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(127th General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute Senate Bill Number 334)
AN ACT
To amend sections 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.34,
4123.51,
4123.54, 4123.82, and 4123.88 and to
enact
sections
4123.292 and 4123.542 to prohibit
an
employee
from
filing a claim for workers'
compensation
benefits in
this
state if the
employee has
received a
decision on
the merits
of a claim
filed in
another state for
the same
injury or
occupational disease, to
allow an Ohio
employer
to obtain workers'
compensation
insurance for claims arising in other
states
through the Administrator of Workers'
Compensation, if the Administrator elects to
provide such insurance, or an insurance company,
to make other changes to the Workers'
Compensation Law regarding interstate workers'
compensation claims and the surplus of the State
Insurance Fund, and to allow an individual
whose
primary occupation is as a journalist to
access
specified worker's compensation records.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.34,
4123.51,
4123.54, 4123.82, 4123.88 be amended and sections
4123.292
and
4123.542 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as
follows:
Sec. 4123.01. As used in this chapter:
(A)(1) "Employee" means:
(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any
county, municipal corporation, township, or school district
therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police
and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships,
whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state
or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers
of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire,
express or implied, oral or written, including any elected
official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or
township, or members of boards of education.
As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term
"employee" includes the following persons when
responding to an
inherently dangerous situation
that calls for an
immediate
response on the part of the person,
regardless of
whether the
person is within the limits of the
jurisdiction of the
person's
regular employment or voluntary
service when responding,
on the
condition that the person responds
to the situation as the
person
otherwise would if the person were
on duty in the person's
jurisdiction:
(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division
(A)(1)(a)(i)
of this section, "peace officer"
has the same meaning as in
section
2935.01 of the Revised
Code.
(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a
lawfully constituted fire department.
(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical
technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or
emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or
volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency
medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the
Revised Code.
(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or
private corporation, including any public service corporation,
that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same
business or in or about the same establishment under any contract
of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and
minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or
more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and
casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash
in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound
by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to
pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this
chapter.
(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services
pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79
of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria
apply:
(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from
the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of
performing services;
(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party
to
have particular training;
(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular
functioning of the other contracting party;
(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;
(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other
contracting party;
(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and
the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or
recurring work even if the work is not full time;
(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the
other
contracting party;
(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the
business of the other contracting party;
(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the
premises of the other contracting party;
(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set
by
the other contracting party;
(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports
of progress to the other contracting party;
(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis
such
as hourly, weekly, or monthly;
(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other
contracting party;
(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the
other contracting party;
(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to
perform services;
(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss
as a result of the services provided;
(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of
employers at the same time;
(xviii) The person does not make the same services available
to the general public;
(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge
the person;
(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with
the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant
to an employment contract or agreement.
Every person in the service of any independent contractor or
subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund
the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of
workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or
if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and
benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents
of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35
of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the
person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal,
with such independent contractor unless such employees or their
legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or
death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.
(d) Every person to whom all of the following apply:
(i) The person is a resident of a state other than this state
and is covered by that other state's workers' compensation law;
(ii) The person performs labor or provides services for that
person's employer while temporarily within this state;
(iii) The laws of that other state do not include the
provisions described in division (H)(4) of section 4123.54 of the
Revised Code.
(2) "Employee" does not mean:
(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or
assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of
ministry;
(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation;
(c) An individual incorporated as a corporation; or
(d) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer
but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section
4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the
administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the
individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.
Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within
this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of
"employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an
employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual
incorporated as a corporation, or family farm
corporation, such
employer may elect to include as an "employee"
within this
chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of
the sole
proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or
the officers of the family farm
corporation. In the event of an
election, the employer shall
serve upon the bureau of workers'
compensation written notice
naming the persons to be covered,
include such employee's
remuneration for premium purposes in all
future payroll reports,
and no person excluded from the definition
of "employee" pursuant
to division (A)(2) of this section,
proprietor, individual incorporated as a corporation, or partner
shall
be deemed an employee within this division until the
employer has
served such notice.
For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe
such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as
it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to
elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole
proprietor, any member of a partnership, an individual
incorporated as a corporation, the officers of a family
farm
corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of
"employee" under division (A)(2) of this section, that they
should
check any health and disability insurance policy, or other
form of
health and disability plan or contract, presently covering
them,
or the purchase of which they may be considering, to
determine
whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits
for
illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered
by
workers' compensation.
(B) "Employer" means:
(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county,
municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital
owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the
state;
(2) Every person, firm, professional employer organization as
defined in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code, and private
corporation, including
any public service corporation, that (a)
has in service one or
more employees or shared employees regularly
in the same business or in or about the
same establishment under
any contract of hire, express or implied,
oral or written, or (b)
is bound by any such contract of hire or
by any other written
contract, to pay into the insurance fund the
premiums provided by
this chapter.
All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member
of
a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in
or
about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a
household establishment, shall be considered an employee in
determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or
public service corporation, has in its service, one or more
employees and the employer shall report the income derived from
such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer,
and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of
an employee.
(C) "Injury" includes
any injury, whether caused by external
accidental means
or accidental in character and result, received
in the course of,
and arising out of, the injured employee's
employment. "Injury" does not include:
(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the claimant's
psychiatric conditions
have
arisen from an injury or occupational
disease sustained by that claimant or where the claimant's
psychiatric conditions have arisen from sexual conduct in which
the claimant was forced by threat of physical harm to engage or
participate;
(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural
deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;
(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary
participation
in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness
activity if the
employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to
compensation or
benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in
the recreation or
fitness activity;
(4) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that
pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury.
Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective
diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective
test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a
substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without
objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or
objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a
substantial aggravation.
(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally
adopted prior to the injury.
(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded
for
the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority
of
the voting stock is held by and the majority of the
stockholders
are persons or the spouse of persons related to each
other within
the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules
of the civil
law, and at least one of the related persons is
residing on or
actively operating the farm, and none of whose
stockholders are a
corporation. A family farm corporation does
not cease to qualify
under this division where, by reason of any
devise, bequest, or
the operation of the laws of descent or
distribution, the
ownership of shares of voting stock is
transferred to another
person, as long as that person is within
the degree of kinship
stipulated in this division.
(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the
course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics
of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in
a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from
employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of
contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different
manner from the public in general.
(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is
granted
the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly
under
section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of
county
commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports
facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code,
provided that the electors of the county in which the sports
facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports
facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.
(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in
division (B)(1) of this section.
(I) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male
and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between
persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the
insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any
instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal
cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to
complete vaginal or anal intercourse.
(J) "Other-states' insurer" means an insurance company
that
is authorized to provide workers' compensation insurance
coverage
in any of the states that permit employers to obtain
insurance
for workers' compensation claims through insurance
companies.
(K) "Other-states' coverage" means insurance coverage
purchased by an employer for workers' compensation claims that
arise in a state or states other than this state and that are
filed by the employees of the employer or those employee's
dependents, as applicable, in that other state or those other
states.
Sec. 4123.26. Every employer shall keep records of, and
furnish to the bureau of workers' compensation upon request, all
information required by the administrator of workers'
compensation
to carry out this chapter. In January of each year,
every employer
of the state employing one or more employees
regularly in the same
business, or in or about the same
establishment, shall prepare and
mail to the bureau at its main
office in Columbus a statement
containing the following
information, as applicable:
(A) The number of employees employed during the preceding
year from the first day of January through the thirty-first day
of
December;
(B) The number of such employees employed at each kind of
employment and the aggregate amount of wages paid to such
employees;
(C) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage
pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code
through either
the administrator, if the administrator elects to offer such
coverage, or an other-states' insurer for claims arising in a
state or states other than this state, all of the following
information:
(1) The amount of wages the employer paid to the employer's
employees for performing labor or providing services for the
employer in this state;
(2) The amount of wages the employer paid to the employer's
employees for performing labor or providing services for the
employer in a state or states other than this state.
The allocation of wages identified by the employer pursuant
to divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section shall not be presumed
to be an indication of the law under which an employee is eligible
to receive compensation and benefits.
The information shall be furnished on a blank to be
prepared
by the bureau. The bureau shall furnish the blanks to
employers
free of charge upon request therefor. Every employer
receiving
from the bureau any blank, with directions to fill out
the same,
shall cause the same to be properly filled out so as to
answer
fully and correctly all questions therein propounded, and
give all
the information therein sought, or if unable to do so,
he the
employer shall give to the bureau in writing good and
sufficient
reasons for such failure. The bureau may require that the
information required to be furnished be verified under oath and
returned to the bureau within the period fixed by it or by law.
The bureau or any person employed by the bureau for that purpose,
may examine, under oath, any employer, or the officer, agent, or
employee thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining any information
which the employer is required to furnish to the bureau.
No employer shall fail to furnish to the bureau the annual
statement required by this section, nor shall any employer fail
to
keep records of or furnish such other information as may be
required by the bureau under this section.
Whoever violates this section shall forfeit five hundred
dollars, to be collected in a civil action brought against the
employer in the name of the state, to be paid into the state
insurance fund and become a part thereof.
Sec. 4123.29. (A) The administrator of workers'
compensation, subject to the approval of the bureau of workers'
compensation board of directors, shall do all of the
following:
(1) Classify occupations or industries with respect to
their
degree of hazard and determine the risks of the different
classes
according to the categories the national council on
compensation
insurance establishes that are applicable to
employers in this
state;
(2)(a) Fix the rates of premium of the risks of the classes
based upon the total payroll in each of the classes of occupation
or industry sufficiently large to provide a fund for the
compensation provided for in this chapter and to maintain a state
insurance fund from year to year. The administrator shall set
the
rates at a level that assures the solvency of the fund.
Where the
payroll cannot be obtained or, in the opinion of the
administrator, is not an adequate measure for determining the
premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the administrator
may determine the rates of premium upon such other basis,
consistent with insurance principles, as is equitable in view of
the degree of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is
made to payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing
premiums, the reference shall be construed to have been made also
to such other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the
administrator may determine under this section.
(b) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage
pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code
through either
the administrator, if the administrator elects to
offer such
coverage, or an other-states' insurer, calculate the employer's
premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as
otherwise required under division (A) of this section and section
4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the administrator
determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both upon which
to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall use only
the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the
labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees
when those employees performed labor and provided services in this
state only and to which the other-states' coverage does not
apply.
(c) The administrator in setting or revising rates shall
furnish
to employers an adequate explanation of the basis for the
rates
set.
(3) Develop and make available to employers who are paying
premiums to the state insurance fund alternative premium plans.
Alternative premium plans shall include retrospective rating
plans. The administrator may make available plans under which an
advanced deposit may be applied against a specified deductible
amount per claim.
