REPRESENTATIVES Rhine, Fedor, D. Miller, Collier, Schaffer, Williams

To amend section 4123.01 and to enact section 4123.026

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of the Revised Code to require payment, under the

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Workers' Compensation Law, for the costs of

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conducting medical diagnostic services to

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investigate whether an emergency worker sustained

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an injury or occupational disease when coming into

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direct contact with the blood or other body fluid

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of another person.

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

Section 1. That section 4123.01 be amended and section	9
4123.026 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	10

Sec. 4123.01.  As used in this chapter:

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(A)(1) "Employee" means:

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(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any	13
county, municipal corporation, township, or school district	14
therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police	15
and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships,	16
whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state	17
or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers	18
of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire,	19
express or implied, oral or written, including any elected	20
official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or	21
township, or members of boards of education.	22

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term	23
"regular members of lawfully constituted police and fire	24
departmentsemployee" includes the following persons when the	25
person respondsresponding to an inherently dangerous situation	26
that calls for an immediate response on the part of the person,	27
regardless of whether the person is within the limits of the	28
jurisdiction of the person's regular employment or voluntary	29
service when responding, on the condition that the person responds	30
to the situation as the person otherwise would if the person were	31
on duty in the person's jurisdiction:	32

(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division	33
(A)(1)(a)(i) of this section, "peace officer" means a member of	34
the organized police department of any municipal corporation,	35
including a member of the organized police department of a	36
municipal corporation in an adjoining state serving in Ohio under	37
a contract pursuant to section 737.04 of the Revised Code, member	38
of a police force employed by a metropolitan housing authority	39
under division (D) of section 3735.31 of the Revised Code, member	40
of a police force employed by a regional transit authority under	41
division (Y) of section 306.05 of the Revised Code, state	42
university law enforcement officer appointed under section 3345.04	43
of the Revised Code, Ohio veterans' home police officer appointed	44
under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code, police constable of any	45
township, police officer of a township or joint township police	46
district, state highway patrol trooper, and member of a qualified	47
nonprofit corporation police department established pursuant to	48
has the same meaning as in section 1702.802935.01 of the Revised	49
Code.	50

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section with respect to	51
off-duty peace officers, "jurisdiction" means the limits of the	52
municipal corporation, township, metropolitan housing authority	53
housing project, regional transit authority facilities or areas of	54
a municipal corporation that have been agreed to by a regional	55
transit authority and a municipal corporation located within its	56
territorial jurisdiction, college, university, or Ohio veterans'	57
home in which the peace officer is appointed, employed, or	58
elected.	59

(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a	60
lawfully constituted fire department. As used in division	61
(A)(1)(a) of this section with respect to off-duty firefighters,	62
"jurisdiction" means the limits of the political subdivision,	63
joint ambulance district, fire district, or joint fire district in	64
which the firefighter is appointed or employed.	65

(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical	66
technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or	67
emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or	68
volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency	69
medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the	70
Revised Code. As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section with	71
respect to off-duty first responders and emergency medical	72
technicians, "jurisdiction" means the limits of the political	73
subdivision or joint ambulance district in which the first	74
responder or emergency medical technician is employed or	75
volunteers as a first responder or emergency medical technician.	76

(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or	77
private corporation, including any public service corporation,	78
that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same	79
business or in or about the same establishment under any contract	80
of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and	81
minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or	82
more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and	83
casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash	84
in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound	85
by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to	86
pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this	87
chapter.	88

(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services	89
pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79	90
of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria	91
apply:	92

(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from	93
the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of	94
performing services;	95

(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party	96
to have particular training;	97

(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular	98
functioning of the other contracting party;	99

(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;

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(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other	101
contracting party;	102

(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and	103
the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or	104
recurring work even if the work is not full time;	105

(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the	106
other contracting party;	107

(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the	108
business of the other contracting party;	109

(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the	110
premises of the other contracting party;	111

(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set	112
by the other contracting party;	113

(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports	114
of progress to the other contracting party;	115

(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis	116
such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;	117

(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other	118
contracting party;	119

(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the	120
other contracting party;	121

(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to	122
perform services;	123

(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss	124
as a result of the services provided;	125

(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of	126
employers at the same time;	127

(xviii) The person does not make the same services available	128
to the general public;	129

(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge	130
the person;	131

(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with	132
the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant	133
to an employment contract or agreement.	134

Every person in the service of any independent contractor or	135
subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund	136
the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of	137
workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or	138
if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and	139
benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents	140
of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35	141
of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the	142
person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal,	143
with such independent contractor unless such employees or their	144
legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or	145
death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.	146

(2) "Employee" does not mean:

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(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or	148
assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of	149
ministry; or	150

(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation.

