(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any | 20 |
county, municipal corporation, township, or school district | 21 |
therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police | 22 |
and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships, | 23 |
whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state | 24 |
or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers | 25 |
of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire, | 26 |
express or implied, oral or written, including any elected | 27 |
official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or | 28 |
township, or members of boards of education. | 29 |
As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term | 30 |
"employee" includes the following persons when
responding to an | 31 |
inherently dangerous situation
that calls for an
immediate | 32 |
response on the part of the person,
regardless of
whether the | 33 |
person is within the limits of the
jurisdiction of the
person's | 34 |
regular employment or voluntary
service when responding,
on the | 35 |
condition that the person responds
to the situation as the
person | 36 |
otherwise would if the person were
on duty in the person's | 37 |
jurisdiction: | 38 |
(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or | 50 |
private corporation, including any public service corporation, | 51 |
that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same | 52 |
business or in or about the same establishment under any contract | 53 |
of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and | 54 |
minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or | 55 |
more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and | 56 |
casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash | 57 |
in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound | 58 |
by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to | 59 |
pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this | 60 |
chapter. | 61 |
Every person in the service of any independent contractor or | 108 |
subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund | 109 |
the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of | 110 |
workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or | 111 |
if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and | 112 |
benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents | 113 |
of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35 | 114 |
of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the | 115 |
person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal, | 116 |
with such independent contractor unless such employees or their | 117 |
legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or | 118 |
death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer. | 119 |
Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within | 139 |
this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of | 140 |
"employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an | 141 |
employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual | 142 |
incorporated as a corporation, or family farm
corporation, such | 143 |
employer may elect to include as an "employee"
within this | 144 |
chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of
the sole | 145 |
proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or | 146 |
the officers of the family farm
corporation. In the event of an | 147 |
election, the employer shall
serve upon the bureau of workers' | 148 |
compensation written notice
naming the persons to be covered, | 149 |
include such employee's
remuneration for premium purposes in all | 150 |
future payroll reports,
and no person excluded from the definition | 151 |
of "employee" pursuant
to division (A)(2) of this section, | 152 |
proprietor, individual incorporated as a corporation, or partner | 153 |
shall
be deemed an employee within this division until the | 154 |
employer has
served such notice. | 155 |
For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe | 156 |
such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as | 157 |
it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to | 158 |
elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole | 159 |
proprietor, any member of a partnership, an individual | 160 |
incorporated as a corporation, the officers of a family
farm | 161 |
corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of | 162 |
"employee" under division (A)(2) of this section, that they
should | 163 |
check any health and disability insurance policy, or other
form of | 164 |
health and disability plan or contract, presently covering
them, | 165 |
or the purchase of which they may be considering, to
determine | 166 |
whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits
for | 167 |
illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered
by | 168 |
workers' compensation. | 169 |
(2) Every person, firm, professional employer organization as | 175 |
defined in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code, and private | 176 |
corporation, including
any public service corporation, that (a) | 177 |
has in service one or
more employees or shared employees regularly | 178 |
in the same business or in or about the
same establishment under | 179 |
any contract of hire, express or implied,
oral or written, or (b) | 180 |
is bound by any such contract of hire or
by any other written | 181 |
contract, to pay into the insurance fund the
premiums provided by | 182 |
this chapter. | 183 |
All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member
of | 184 |
a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in
or | 185 |
about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a | 186 |
household establishment, shall be considered an employee in | 187 |
determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or | 188 |
public service corporation, has in its service, one or more | 189 |
employees and the employer shall report the income derived from | 190 |
such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer, | 191 |
and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of | 192 |
an employee. | 193 |
(4) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that | 211 |
pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury. | 212 |
Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective | 213 |
diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective | 214 |
test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a | 215 |
substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without | 216 |
objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or | 217 |
objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a | 218 |
substantial aggravation. | 219 |
(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded
for | 222 |
the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority
of | 223 |
the voting stock is held by and the majority of the
stockholders | 224 |
are persons or the spouse of persons related to each
other within | 225 |
the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules
of the civil | 226 |
law, and at least one of the related persons is
residing on or | 227 |
actively operating the farm, and none of whose
stockholders are a | 228 |
corporation. A family farm corporation does
not cease to qualify | 229 |
under this division where, by reason of any
devise, bequest, or | 230 |
the operation of the laws of descent or
distribution, the | 231 |
ownership of shares of voting stock is
transferred to another | 232 |
person, as long as that person is within
the degree of kinship | 233 |
stipulated in this division. | 234 |
(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is
granted | 242 |
the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly
under | 243 |
section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of
county | 244 |
commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports | 245 |
facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code, | 246 |
provided that the electors of the county in which the sports | 247 |
facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports | 248 |
facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997. | 249 |
(I) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male | 252 |
and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between | 253 |
persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the | 254 |
insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any | 255 |
instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal | 256 |
cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to | 257 |
complete vaginal or anal intercourse. | 258 |
Sec. 4123.26. Every employer shall keep records of, and | 270 |
furnish to the bureau of workers' compensation upon request, all | 271 |
information required by the administrator of workers'
compensation | 272 |
to carry out this chapter. In January of each year,
every employer | 273 |
of the state employing one or more employees
regularly in the same | 274 |
business, or in or about the same
establishment, shall prepare and | 275 |
mail to the bureau at its main
office in Columbus a statement | 276 |
containing the following
information, as applicable: | 277 |
The information shall be furnished on a blank to be
prepared | 295 |
by the bureau. The bureau shall furnish the blanks to
employers | 296 |
free of charge upon request therefor. Every employer
receiving | 297 |
from the bureau any blank, with directions to fill out
the same, | 298 |
shall cause the same to be properly filled out so as to
answer | 299 |
fully and correctly all questions therein propounded, and
give all | 300 |
the information therein sought, or if unable to do so,
hethe | 301 |
employer shall give to the bureau in writing good and
sufficient | 302 |
reasons for such failure. The bureau may require that the | 303 |
information required to be furnished be verified under oath and | 304 |
returned to the bureau within the period fixed by it or by law. | 305 |
The bureau or any person employed by the bureau for that purpose, | 306 |
may examine, under oath, any employer, or the officer, agent, or | 307 |
employee thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining any information | 308 |
which the employer is required to furnish to the bureau. | 309 |
(2)(a) Fix the rates of premium of the risks of the classes | 326 |
based upon the total payroll in each of the classes of occupation | 327 |
or industry sufficiently large to provide a fund for the | 328 |
compensation provided for in this chapter and to maintain a state | 329 |
insurance fund from year to year. The administrator shall set
the | 330 |
rates at a level that assures the solvency of the fund.
Where the | 331 |
payroll cannot be obtained or, in the opinion of the | 332 |
administrator, is not an adequate measure for determining the | 333 |
premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the administrator | 334 |
may determine the rates of premium upon such other basis, | 335 |
consistent with insurance principles, as is equitable in view of | 336 |
the degree of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is | 337 |
made to payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing | 338 |
premiums, the reference shall be construed to have been made also | 339 |
to such other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the | 340 |
administrator may determine under this section. | 341 |
(b) If an employer elects to obtain extraterritorial coverage | 342 |
through the administrator or an extraterritorial insurer pursuant | 343 |