(4)(a) Offer to insure the obligations of employers under
this chapter under a plan that groups, for rating purposes,
employers, and pools the risk of the employers within the group
provided that the employers meet all of the following conditions:
(i) All of the employers within the group are members of
an
organization that has been in existence for at least two years
prior to the date of application for group coverage;
(ii) The organization was formed for purposes other than
that
of obtaining group workers' compensation under this
division;
(iii) The employers' business in the organization is
substantially similar such that the risks which are grouped are
substantially homogeneous;
(iv) The group of employers consists of at least one
hundred
members or the aggregate workers' compensation premiums
of the
members, as determined by the administrator,
are expected
to
exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars during the coverage
period;
(v) The formation and operation of the group program in
the
organization will substantially improve accident prevention
and
claims handling for the employers in the group;
(vi) Each employer seeking to enroll in a group for
workers'
compensation coverage has an industrial insurance
account in good
standing with the bureau of workers' compensation
such that at the
time the agreement is processed no outstanding
premiums,
penalties, or assessments are due from any of the
employers.
(b) If an organization sponsors more than one employer group
to participate in group plans established under this section, that
organization may submit a single application that supplies all of
the information necessary for each group of employers that the
organization wishes to sponsor.
(c) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4)
of
this section, the administrator shall consider an employer
group
as a single employing entity for purposes of retrospective
rating. No employer may be a member of more than one group for
the
purpose of obtaining workers' compensation coverage under
this
division.
(d) At the time the administrator revises premium rates
pursuant to this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code,
if the premium rate of an employer who participates in a group
plan established under this section changes from the rate
established for the previous year, the administrator, in addition
to sending the invoice with the rate revision to that employer,
shall send a copy of that invoice to the third-party administrator
that administers the group plan for that employer's group.
(e) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4)
of this section, the administrator shall establish a program
designed to mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would
come into the experience of a private, state fund group-rated
employer for the first time and be a contributing factor in that
employer being excluded from a group-rated plan. The administrator
shall establish eligibility criteria and requirements that such
employers must satisfy in order to participate in this program.
For purposes of this program, the administrator shall establish a
discount on premium rates applicable to employers who qualify for
the program.
(f) In no event shall division (A)(4) of this section be
construed as granting to an employer status as a self-insuring
employer.
(g) The administrator shall develop classifications of
occupations or industries that are sufficiently distinct so as
not
to group employers in classifications that unfairly represent
the
risks of employment with the employer.
(5) Generally promote employer participation in the state
insurance fund through the regular dissemination of information
to
all classes of employers describing the advantages and
benefits of
opting to make premium payments to the fund. To that
end, the
administrator shall regularly make employers aware of
the various
workers' compensation premium packages developed and
offered
pursuant to this section.
(6) Make available to every employer who is paying
premiums
to the state insurance fund a program whereby the
employer or the
employer's agent pays to the claimant or on
behalf of the
claimant
the first fifteen thousand dollars of a compensable workers'
compensation medical-only claim filed by that claimant that is
related to the same injury or occupational disease. No formal
application is required; however, an employer must elect to
participate by telephoning the bureau after July 1, 1995. Once an
employer has elected to participate in the program, the employer
will be responsible for all bills in all medical-only claims with
a date of injury the same or later than the election date, unless
the employer notifies the bureau within fourteen days of receipt
of the notification of a claim being filed that it does not wish
to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer notifies the
bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been paid, or
the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service on
which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular
medical-only claim. If an
employer elects to enter the program,
the administrator shall not
reimburse the employer for such
amounts paid and shall not charge
the first fifteen thousand
dollars of any medical-only claim paid by
an employer to the
employer's experience or otherwise use it in
merit rating or
determining the risks of any employer for the
purpose of payment
of premiums under this chapter. If an employer elects to enter the
program and the employer fails to pay a bill for a medical-only
claim included in the program, the employer shall be liable for
that bill and the employee for whom the employer failed to pay the
bill shall not be liable for that bill. The
administrator shall
adopt rules to implement and administer
division (A)(6) of this
section. Upon written request from the bureau, the employer shall
provide documentation to the bureau of all medical-only bills that
they are paying directly. Such requests from the bureau may not be
made more frequently than on a semiannual basis. Failure to
provide such documentation to the bureau within thirty days of
receipt of the request may result in the employer's forfeiture of
participation in the program for such injury. The provisions of
this section shall not apply to claims in which an employer with
knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or occupational disease,
has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total disability.
(B) The administrator, with the
advice and consent of the
board, by
rule, may do both of the following:
(1) Grant an employer who makes the employer's semiannual
premium
payment at least one month prior to the last day on which
the
payment may be made without penalty, a discount as the
administrator fixes from time to time;
(2) Levy a minimum annual administrative charge upon risks
where semiannual premium reports develop a charge less than the
administrator
considers adequate to offset administrative costs of
processing.
Sec. 4123.292. (A) Notwithstanding sections 4123.35 and
4123.82 of the Revised Code, an employer may elect to obtain
other-states' coverage through an other-states' insurer or, if the
administrator of workers' compensation elects to offer such
coverage, through the administrator pursuant to
division (B) of
this section. An employer who elects to obtain other-states'
coverage shall submit a written notice to the
administrator
stating that election and, if the employer elects to
obtain that
coverage through an other-states' insurer, the name
of the
other-states' insurer through whom the employer has
obtained that
coverage. If an employer fails
to pay the
employer's premium for
other-states' coverage, the
administrator shall consider the
employer to be noncompliant for
the purposes of having
other-states' coverage but shall not
consider the employer to be
a noncomplying employer for purposes
of this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised
Code unless the employer
otherwise fails to comply with section
4123.35 of the Revised
Code.
