As Passed by the Senate

130th General Assembly Regular Session 2013-2014

Sub. S. B. No. 252

Senators Patton, Brown 

Cosponsors: Senators Hughes, Turner, Schiavoni, Kearney, LaRose, Gardner, Sawyer, Tavares, Bacon, Balderson, Eklund, Faber, Gentile, Hite, Jones, Lehner, Manning, Obhof, Oelslager, Uecker, Widener 

---

A BILL

To amend sections 4123.01, 4123.026, and 4123.46 of

1

the Revised Code to make peace officers,

2

firefighters, and emergency medical workers

3

diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder

4

arising from employment without an accompanying

5

physical injury eligible for compensation and

6

benefits under Ohio's Workers' Compensation Law.

7

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

Section 1. That sections 4123.01, 4123.026, and 4123.46 of	8
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:	9

Sec. 4123.01.  As used in this chapter:

10

(A)(1) "Employee" means:

11

(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any	12
county, municipal corporation, township, or school district	13
therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police	14
and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships,	15
whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state	16
or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers	17
of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire,	18
express or implied, oral or written, including any elected	19
official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or	20
township, or members of boards of education.	21

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term	22
"employee" includes the following persons when responding to an	23
inherently dangerous situation that calls for an immediate	24
response on the part of the person, regardless of whether the	25
person is within the limits of the jurisdiction of the person's	26
regular employment or voluntary service when responding, on the	27
condition that the person responds to the situation as the person	28
otherwise would if the person were on duty in the person's	29
jurisdiction:	30

(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division (A)(1)(a)(i)	31
of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in	32
section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.;	33

(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a	34
lawfully constituted fire department.;	35

(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical	36
technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or	37
emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or	38
volunteer,emergency medical workers of an ambulance service	39
organization or emergency medical service organization pursuant to	40
Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.	41

(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or	42
private corporation, including any public service corporation,	43
that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same	44
business or in or about the same establishment under any contract	45
of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and	46
minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or	47
more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and	48
casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash	49
in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound	50
by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to	51
pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this	52
chapter.	53

(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services	54
pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79	55
of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria	56
apply:	57

(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from	58
the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of	59
performing services;	60

(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party to	61
have particular training;	62

(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular	63
functioning of the other contracting party;	64

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

65

(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other	66
contracting party;	67

(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and	68
the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or	69
recurring work even if the work is not full time;	70

(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the other	71
contracting party;	72

(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the	73
business of the other contracting party;	74

(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the	75
premises of the other contracting party;	76

(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set by	77
the other contracting party;	78

(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports	79
of progress to the other contracting party;	80

(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis such	81
as hourly, weekly, or monthly;	82

(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other	83
contracting party;	84

(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the	85
other contracting party;	86

(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to	87
perform services;	88

(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss	89
as a result of the services provided;	90

(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of	91
employers at the same time;	92

(xviii) The person does not make the same services available	93
to the general public;	94

(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge	95
the person;	96

(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with	97
the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant	98
to an employment contract or agreement.	99

Every person in the service of any independent contractor or	100
subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund	101
the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of	102
workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or	103
if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and	104
benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents	105
of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35	106
of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the	107
person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal,	108
with such independent contractor unless such employees or their	109
legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or	110
death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.	111

(d) Every person to whom all of the following apply:

112

(i) The person is a resident of a state other than this state	113
and is covered by that other state's workers' compensation law;	114

(ii) The person performs labor or provides services for that	115
person's employer while temporarily within this state;	116

(iii) The laws of that other state do not include the	117
provisions described in division (H)(4) of section 4123.54 of the	118
Revised Code.	119

(2) "Employee" does not mean:

120

(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or	121
assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of	122
ministry;	123

(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation;

124

(c) An individual incorporated as a corporation; or

125

(d) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer	126
but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section	127
4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the	128
administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the	129
individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.	130

Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within	131
this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of	132
"employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an	133
employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual	134
incorporated as a corporation, or family farm corporation, such	135
employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this	136
chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of the sole	137
proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or	138
the officers of the family farm corporation. In the event of an	139
election, the employer shall serve upon the bureau of workers'	140
compensation written notice naming the persons to be covered,	141
include such employee's remuneration for premium purposes in all	142
future payroll reports, and no person excluded from the definition	143
of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section,	144
proprietor, individual incorporated as a corporation, or partner	145
shall be deemed an employee within this division until the	146
employer has served such notice.	147

For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe	148
such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as	149
it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to	150
elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole	151
proprietor, any member of a partnership, an individual	152
incorporated as a corporation, the officers of a family farm	153
corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of	154
"employee" under division (A)(2) of this section, that they should	155
check any health and disability insurance policy, or other form of	156
health and disability plan or contract, presently covering them,	157
or the purchase of which they may be considering, to determine	158
whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits for	159
illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered by	160
workers' compensation.	161

(B) "Employer" means:

162

(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county,	163
municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital	164
owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the	165
state;	166

(2) Every person, firm, professional employer organization as	167
defined in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code, and private	168
corporation, including any public service corporation, that (a)	169
has in service one or more employees or shared employees regularly	170
in the same business or in or about the same establishment under	171
any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or (b)	172
is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written	173
contract, to pay into the insurance fund the premiums provided by	174
this chapter.	175

All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member of	176
a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in or	177
about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a	178
household establishment, shall be considered an employee in	179
determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or	180
public service corporation, has in its service, one or more	181
employees and the employer shall report the income derived from	182
such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer,	183
and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of	184
an employee.	185

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external	186
accidental means or accidental in character and result, received	187
in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's	188
employment. "Injury" does not include:	189

(1) Psychiatric conditions except whereas follows:

190

(a) Where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen	191
from an injury or occupational disease sustained by that claimant	192
or where;	193

(b) Where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen	194
from sexual conduct in which the claimant was forced by threat of	195
physical harm to engage or participate;	196

(c) Where the claimant is a peace officer, firefighter, or	197
emergency medical worker and is diagnosed with post-traumatic	198
stress disorder that has arisen from the claimant's employment as	199
a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical worker.	200

(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural	201
deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;	202

(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation	203
in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the	204
employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or	205
benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or	206
fitness activity;	207

(4) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that	208
pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury.	209
Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective	210
diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective	211
test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a	212
substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without	213
objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or	214
objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a	215
substantial aggravation.	216

(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally	217
adopted prior to the injury.	218

(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded for	219
the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority of	220
the voting stock is held by and the majority of the stockholders	221
are persons or the spouse of persons related to each other within	222
the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules of the civil	223
law, and at least one of the related persons is residing on or	224
actively operating the farm, and none of whose stockholders are a	225
corporation. A family farm corporation does not cease to qualify	226
under this division where, by reason of any devise, bequest, or	227
the operation of the laws of descent or distribution, the	228
ownership of shares of voting stock is transferred to another	229
person, as long as that person is within the degree of kinship	230
stipulated in this division.	231

(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the	232
course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics	233
of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in	234
a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from	235
employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of	236
contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different	237
manner from the public in general.	238

(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is granted	239
the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under	240
section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of county	241
commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports	242
facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code,	243
provided that the electors of the county in which the sports	244
facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports	245
facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.	246

(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in	247
division (B)(1) of this section.	248

(I) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male	249
and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between	250
persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the	251
insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any	252
instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal	253
cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to	254
complete vaginal or anal intercourse.	255

(J) "Other-states' insurer" means an insurance company that	256
is authorized to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage	257
in any of the states that permit employers to obtain insurance for	258
workers' compensation claims through insurance companies.	259

(K) "Other-states' coverage" means insurance coverage	260
purchased by an employer for workers' compensation claims that	261
arise in a state or states other than this state and that are	262
filed by the employees of the employer or those employee's	263
dependents, as applicable, in that other state or those other	264
states.	265

(L) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section	266
2935.01 of the Revised Code.	267

(M) "Firefighter" means a firefighter, whether paid or	268
volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.	269