to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code, calculate the employer's | 344 |
premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as | 345 |
otherwise required under division (A) of this section and section | 346 |
4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the administrator | 347 |
determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both upon which | 348 |
to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall use only | 349 |
the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the | 350 |
labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees | 351 |
when those employees performed labor and provided services in this | 352 |
state only and to which the extraterritorial coverage does not | 353 |
apply. | 354 |
(d) At the time the administrator revises premium rates | 400 |
pursuant to this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, | 401 |
if the premium rate of an employer who participates in a group | 402 |
plan established under this section changes from the rate | 403 |
established for the previous year, the administrator, in addition | 404 |
to sending the invoice with the rate revision to that employer, | 405 |
shall send a copy of that invoice to the third-party administrator | 406 |
that administers the group plan for that employer's group. | 407 |
(e) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) | 408 |
of this section, the administrator shall establish a program | 409 |
designed to mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would | 410 |
come into the experience of a private, state fund group-rated | 411 |
employer for the first time and be a contributing factor in that | 412 |
employer being excluded from a group-rated plan. The administrator | 413 |
shall establish eligibility criteria and requirements that such | 414 |
employers must satisfy in order to participate in this program. | 415 |
For purposes of this program, the administrator shall establish a | 416 |
discount on premium rates applicable to employers who qualify for | 417 |
the program. | 418 |
(6) Make available to every employer who is paying
premiums | 433 |
to the state insurance fund a program whereby the
employer or the | 434 |
employer's agent pays to the claimant or on
behalf of the
claimant | 435 |
the first fifteen thousand dollars of a compensable workers' | 436 |
compensation medical-only claim filed by that claimant that is | 437 |
related to the same injury or occupational disease. No formal | 438 |
application is required; however, an employer must elect to | 439 |
participate by telephoning the bureau after July 1, 1995. Once an | 440 |
employer has elected to participate in the program, the employer | 441 |
will be responsible for all bills in all medical-only claims with | 442 |
a date of injury the same or later than the election date, unless | 443 |
the employer notifies the bureau within fourteen days of receipt | 444 |
of the notification of a claim being filed that it does not wish | 445 |
to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer notifies the | 446 |
bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been paid, or | 447 |
the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service on | 448 |
which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular | 449 |
medical-only claim. If an
employer elects to enter the program, | 450 |
the administrator shall not
reimburse the employer for such | 451 |
amounts paid and shall not charge
the first fifteen thousand | 452 |
dollars of any medical-only claim paid by
an employer to the | 453 |
employer's experience or otherwise use it in
merit rating or | 454 |
determining the risks of any employer for the
purpose of payment | 455 |
of premiums under this chapter. If an employer elects to enter the | 456 |
program and the employer fails to pay a bill for a medical-only | 457 |
claim included in the program, the employer shall be liable for | 458 |
that bill and the employee for whom the employer failed to pay the | 459 |
bill shall not be liable for that bill. The
administrator shall | 460 |
adopt rules to implement and administer
division (A)(6) of this | 461 |
section. Upon written request from the bureau, the employer shall | 462 |
provide documentation to the bureau of all medical-only bills that | 463 |
they are paying directly. Such requests from the bureau may not be | 464 |
made more frequently than on a semiannual basis. Failure to | 465 |
provide such documentation to the bureau within thirty days of | 466 |
receipt of the request may result in the employer's forfeiture of | 467 |
participation in the program for such injury. The provisions of | 468 |
this section shall not apply to claims in which an employer with | 469 |
knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or occupational disease, | 470 |
has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total disability. | 471 |
Sec. 4123.292. (A) Notwithstanding sections 4123.35 and | 482 |
4123.82 of the Revised Code, an employer may elect to obtain | 483 |
extraterritorial coverage through an extraterritorial insurer or | 484 |
through the administrator of workers' compensation pursuant to | 485 |
division (B) of this section. An employer who elects to obtain | 486 |
extraterritorial coverage shall submit a written notice to the | 487 |
administrator stating that election and, if the employer elects to | 488 |
obtain that coverage through an extraterritorial insurer, the name | 489 |
of the extraterritorial insurer through whom the employer has | 490 |
obtained that coverage. If an employer fails
to pay the | 491 |
employer's premium for extraterritorial coverage, the | 492 |
administrator shall consider the employer to be noncompliant for | 493 |
the purposes of having extraterritorial coverage but shall not | 494 |