(B) The administrator may secure other-states' coverage
to
allow an employer who wishes to obtain other-states' coverage
pursuant to this section and who elects to
obtain that coverage
through the
administrator for workers'
compensation claims
arising in a state
or states other than this
state. If the
administrator elects to secure other-states' coverage, the
administrator shall follow
the competitive bidding
requirements
specified in Chapter 125. of
the Revised Code to
select one
other-states' insurer, and the administrator, with the
advice and
consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of
directors, shall award the contract to provide other-states'
coverage for employers located in this state to the
other-states'
insurer that is the lowest and best bidder.
(C) If the administrator elects to secure other-states'
coverage pursuant to division (B) of this section, the
administrator shall calculate an employer's premium
for
other-states' coverage provided through the administrator
separately from calculating any other
premiums or assessments
charged under this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of
the Revised Code. The administrator shall calculate the employer's
other-states' coverage premium in the same manner the
administrator calculates an employer's premium for the state
insurance fund pursuant to division (A) of section 4123.29 and
section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that, when calculating
the employer's premium for other-states' coverage under this
division, the administrator shall do all of the following:
(1) Base
the
employer's
other-states' coverage premium
on
the terms
specified in the
contract the administrator enters
into with an
insurance company
pursuant to division (B) of this
section;
(2) When determining the expenditure of wages, payroll, or
both upon which to base the employer's other-states' coverage
premium, use
only the amount of wages, payroll, or both the
employer paid to
the employer's employees for performing labor or
providing
services for the employer in a state or states other
than this
state;
(3) Not take into account the amount of wages, payroll, or
both the employer paid to the employer's employees for performing
labor or providing services for the employer in this state or any
compensation or benefits paid for claims covered by the state
insurance fund.
(D) If the administrator elects to secure other states'
coverage, the administrator, with the advice
and consent of the
board, shall adopt rules to implement divisions (B) and (C) of
this
section.
(E) An other-states' insurer that provides
other-states'
coverage to an employer pursuant to this section
shall do all of
the following when calculating the employer's
premium for that
coverage:
(1) When determining the amount of wages, payroll, or both
upon which to base the employer's premium, use
only the amount of
wages, payroll, or both the employer paid to
the employer's
employees for performing labor or providing
services for the
employer in a state or states other than this
state;
(2) Not take into account the amount of wages, payroll, or
both the employer paid to the employer's employees for performing
labor or providing services for the employer in this state or any
compensation or benefits paid for claims otherwise covered by this
chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code;
(3) Take into account any other factors the other-states'
insurer uses to calculate premiums for workers' compensation
insurance.
(F) The board and the individual members thereof, the
administrator, and the bureau of workers' compensation shall not
incur any obligation or liability if another state determines that
the other-states' coverage provided under this section does not
satisfy the requirements specified in that state's workers'
compensation law for obtaining workers' compensation coverage in
that state.
Sec. 4123.34. It shall be the duty of the bureau of
workers'
compensation board of directors and the administrator of
workers'
compensation to safeguard and maintain the solvency of
the state
insurance fund and all other funds specified in this
chapter and
Chapters 4121., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code.
The
administrator,
in the exercise of the powers and discretion
conferred upon the
administrator in section 4123.29 of the Revised
Code, shall fix and
maintain, with the advice and consent of the
board, for each class of occupation or industry, the lowest
possible
rates of premium consistent with the maintenance of a
solvent state
insurance fund and the creation and maintenance of a
reasonable
surplus, after the payment of legitimate claims for
injury,
occupational disease, and death that the administrator
authorizes to be paid from the state insurance fund for the
benefit of
injured, diseased, and the dependents of killed
employees. In
establishing rates, the administrator shall take
into account the
necessity of ensuring sufficient money is set
aside in the
premium payment security fund to cover any defaults
in premium
obligations. The administrator shall observe all of the
following requirements in fixing the rates of premium for the
risks of occupations or industries:
(A) The administrator shall keep an accurate account of the
money paid in
premiums by each of the several classes of
occupations or
industries, and the losses on account of injuries,
occupational
disease, and death of employees thereof, and also
keep an account
of the money received from each individual
employer and the
amount of losses incurred against the state
insurance fund on
account of injuries, occupational disease, and
death of the
employees of the employer.
(B) Ten per cent of the money paid into the state
insurance
fund shall be set aside for the creation of a surplus
until the
surplus amounts to the sum of one hundred thousand
dollars, after
which time, whenever necessary in the judgment of
the
administrator to guarantee a solvent state insurance fund, a
sum
not exceeding five per cent of all the money paid into the
state
insurance fund shall be credited to the surplus fund. In addition
to all statutory authority under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of
the Revised Code, the administrator has discretionary and
contingency authority to make charges to surplus. The
administrator shall account for all charges, whether statutory,
discretionary, or contingency, that the administrator may make to
surplus. A
revision
of basic
rates shall be made annually on the
first day
of July.
Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary,
one
hundred eighty days after the effective date on which
self-insuring employers first may elect under division (D) of
section 4121.66 of the Revised Code to directly pay for
rehabilitation expenses, the administrator shall calculate the
deficit, if any, in the portion of surplus fund that is used for
reimbursement to self-insuring employers for all expenses other
than handicapped reimbursement under section 4123.343 of the
Revised Code. The administrator, from time to time, may
determine
whether the
surplus fund has such a deficit and may assess all
self-insuring
employers who participated in the portion of the
surplus fund
during the accrual of the deficit and who during that
time period
have not made the election under division (D) of
section 4121.66
of the Revised Code the amount the administrator
determines
necessary to reduce the deficit.
