           

disease contracted in the course of employment, wherever such      40           

injury has occurred or occupational disease has been contracted,   41           

provided the same were not:                                        42           

      (A)(1)  Purposely self-inflicted; or                         44           

      (B)(2)  Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under    46           

the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a        47           

physician where the intoxication or being under the influence of   48           

the controlled substance not prescribed by a physician was the     49           

proximate cause of the injury, is entitled to receive, either      50           

                                                          2      


                                                                 
directly from his THE EMPLOYEE'S self-insuring employer as         51           

provided in section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, or from the       53           

state insurance fund, the compensation for loss sustained on       54           

account of the injury, occupational disease, or death, and the     55           

medical, nurse, and hospital services and medicines, and the       56           

amount of funeral expenses in case of death, as are provided by    57           

this chapter.                                                                   

      (B)  FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION, PROVIDED THAT AN       59           

EMPLOYEE IS GIVEN OR HAS BEEN GIVEN NOTICE THAT THE RESULTS OF,    60           

OR THE EMPLOYEE'S REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO, ANY CHEMICAL TEST          61           

DESCRIBED UNDER THIS DIVISION MAY AFFECT THE EMPLOYEE'S            62           

ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PURSUANT TO THIS                      

CHAPTER AND CHAPTER 4121. OF THE REVISED CODE, THERE IS A          64           

REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT AN EMPLOYEE IS INTOXICATED OR UNDER    65           

THE INFLUENCE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED BY A                     

PHYSICIAN AND THAT BEING INTOXICATED OR UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A   66           

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE NOT PRESCRIBED BY A PHYSICIAN IS THE          67           

PROXIMATE CAUSE OF AN INJURY WHEN ANY ONE OR MORE OF THE           68           

FOLLOWING IS TRUE:                                                 69           

      (1)  THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED      71           

WITHIN EIGHT HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE AN ALCOHOL  72           

CONCENTRATION LEVEL EQUAL TO OR IN EXCESS OF THE LEVELS            73           

ESTABLISHED IN DIVISIONS (A)(2) TO (7) OF SECTION 4511.19 OF THE   74           

REVISED CODE;                                                      75           

      (2)  THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED      77           

WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE ONE    78           

OF THE FOLLOWING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES NOT PRESCRIBED BY THE       79           

EMPLOYEE'S PHYSICIAN IN THE EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE     80           

THE FOLLOWING LEVELS IN AN ENZYME MULTIPLIED IMMUNOASSAY           81           

TECHNIQUE SCREENING TEST AND ABOVE THE LEVELS ESTABLISHED IN       82           

DIVISION (B)(3) OF THIS SECTION IN A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS       83           

SPECTROMETRY TEST:                                                              

      (a)  FOR AMPHETAMINES, ONE THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER            85           

MILLILITER OF URINE;                                               86           

                                                          3      


                                                                 
      (b)  FOR CANNABINOIDS, FIFTY NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF     88           

URINE;                                                             89           

      (c)  FOR COCAINE, INCLUDING CRACK COCAINE, THREE HUNDRED     91           

NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF URINE;                                 93           

      (d)  FOR OPIATES, TWO THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF   95           

URINE;                                                             96           

      (e)  FOR PHENCYCLIDINE, TWENTY-FIVE NANOGRAMS PER            98           

MILLILITER OF URINE.                                               99           

      (3)  THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED      101          

WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE ONE    102          

OF THE FOLLOWING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES NOT PRESCRIBED BY THE       103          

EMPLOYEE'S PHYSICIAN IN THE EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE     104          

THE FOLLOWING LEVELS BY A GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS SPECTROMETRY     105          

TEST:                                                                           

      (a)  FOR AMPHETAMINES, FIVE HUNDRED NANOGRAMS PER            107          

MILLILITER OF URINE;                                               108          

      (b)  FOR CANNABINOIDS, FIFTEEN NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF   110          

URINE;                                                             111          

      (c)  FOR COCAINE, INCLUDING CRACK COCAINE, ONE HUNDRED       113          

FIFTY NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF URINE;                           114          

      (d)  FOR OPIATES, TWO THOUSAND NANOGRAMS PER MILLILITER OF   116          

URINE;                                                             117          

      (e)  FOR PHENCYCLIDINE, TWENTY-FIVE NANOGRAMS PER            119          

MILLILITER OF URINE.                                               120          

      (4)  THE EMPLOYEE, THROUGH A CHEMICAL TEST ADMINISTERED      122          

WITHIN THIRTY-TWO HOURS OF AN INJURY, IS DETERMINED TO HAVE        123          

BARBITURATES, BENZODIAZEPINES, METHADONE, OR PROPOXYPHENE IN THE   124          

EMPLOYEE'S SYSTEM THAT TESTS ABOVE LEVELS ESTABLISHED BY           125          

LABORATORIES CERTIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH   126          

AND HUMAN SERVICES.                                                             

      (5)  THE EMPLOYEE REFUSES TO SUBMIT TO A REQUESTED CHEMICAL  128          

TEST.                                                                           

      Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer who is  130          

subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is            131          

                                                          4      


                                                                 
possibility of conflict with respect to the application of         132          

workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is   133          

entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be    134          

performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and   135          

the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or    136          

by the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of    137          

the work of the employee is to be performed.  The agreement shall  138          

be in writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers'       139          

compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall        140          

remain in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the   141          

parties similarly filed.  If the agreement is to be bound by the   142          

laws of this state and the employer has complied with this         143          

chapter, then the employee is entitled to compensation and         144          

benefits regardless of where the injury occurs or the disease is   145          

contracted and the rights of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S   146          

dependents under the laws of this state are the exclusive remedy   148          

against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in    149          

the course of and arising out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment.    150          

If the agreement is to be bound by the laws of another state and   152          

the employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights  153          

of the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws   155          

of that state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on     156          

account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and arising  157          

out of his THE EMPLOYEE'S employment without regard to the place   160          

where the injury was sustained or the disease contracted.          161          

      If any employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are         163          

awarded workers' compensation benefits or recover damages from     165          

the employer under the laws of another state, the amount awarded   166          

or recovered, whether paid or to be paid in future installments,   167          

shall be credited on the amount of any award of compensation or    168          

benefits made to the employee or his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents by  169          

the bureau.                                                        170          

      If an employee is a resident of a state other than this      172          

state and is insured under the workers' compensation law or        173          

                                                          5      


                                                                 
similar laws of a state other than this state, the employee and    174          

his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents are not entitled to receive          175          

compensation or benefits under this chapter, on account of         177          

injury, disease, or death arising out of or in the course of       178          

employment while temporarily within this state, and the rights of  179          

the employee and his THE EMPLOYEE'S dependents under the laws of   180          

the other state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on   181          

account of the injury, disease, or death.                          182          

      Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant       184          

during the period of confinement of the claimant in any state or   185          

federal correctional institution whether in this or any other      186          

state for conviction of violation of any state or federal          187          

criminal law.                                                                   

      Section 2.  That existing section 4123.54 of the Revised     189          

Code is hereby repealed.                                           190