consider the employer to be a noncomplying employer for purposes | 495 |
of this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised | 496 |
Code unless the employer otherwise fails to comply with section | 497 |
4123.35 of the Revised Code. | 498 |
(B) The administrator shall secure extraterritorial coverage | 499 |
to allow an employer who,
pursuant to this section, elects to | 500 |
obtain that coverage through the
administrator for workers' | 501 |
compensation claims arising in a state
or states other than this | 502 |
state. The administrator shall follow
the competitive bidding | 503 |
requirements specified in Chapter 125. of
the Revised Code to | 504 |
select one extraterritorial insurer. The administrator, with the | 505 |
advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of | 506 |
directors, shall award the contract to provide extraterritorial | 507 |
coverage for employers located in this state to the | 508 |
extraterritorial insurer that is the lowest bidder. | 509 |
(C) The administrator shall calculate an employer's premium | 510 |
for
extraterritorial coverage provided through the administrator | 511 |
separately from calculating any other
premiums or assessments | 512 |
charged under this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of | 513 |
the Revised Code. The administrator shall calculate the employer's | 514 |
extraterritorial coverage premium in the same manner the | 515 |
administrator calculates an employer's premium for the state | 516 |
insurance fund pursuant to division (A) of section 4123.29 and | 517 |
section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that, when calculating | 518 |
the employer's premium for extraterritorial coverage under this | 519 |
section, the administrator shall do all of the following: | 520 |
Sec. 4123.513. If an employee is injured or contracts an | 562 |
occupational disease or dies as a result of an injury or | 563 |
occupational disease, and a claim for compensation or benefits for | 564 |
that injury, occupational disease, or death is filed by or on | 565 |
behalf of the employee under this chapter, the administrator of | 566 |
workers' compensation shall determine whether the claimant also | 567 |
could file a claim for compensation or benefits in a state other | 568 |
than this state pursuant to that state's workers' compensation | 569 |
laws for that injury, occupational disease, or death. If the | 570 |
administrator determines that such a claim could be filed, the | 571 |
administrator shall request the claimant to sign a waiver stating | 572 |
that because the claimant elected to file a claim for that injury, | 573 |
occupational disease, or death in this state, the claimant waives | 574 |
the claimant's ability to file a claim for that injury, | 575 |
occupational disease, or death in the other state unless the | 576 |
claimant's claim filed in
this state is dismissed for reasons | 577 |
other than on the merits. If the claimant fails or refuses to sign | 578 |
the waiver within twenty-one days after the claim is filed, the | 579 |
administrator shall issue an order to dismiss the claimant's claim | 580 |
and the claimant is ineligible to file a claim for compensation or | 581 |
benefits in this state for that injury, disability, or death. The | 582 |
administrator shall not issue an order granting or denying the | 583 |
payment of compensation or benefits or both pursuant to division | 584 |
(B) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code before either the | 585 |
twenty-day period specified in this section expires or the | 586 |
administrator receives the signed waiver. An order issued under | 587 |
this section is not appealable under section 4123.511 or 4123.512 | 588 |
of the Revised Code. | 589 |
(2) Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under the | 597 |
influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a physician | 598 |
where the intoxication or being under the influence of the | 599 |
controlled substance not prescribed by a physician was the | 600 |
proximate cause of the injury, is entitled to receive, either | 601 |
directly from the employee's self-insuring employer as
provided in | 602 |
section
4123.35 of the Revised Code, or from the state insurance | 603 |
fund,
the compensation for loss sustained on account of the | 604 |
injury,
occupational disease, or death, and the medical, nurse, | 605 |
and
hospital services and medicines, and the amount of funeral | 606 |
expenses in case of death, as are provided by this chapter. | 607 |
(B) For the purpose of this section, provided that an
| 608 |
employer has posted written notice to employees that the results | 609 |
of, or
the employee's refusal
to submit to, any chemical test | 610 |
described
under this division may affect the
employee's | 611 |
eligibility for
compensation and benefits pursuant to this chapter | 612 |
and Chapter
4121. of the Revised Code,
there is a rebuttable | 613 |
presumption that
an employee is intoxicated
or under the influence | 614 |
of a controlled
substance not prescribed by the employee's | 615 |
physician and that being intoxicated
or under the influence of a | 616 |
controlled substance not prescribed by
the employee's physician is | 617 |
the
proximate cause of an injury under either of the following | 618 |
conditions: | 619 |
(a) Observable phenomena, such as direct observation of use, | 693 |
possession, or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance, | 694 |
or of the physical symptoms of being under the influence of | 695 |
alcohol or a controlled substance, such as but not limited to | 696 |
slurred speech, dilated pupils, odor of alcohol or a controlled | 697 |
substance, changes in affect, or dynamic mood swings; | 698 |