Revisions of basic rates shall be in accordance with the
oldest four of the last five calendar years of the combined
accident and occupational disease experience of the administrator
in the administration of this chapter, as shown by the accounts
kept as provided in this section, excluding the experience of
employers that are no longer active if the administrator
determines that the
inclusion of those employers would have a
significant negative impact on the
remainder of the employers in a
particular manual classification; and the
administrator shall
adopt rules, with the advice and
consent of the board, governing
rate
revisions, the object of which shall be to make an equitable
distribution of losses among the several classes of occupation or
industry, which rules shall be general in their application.
(C) The administrator may apply that form of rating system
that the administrator finds is best calculated to merit
rate or
individually rate the risk more equitably, predicated upon the
basis
of its individual industrial accident and occupational
disease
experience, and may encourage and stimulate accident
prevention. The
administrator shall develop fixed and equitable
rules
controlling the rating system, which rules shall conserve to
each
risk the basic principles of workers' compensation insurance.
(D) The administrator, from the money paid into the state
insurance fund, shall set aside into an account of the state
insurance fund titled a premium payment security fund sufficient
money to pay for any premiums due from an employer and
uncollected
that are in excess of the employer's premium security deposit.
The fund shall be in the custody of the treasurer of state.
All investment earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the
fund. Disbursements from the fund shall be made by the bureau of
workers' compensation upon order of the administrator to the
state
insurance fund. The use of the moneys held by the premium
payment
security fund is restricted to reimbursement to the state
insurance fund of premiums due and uncollected in excess of an
employer's premium security deposit. The moneys constituting the
premium payment security fund shall be maintained without regard
to or reliance upon any other fund. This section does not
prevent
the deposit or investment of the premium payment security
fund
with any other fund created by this chapter, but the premium
payment security fund is separate and distinct for every other
purpose and a strict accounting thereof shall be maintained.
(E) The administrator may grant discounts on premium rates
for employers who meet either of the following requirements:
(1) Have not incurred a compensable injury for one year or
more and who maintain an employee safety committee or similar
organization or make periodic safety inspections of the
workplace.
(2) Successfully complete a loss prevention program
prescribed by the superintendent of the division of safety and
hygiene and conducted by the division or by any other person
approved by the superintendent.
(F)(1) In determining the premium rates for the
construction
industry the administrator shall calculate the employers' premiums
based upon the actual remuneration
construction industry employees
receive from construction
industry employers, provided that the
amount of remuneration the
administrator uses in calculating the
premiums shall not exceed
an average weekly wage equal to one
hundred fifty per cent of the statewide
average weekly wage
as
defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised
Code.
(2) Division (F)(1) of this section shall not be construed
as
affecting the manner in which benefits to a claimant are
awarded
under this chapter.
(3) As used in division (F) of this section, "construction
industry" includes any activity performed in connection with the
erection, alteration, repair, replacement, renovation,
installation, or demolition of any building, structure, highway,
or bridge.
Sec. 4123.51. The administrator of workers' compensation
shall by published
notices and other appropriate means endeavor to
cause claims to be filed in
the service office of the bureau of
workers' compensation from which the
investigation and
determination of the claim may be made most expeditiously.
A
claim or appeal under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or
4131. of the
Revised Code may be filed with any office of the
bureau of workers'
compensation or the industrial commission,
within the required statutory
period, and is considered received
for the purpose of processing the claims or
appeals.
The administrator, on the form an employee or an individual
acting on behalf of the employee files with the administrator or a
self-insuring employer to initiate a claim under this chapter or
Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code, shall include
a
statement that is substantially similar to the following
statement
in bold font and set apart from all other text in the
form:
"By signing this form, I elect to only receive
compensation,
benefits, or both that are provided for in this claim under Ohio's
workers' compensation laws.
I understand and I hereby waive and
release my right to receive
compensation and benefits under the
workers' compensation laws of
another state for the injury or
occupational disease, or the death
resulting from an injury or
occupational disease, for which I am
filing this claim. I have
not received compensation and benefits
under the workers'
compensation laws of another state for this
claim, and I will not
file and have not filed a claim in another state for the injury
or occupational disease or death resulting from an injury or
occupational disease for which I am filing this claim."
Sec. 4123.54. (A) Every employee, who is injured or who
contracts an occupational disease, and the dependents of each
employee who is killed, or dies as the result of an occupational
disease contracted in the course of employment, wherever such
injury has occurred or occupational disease has been contracted,
provided the same were not:
(1) Purposely self-inflicted; or
(2) Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under the
influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a physician
where the intoxication or being under the influence of the
controlled substance not prescribed by a physician was the
proximate cause of the injury, is entitled to receive, either
directly from the employee's self-insuring employer as
provided in
section
4123.35 of the Revised Code, or from the state insurance
fund,
the compensation for loss sustained on account of the
injury,
occupational disease, or death, and the medical, nurse,
and
hospital services and medicines, and the amount of funeral
expenses in case of death, as are provided by this chapter.