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Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within	152
this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of	153
"employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an	154
employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, or family farm	155
corporation, such employer may elect to include as an "employee"	156
within this chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of	157
the sole proprietorship, or the officers of the family farm	158
corporation. In the event of an election, the employer shall	159
serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice	160
naming the persons to be covered, include such employee's	161
remuneration for premium purposes in all future payroll reports,	162
and no person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant	163
to division (A)(2) of this section, proprietor, or partner shall	164
be deemed an employee within this division until the employer has	165
served such notice.	166

For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe	167
such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as	168
it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to	169
elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole	170
proprietor, any member of a partnership, the officers of a family	171
farm corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of	172
"employee" under division (A)(2)(a) of this section, that they	173
should check any health and disability insurance policy, or other	174
form of health and disability plan or contract, presently covering	175
them, or the purchase of which they may be considering, to	176
determine whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits	177
for illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered	178
by workers' compensation.	179

(B) "Employer" means:

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(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county,	181
municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital	182
owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the	183
state;	184

(2) Every person, firm, and private corporation, including	185
any public service corporation, that (a) has in service one or	186
more employees regularly in the same business or in or about the	187
same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied,	188
oral or written, or (b) is bound by any such contract of hire or	189
by any other written contract, to pay into the insurance fund the	190
premiums provided by this chapter.	191

All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member	192
of a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in	193
or about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a	194
household establishment, shall be considered an employee in	195
determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or	196
public service corporation, has in its service, one or more	197
employees and the employer shall report the income derived from	198
such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer,	199
and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of	200
an employee.	201

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external	202
accidental means or accidental in character and result, received	203
in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's	204
employment. "Injury" does not include:	205

(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the conditions have	206
arisen from an injury or occupational disease;	207

(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural	208
deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;	209

(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation	210
in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the	211
employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or	212
benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or	213
fitness activity.	214

(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally	215
adopted prior to the injury.	216

(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded	217
for the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority	218
of the voting stock is held by and the majority of the	219
stockholders are persons or the spouse of persons related to each	220
other within the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules	221
of the civil law, and at least one of the related persons is	222
residing on or actively operating the farm, and none of whose	223
stockholders are a corporation. A family farm corporation does	224
not cease to qualify under this division where, by reason of any	225
devise, bequest, or the operation of the laws of descent or	226
distribution, the ownership of shares of voting stock is	227
transferred to another person, as long as that person is within	228
the degree of kinship stipulated in this division.	229

(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the	230
course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics	231
of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in	232
a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from	233
employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of	234
contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different	235
manner from the public in general.	236

(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is	237
granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly	238
under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of	239
county commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports	240
facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code,	241
provided that the electors of the county in which the sports	242
facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports	243
facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.	244

(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in	245
division (B)(1) of this section.	246

Sec. 4123.026. (A) The administrator of workers'	247
compensation, or a self-insuring public employer for the peace	248
officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers employed by	249
or volunteering for that self-insuring public employer, shall pay	250
the costs of conducting post-exposure medical diagnostic services,	251
consistent with the standards of medical care existing at the time	252
of the exposure, to investigate whether an injury or occupational	253
disease was sustained by a peace officer, firefighter, or	254
emergency medical worker when coming into contact with the blood	255
or other body fluid of another person in the course of and arising	256
out of the peace officer's, firefighter's, or emergency medical	257
worker's employment, or when responding to an inherently dangerous	258
situation in the manner described in, and in accordance with the	259
conditions specified under, division (A)(1)(a) of section 4123.01	260
of the Revised Code, through any of the following means:	261

(1) Splash or spatter in the eye or mouth, including when	262
received in the course of conducting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation;	263

(2) A puncture in the skin;

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(3) A cut in the skin or another opening in the skin such as	265
an open sore, wound, lesion, abrasion, or ulcer.	266

(B) As used in this section:

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(1) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section	268
2935.01 of the Revised Code.	269

(2) "Firefighter" means a firefighter, whether paid or	270
volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.	271

(3) "Emergency medical worker" means a first responder,	272
emergency medical technician-basic, emergency medical	273
technician-intermediate, or emergency medical	274
technician-paramedic, certified under Chapter 4765. of the Revised	275
Code, whether paid or volunteer.	276

Section 2. That existing section 4123.01 of the Revised Code	277
is hereby repealed.	278