(H)(1) Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer | 737 |
who
is
subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is | 738 |
possibility of conflict with respect to the application of | 739 |
workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is | 740 |
entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be | 741 |
performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and | 742 |
the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or
by | 743 |
the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of
the | 744 |
work of the employee is to be performed. The agreement shall
be
in | 745 |
writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers' | 746 |
compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall
remain | 747 |
in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the
parties | 748 |
similarly filed. If the agreement is to be bound by the
laws of | 749 |
this state and the employer has complied with this
chapter, then | 750 |
the employee is entitled to compensation and
benefits regardless | 751 |
of where the injury occurs or the disease is
contracted and the | 752 |
rights of the employee and the employee's
dependents
under the | 753 |
laws of this state are the exclusive remedy against the
employer | 754 |
on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of
and | 755 |
arising out of the employee's employment. If the
agreement is to | 756 |
be
bound by the laws of another state and the employer has | 757 |
complied
with the laws of that state, the rights of the employee | 758 |
and the
employee's
dependents under the laws of that state are the | 759 |
exclusive remedy
against the employer on account of injury, | 760 |
disease, or death in
the course of and arising out of the | 761 |
employee's employment
without regard
to
the place where the injury | 762 |
was sustained or the disease
contracted. If an employer and an | 763 |
employee enter into an agreement under this division, the fact | 764 |
that the employer and the employee entered into that agreement | 765 |
shall not be construed to change the status of an employee whose | 766 |
continued employment is subject to the will of the employer or the | 767 |
employee, unless the agreement contains a provision that expressly | 768 |
changes that status. | 769 |
(2) If any employee or the employee's dependents are awarded | 770 |
workers'
compensation benefits or recover damages from the | 771 |
employer under
the laws of another state, the amount awarded or | 772 |
recovered,
whether paid or to be paid in future installments, | 773 |
shall be
credited on the amount of anyand the employee or the | 774 |
employee's dependents also receive an award of compensation or | 775 |
benefits
made to the employee or the employee's dependents by the | 776 |
bureauunder this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the | 777 |
Revised Code, the administrator or a self-insuring employer, by | 778 |
any lawful means, may collect the amount of compensation or | 779 |
benefits paid to or on behalf of the employee or the employee's | 780 |
dependents by the administrator or self-insuring employer pursuant | 781 |
to this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised | 782 |
Code for that award. The administrator or self-insuring employer | 783 |
also may collect from the employee or the
employee's dependents | 784 |
any costs and attorney's fees the
administrator or the | 785 |
self-insuring employer incurs in collecting
that payment and any | 786 |
attorney's fees and costs incurred by an employer in contesting or | 787 |
responding to the claim filed under this chapter or Chapter 4121., | 788 |
4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code by that employee or the | 789 |
employee's dependents. If the employee's employer pays premiums | 790 |
into
the
state insurance fund, the administrator shall not | 791 |
charge the
amount of compensation or benefits the administrator | 792 |
collects
pursuant to this division to the
employer's experience. | 793 |
If the administrator collects any costs or attorney's fees | 794 |
incurred by a state fund employer, the administrator shall forward | 795 |
the amount of such costs and fees the administrator collects to | 796 |
that employer. If the
employee's employer is a
self-insuring | 797 |
employer, the
self-insuring employer shall deduct
the amount of | 798 |
compensation or
benefits the self-insuring employer collects | 799 |
pursuant to this
division from the paid compensation the | 800 |
self-insuring employer
reports to the administrator under | 801 |
division (L) of section 4123.35
of the Revised Code. | 802 |
If(3) Except as otherwise stipulated in division (H)(4) of | 803 |
this section, if an employee is a resident of a state other than | 804 |
this
state
and is insured under the workers' compensation law or | 805 |
similar laws
of a state other than this state, the employee and | 806 |
the employee's
dependents are not entitled to receive
compensation | 807 |
or
benefits
under this chapter, on account of injury, disease, or | 808 |
death
arising out of or in the course of employment while | 809 |
temporarily
within this state, and the rights of the employee and | 810 |
the
employee's dependents under the laws of the other state
are | 811 |
the
exclusive remedy against the employer on account of the | 812 |
injury,
disease, or death. | 813 |
(a) The laws of the other state limit the ability of an | 817 |
employee who is a resident of this state and is covered by this | 818 |
chapter and Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code, or the employee's | 819 |
dependents, to receive compensation or benefits under the other | 820 |
state's workers' compensation law on account of injury, disease, | 821 |
or death incurred by the employee that arises out of or in the | 822 |