(B) For the purpose of this section, provided that an
employer has posted written notice to employees that the results
of, or
the employee's refusal
to submit to, any chemical test
described
under this division may affect the
employee's
eligibility for
compensation and benefits pursuant to this chapter
and Chapter
4121. of the Revised Code,
there is a rebuttable
presumption that
an employee is intoxicated
or under the influence
of a controlled
substance not prescribed by the employee's
physician and that being intoxicated
or under the influence of a
controlled substance not prescribed by
the employee's physician is
the
proximate cause of an injury under either of the following
conditions:
(1) When any one or
more of the following
is true:
(a) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test
administered
within
eight hours of an injury, is determined to
have an alcohol
concentration
level equal to or in excess of the
levels
established in divisions
(A)(1)(b) to (i) of section
4511.19 of the
Revised
Code;
(b) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test
administered
within
thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined
to have one of
the
following controlled substances not prescribed
by the
employee's
physician in the employee's system that tests
above the
following
levels in an enzyme multiplied immunoassay
technique
screening test and above
the levels established in
division (B)(1)(c)
of this section in a gas
chromatography mass
spectrometry test:
(i) For amphetamines, one thousand nanograms per milliliter
of
urine;
(ii) For cannabinoids, fifty nanograms per milliliter of
urine;
(iii) For cocaine, including crack cocaine, three hundred
nanograms
per milliliter of urine;
(iv) For opiates, two thousand nanograms per milliliter of
urine;
(v) For phencyclidine, twenty-five nanograms per milliliter
of
urine.
(c) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test
administered
within
thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined
to have one of
the
following controlled substances not prescribed
by the
employee's
physician in the employee's system that tests
above the
following
levels by a gas chromatography mass
spectrometry test:
(i) For amphetamines, five hundred nanograms per milliliter
of
urine;
(ii) For cannabinoids, fifteen nanograms per milliliter of
urine;
(iii) For cocaine, including crack cocaine, one hundred fifty
nanograms per milliliter of urine;
(iv) For opiates, two thousand nanograms per milliliter of
urine;
(v) For phencyclidine, twenty-five nanograms per milliliter
of
urine.
(d) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test
administered
within
thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined
to have
barbiturates,
benzodiazepines, methadone, or propoxyphene
in the
employee's system
that tests above levels established by
laboratories certified by the
United States department of health
and human services.
(2) When the employee refuses to submit to a requested
chemical
test, on the condition that that employee is or was given
notice that the refusal to submit to any chemical test described
in division (B)(1) of this section may affect the employee's
eligibility for compensation and benefits under this chapter and
Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) For purposes of division (B) of this section, a
chemical test is a qualifying chemical test if it is administered
to an employee after an injury under at least one of the following
conditions:
(a) When the employee's employer had reasonable cause to
suspect that the employee may be intoxicated or under the
influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the
employee's physician;
(b) At the request of a police officer pursuant to section
4511.191 of the Revised Code, and not at the request of the
employee's employer;
(c) At the request of a licensed physician who is not
employed by the employee's employer, and not at the request of the
employee's employer.
(2) As used in division (C)(1)(a) of this section,
"reasonable cause" means, but is not limited to, evidence that an
employee is or was using alcohol or a controlled substance drawn
from specific, objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn
from these facts in light of experience and training. These facts
and inferences may be based on, but are not limited to, any of the
following:
(a) Observable phenomena, such as direct observation of use,
possession, or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance,
or of the physical symptoms of being under the influence of
alcohol or a controlled substance, such as but not limited to
slurred speech, dilated pupils, odor of alcohol or a controlled
substance, changes in affect, or dynamic mood swings;
(b) A pattern of abnormal conduct, erratic or aberrant
behavior, or deteriorating work performance such as frequent
absenteeism, excessive tardiness, or recurrent accidents, that
appears to be related to the use of alcohol or a controlled
substance, and does not appear to be attributable to other
factors;
(c) The identification of an employee as the focus of a
criminal investigation into unauthorized possession, use, or
trafficking of a controlled substance;
(d) A report of use of alcohol or a controlled substance
provided by a reliable and credible source;
(e) Repeated or flagrant violations of the safety or work
rules of the employee's employer, that are determined by the
employee's supervisor to pose a substantial risk of physical
injury or property damage and that appear to be related to the use
of alcohol or a controlled substance and that do not appear
attributable to other factors.
(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the
rights of an employer to test employees for alcohol or controlled
substance abuse.
(E) For the purpose of this section, laboratories certified
by the United States department of health and human services or
laboratories that meet or exceed the standards of that department
for laboratory certification shall be used for processing the test
results of a qualifying chemical test.
(F) The written notice required by division (B) of this
section shall be the same size or larger then the certificate of
premium payment notice furnished by the bureau of workers'
compensation and shall be posted by the employer in the same
location as the certificate of premium payment notice or the
certificate of self-insurance.
(G) If a condition that pre-existed an injury is
substantially aggravated by the injury, and that substantial
aggravation is documented by objective diagnostic findings,
objective clinical findings, or objective test results, no
compensation or benefits are payable because of the pre-existing
condition once that condition has returned to a level that would
have existed without the injury.
(H)(1) Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer
who
is
subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is
possibility of conflict with respect to the application of
workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is
entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be
performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and
the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or
by
the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of
the
work of the employee is to be performed. The agreement shall
be
in
writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers'
compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall
remain
in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the
parties
similarly filed. If the agreement is to be bound by the
laws of
this state and the employer has complied with this
chapter, then
the employee is entitled to compensation and
benefits regardless
of where the injury occurs or the disease is
contracted and the
rights of the employee and the employee's
dependents
under the
laws of this state are the exclusive remedy against the
employer
on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of
and
arising out of the employee's employment. If the
agreement is to
be
bound by the laws of another state and the employer has
complied
with the laws of that state, the rights of the employee
and the
employee's
dependents under the laws of that state are the
exclusive remedy
against the employer on account of injury,
disease, or death in
the course of and arising out of the
employee's employment
without regard
to
the place where the injury
was sustained or the disease
contracted. If an employer and an
employee enter into an agreement under this division, the fact
that the employer and the employee entered into that agreement
shall not be construed to change the status of an employee whose
continued employment is subject to the will of the employer or the
employee, unless the agreement contains a provision that expressly
changes that status.