(N) "Emergency medical worker" means a first responder,	270
emergency medical technician-basic, emergency medical	271
technician-intermediate, or emergency medical	272
technician-paramedic, certified under Chapter 4765. of the Revised	273
Code, whether paid or volunteer.	274

Sec. 4123.026. (A) The administrator of workers'	275
compensation, or a self-insuring public employer for the peace	276
officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers employed by	277
or volunteering for that self-insuring public employer, shall pay	278
the costs of conducting post-exposure medical diagnostic services,	279
consistent with the standards of medical care existing at the time	280
of the exposure, to investigate whether an injury or occupational	281
disease was sustained by a peace officer, firefighter, or	282
emergency medical worker when coming into contact with the blood	283
or other body fluid of another person in the course of and arising	284
out of the peace officer's, firefighter's, or emergency medical	285
worker's employment, or when responding to an inherently dangerous	286
situation in the manner described in, and in accordance with the	287
conditions specified under, division (A)(1)(a) of section 4123.01	288
of the Revised Code, through any of the following means:	289

(1)(A) Splash or spatter in the eye or mouth, including when	290
received in the course of conducting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation;	291

(2)(B) A puncture in the skin;

292

(3)(C) A cut in the skin or another opening in the skin such	293
as an open sore, wound, lesion, abrasion, or ulcer.	294

(B) As used in this section:

295

(1) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section	296
2935.01 of the Revised Code.	297

(2) "Firefighter" means a firefighter, whether paid or	298
volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.	299

(3) "Emergency medical worker" means a first responder,	300
emergency medical technician-basic, emergency medical	301
technician-intermediate, or emergency medical	302
technician-paramedic, certified under Chapter 4765. of the Revised	303
Code, whether paid or volunteer.	304

Sec. 4123.46.  (A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2)	305
of this section, the bureau of workers' compensation shall	306
disburse the state insurance fund to employees of employers who	307
have paid into the fund the premiums applicable to the classes to	308
which they belong when the employees have been injured in the	309
course of their employment, wherever the injuries have occurred,	310
and provided the injuries have not been purposely self-inflicted,	311
or to the dependents of the employees in case death has ensued.	312

(2) As long as injuries have not been purposely	313
self-inflicted, the bureau shall disburse the surplus fund created	314
under section 4123.34 of the Revised Code to off-duty peace	315
officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians, and	316
first respondersworkers, or to their dependents if death ensues,	317
who are injured while responding to inherently dangerous	318
situations that call for an immediate response on the part of the	319
person, regardless of whether the person was within the limits of	320
the person's jurisdiction when responding, on the condition that	321
the person responds to the situation as the person otherwise would	322
if the person were on duty in the person's jurisdiction.	323

As used in division (A)(2) of this section, "peace officer,"	324
"firefighter," and "emergency medical technician," "first	325
responderworker," and "jurisdiction" have the same meanings as in	326
section 4123.01 of the Revised Code.	327

(B) All self-insuring employers, in compliance with this	328
chapter, shall pay the compensation to injured employees, or to	329
the dependents of employees who have been killed in the course of	330
their employment, unless the injury or death of the employee was	331
purposely self-inflicted, and shall furnish the medical, surgical,	332
nurse, and hospital care and attention or funeral expenses as	333
would have been paid and furnished by virtue of this chapter under	334
a similar state of facts by the bureau out of the state insurance	335
fund if the employer had paid the premium into the fund.	336

If any rule or regulation of a self-insuring employer	337
provides for or authorizes the payment of greater compensation or	338
more complete or extended medical care, nursing, surgical, and	339
hospital attention, or funeral expenses to the injured employees,	340
or to the dependents of the employees as may be killed, the	341
employer shall pay to the employees, or to the dependents of	342
employees killed, the amount of compensation and furnish the	343
medical care, nursing, surgical, and hospital attention or funeral	344
expenses provided by the self-insuring employer's rules and	345
regulations.	346

(C) Payment to injured employees, or to their dependents in	347
case death has ensued, is in lieu of any and all rights of action	348
against the employer of the injured or killed employees.	349

Section 2. That existing sections 4123.01, 4123.026, and	350
4123.46 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.	351