course of the employee's employment while temporarily within that | 823 |
state in the same manner as specified in division (H)(3) of this | 824 |
section for an employee who is a resident of a state other than | 825 |
this state, or the employee's dependents; | 826 |
Sec. 4123.542. Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter | 839 |
4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code to the contrary, | 840 |
if
an employee or the dependents of an employee are eligible to | 841 |
assert or file a claim for compensation or benefits under the | 842 |
workers' compensation laws of any state other than this state, and | 843 |
the employee or the employee's dependents assert or file such a | 844 |
claim in another state or states and receive a decision on the | 845 |
merits of that claim for compensation or benefits, the employee or | 846 |
the employee's dependents shall not receive
compensation or | 847 |
benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121.,
4127., or 4131. of | 848 |
the Revised Code for the same injury, occupational disease, or | 849 |
death for which the employee or the employee's
dependents | 850 |
received a decision on the merits
of a claim for compensation or | 851 |
benefits asserted or filed in the other state or
states, | 852 |
regardless of whether the
employee or the employee's dependents | 853 |
are awarded
compensation or benefits pursuant to that state's or | 854 |
those states'
laws. | 855 |
Sec. 4123.82. (A) All contracts and agreements are void | 856 |
which undertake to indemnify or insure an employer against loss
or | 857 |
liability for the payment of compensation to workers or their | 858 |
dependents for death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned | 859 |
in the course of the workers' employment, or which provide that | 860 |
the insurer shall pay the compensation, or which indemnify the | 861 |
employer against damages when the injury, disease, or death
arises | 862 |
from the failure to comply with any lawful requirement for
the | 863 |
protection of the lives, health, and safety of employees, or
when | 864 |
the same is occasioned by the willful act of the employer or
any | 865 |
of the employer's officers or agents, or by which it is
agreed | 866 |
that the
insurer shall pay any such damages. No license or | 867 |
authority to
enter into any such agreements or issue any such | 868 |
policies of
insurance shall be granted or issued by any public | 869 |
authority in
this state. Any corporation organized or admitted | 870 |
under the laws
of this state to transact liability insurance as | 871 |
defined in
section 3929.01 of the Revised Code may by amendment of | 872 |
its
articles of incorporation or by original articles of | 873 |
incorporation, provide therein for the authority and purpose to | 874 |
make insurance in states, territories, districts, and counties, | 875 |
other than the state of Ohio, and in the state of Ohio in respect | 876 |
of contracts permitted by division (B) of this section, | 877 |
indemnifying employers against loss or liability for payment of | 878 |
compensation to workers and employees and their dependents for | 879 |
death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned in the course
of | 880 |
the employment and to insure and indemnify employers against
loss, | 881 |
expense, and liability by risk of bodily injury or death by | 882 |
accident, disability, sickness, or disease suffered by workers
and | 883 |
employees for which the employer may be liable or has assumed | 884 |
liability. | 885 |
(1) No contract because of that division is void which | 887 |
undertakes to indemnify a self-insuring employer against all or | 888 |
part of such employer's loss in excess of at least fifty thousand | 889 |
dollars from any one disaster or event arising out of the | 890 |
employer's liability under this chapter, but no insurance | 891 |
corporation shall, directly or indirectly, represent an employer | 892 |
in the settlement, adjudication, determination, allowance, or | 893 |
payment of claims. The superintendent of insurance shall enforce | 894 |
this prohibition by such disciplinary orders directed against the | 895 |
offending insurance corporation as the superintendent of
insurance | 896 |
deems appropriate in the circumstances and the
administrator of | 897 |
workers' compensation shall enforce this
prohibition by such | 898 |
disciplinary orders directed against the
offending employer as the | 899 |
administrator deems appropriate in the
circumstances, which orders | 900 |
may include revocation of the
insurance corporation's right to | 901 |
enter into indemnity contracts
and revocation of the employer's | 902 |
status as a self-insuring
employer. | 903 |
(2) The administrator may enter into a contract of
indemnity | 904 |
with any such employer upon such terms, payment of such
premium, | 905 |
and for such amount and form of indemnity as the
administrator | 906 |
determines and the bureau of workers' compensation board of | 907 |
directors may procure
reinsurance of the liability of the public | 908 |
and private funds
under this chapter, or any part of the liability | 909 |
in respect of
either or both of the funds, upon such terms and | 910 |
premiums or
other payments from the fund or funds as the | 911 |
administrator deems
prudent in the maintenance of a solvent fund | 912 |
or funds from year
to year. When making the finding of fact which | 913 |
the administrator
is required by section 4123.35 of the Revised | 914 |
Code to make with
respect to the financial ability of an employer, | 915 |
no contract of
indemnity, or the ability of the employer to | 916 |
procure such a
contract, shall be considered as increasing the | 917 |
financial ability
of the employer. | 918 |