(2) If any employee or the employee's dependents are awarded
pursue
workers'
compensation benefits or recover damages from the
employer under
the laws of another state, the amount awarded or
recovered,
whether paid or to be paid in future installments,
shall be
credited on the amount of any award of
compensation or
benefits
made to the employee or the employee's
dependents by the
bureau. If an employee or the employee's dependents pursue or
receive an award of compensation or benefits under this chapter or
Chapter 4121.,
4127., or 4131. of the
Revised Code for the same
injury,
occupational disease, or death
for which the employee or
the
employee's dependents pursued
workers' compensation benefits
and received a decision on the merits as defined in section
4123.542 of the Revised Code under the laws of another state or
recovered damages under the laws
of another state, the
administrator or any employer,
by
any lawful means, may collect
the amount of compensation or
benefits paid to or on behalf of
the employee or the employee's
dependents by the administrator or
a self-insuring employer pursuant
to this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised
Code for that award. The
administrator or any employer
also may collect from the employee
or the
employee's dependents
any costs and attorney's fees the
administrator or the employer incurs in collecting
that payment
and any
attorney's fees, penalties, interest, awards, and costs
incurred by an employer in contesting or
responding to any claim
filed by the employee or the employee's dependents for the same
injury, occupational disease, or death that was filed
after the
original claim for which the employee or the employee's dependents
received a decision on the merits as described in section 4123.542
of the Revised
Code. If the
employee's employer pays
premiums
into
the
state insurance
fund, the administrator shall
not
charge the
amount of
compensation or benefits the
administrator
collects
pursuant to
this division to the
employer's
experience.
If the administrator
collects any costs, penalties,
interest, awards, or
attorney's fees
incurred by a state fund
employer, the
administrator shall forward
the amount of such
costs, penalties, interest, awards, and attorney's fees the
administrator collects to
that employer. If
the
employee's
employer is a
self-insuring
employer, the
self-insuring
employer shall deduct
the amount of
compensation
or
benefits
the self-insuring employer collects
pursuant to
this
division
from the paid compensation the
self-insuring
employer
reports
to
the administrator under
division (L) of
section 4123.35
of
the
Revised Code.
If (3) Except as otherwise stipulated in division (H)(4) of
this section, if an employee is a resident of a state other than
this
state
and is insured under the workers' compensation law or
similar laws
of a state other than this state, the employee and
the employee's
dependents are not entitled to receive
compensation
or
benefits
under this chapter, on account of injury, disease, or
death
arising out of or in the course of employment while
temporarily
within this state, and the rights of the employee and
the
employee's dependents under the laws of the other state
are
the
exclusive remedy against the employer on account of the
injury,
disease, or death.
(4) Division (H)(3) of this section does not apply to an
employee described in that division, or the employee's dependents,
unless both of the following apply:
(a) The laws of the other state limit the ability of an
employee who is a resident of this state and is covered by this
chapter and Chapter 4123. of the Revised Code, or the employee's
dependents, to receive compensation or benefits under the other
state's workers' compensation law on account of injury, disease,
or death incurred by the employee that arises out of or in the
course of the employee's employment while temporarily within that
state in the same manner as specified in division (H)(3) of this
section for an employee who is a resident of a state other than
this state, or the employee's dependents;
(b) The laws of the other state limit the liability of the
employer of the employee who is a resident of this state and who
is described in division (H)(4)(a) of this section for that
injury, disease, or death, in the same manner specified in
division (H)(3) of this section for the employer of an employee
who is a resident of the other state.
(5) An employee, or the dependent of an employee, who elects
to receive compensation and benefits under this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code for a claim may not
receive compensation and benefits under the workers' compensation
laws of any state other than this state for that same claim. For
each claim submitted by or on behalf of an employee, the
administrator or, if the employee is employed by a self-insuring
employer, the self-insuring employer shall request the employee or
the employee's dependent to sign an election that affirms the
employee's or employee's dependent's acceptance of electing to
receive compensation and benefits under this chapter or Chapter
4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code for that claim that
also affirmatively waives and releases the employee's or the
employee's dependent's right to
file for and receive compensation
and benefits under the laws of
any state other than this state
for that claim. The employee or
employee's dependent shall sign
the election form within
twenty-eight days after the
administrator or self-insuring
employer submits the request or
the administrator or self-insuring
employer shall suspend that
claim until the administrator or
self-insuring employer receives
the signed election form.
(I) Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant
during
the period of confinement of the claimant in any state or
federal
correctional institution, or in any county jail in lieu of
incarceration in a state or federal correctional institution,
whether in this or any other state for
conviction of violation of
any state or federal criminal law.
Sec. 4123.542. An employee or the dependents of an employee
who receive a decision on the merits of a claim for compensation
or benefits under this chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131.
of the Revised Code shall not file a claim for the same injury,
occupational disease, or death in another
state under the
workers' compensation laws of that state. An
employee or the
employee's dependents who receive a decision on
the merits of a
claim for compensation or benefits under the
workers'
compensation laws of another state shall not file a claim for
compensation and benefits under this chapter or
Chapter 4121.,
4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code for the same injury,
occupational disease, or death.
As used in this section, "a decision on the merits" means a
decision determined or adjudicated for compensability of a claim
and not on jurisdictional grounds.
Sec. 4123.82. (A) All contracts and agreements are void
which undertake to indemnify or insure an employer against loss
or
liability for the payment of compensation to workers or their
dependents for death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned
in the course of the workers' employment, or which provide that
the insurer shall pay the compensation, or which indemnify the
employer against damages when the injury, disease, or death
arises
from the failure to comply with any lawful requirement for
the
protection of the lives, health, and safety of employees, or
when
the same is occasioned by the willful act of the employer or
any
of the employer's officers or agents, or by which it is
agreed
that the
insurer shall pay any such damages. No license or
authority to
enter into any such agreements or issue any such
policies of
insurance shall be granted or issued by any public
authority in
this state. Any corporation organized or admitted
under the laws
of this state to transact liability insurance as
defined in
section 3929.01 of the Revised Code may by amendment of
its
articles of incorporation or by original articles of
incorporation, provide therein for the authority and purpose to
make insurance in states, territories, districts, and counties,
other than the state of Ohio, and in the state of Ohio in respect
of contracts permitted by division (B) of this section,
indemnifying employers against loss or liability for payment of
compensation to workers and employees and their dependents for
death, injury, or occupational disease occasioned in the course
of
the employment and to insure and indemnify employers against
loss,
expense, and liability by risk of bodily injury or death by
accident, disability, sickness, or disease suffered by workers
and
employees for which the employer may be liable or has assumed
liability.
(B) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section:
(1) No contract because of that division is void which
undertakes to indemnify a self-insuring employer against all or
part of such employer's loss in excess of at least fifty thousand
dollars from any one disaster or event arising out of the
employer's liability under this chapter, but no insurance
corporation shall, directly or indirectly, represent an employer
in the settlement, adjudication, determination, allowance, or
payment of claims. The superintendent of insurance shall enforce
this prohibition by such disciplinary orders directed against the
offending insurance corporation as the superintendent of
insurance
deems appropriate in the circumstances and the
administrator of
workers' compensation shall enforce this
prohibition by such
disciplinary orders directed against the
offending employer as the
administrator deems appropriate in the
circumstances, which orders
may include revocation of the
insurance corporation's right to
enter into indemnity contracts
and revocation of the employer's
status as a self-insuring
employer.
(2) The administrator may enter into a contract of
indemnity
with any such employer upon such terms, payment of such
premium,
and for such amount and form of indemnity as the
administrator
determines and the bureau of workers' compensation board of
directors may procure
reinsurance of the liability of the public
and private funds
under this chapter, or any part of the liability
in respect of
either or both of the funds, upon such terms and
premiums or
other payments from the fund or funds as the
administrator deems
prudent in the maintenance of a solvent fund
or funds from year
to year. When making the finding of fact which
the administrator
is required by section 4123.35 of the Revised
Code to make with
respect to the financial ability of an employer,
no contract of
indemnity, or the ability of the employer to
procure such a
contract, shall be considered as increasing the
financial ability
of the employer.
(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit
the administrator or an other-states' insurer from providing to
employers in this state other-states' coverage in accordance with
section 4123.292 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4123.88. (A) No person shall orally or in writing,
directly or indirectly, or through any agent or other person
fraudulently hold the person's self out or represent the person's
self or any of the person's partners or associates as authorized
by a
claimant or employer to
take charge of, or represent the
claimant or employer in respect
of, any claim or matter in
connection therewith before the bureau
of workers' compensation or
the industrial commission or its
district or staff hearing
officers. No person shall directly or indirectly
solicit
authority, or pay or give anything of value to another person to
solicit authority, or accept or receive pay or anything of value
from another person for soliciting authority, from a claimant or
employer to take charge of, or represent the claimant or employer
in respect of, any claim or appeal which is or may be filed with
the bureau or commission. No person shall, without prior
authority
from the bureau, a member of the commission, the
claimant, or the
employer, examine or directly or indirectly
cause or employ
another person to examine any claim file or any
other file
pertaining thereto. No person shall forge an
authorization for the
purpose of examining or cause another
person to examine any such
file. No district or staff hearing
officer or other employee of
the bureau or commission,
notwithstanding the provisions of
section 4123.27 of the Revised
Code, shall divulge any information
in respect of any claim or
appeal which is or may be filed with a
district or staff hearing
officer, the bureau, or commission to
any person other than
members of the commission or to the superior
of the employee
except upon authorization of the administrator of
workers'
compensation or a member of the commission or upon
authorization
of the claimant or employer.
(B) The records described or referred to in division (A) of
this section are not public records as defined in division (A)(1)
of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Any information directly or
indirectly identifying the address or telephone number of a
claimant, regardless of whether the claimant's claim is active or
closed, is not a public record. No person shall solicit or obtain
any such information from any such employee without first having
obtained an authorization therefor as provided in this section.
(C) Except as otherwise specified in division (D) of this
section, information kept by the commission or the bureau pursuant
to this section is for the exclusive use and information of the
commission and the bureau in the discharge of their official
duties, and shall not be open to the public nor be used in any
court in any action or proceeding pending therein, unless the
commission or the bureau is a party to the action or proceeding.
The information, however, may be tabulated and published by the
commission or the bureau in statistical form for the use and
information of other state agencies and the public.
(D)(1) Upon receiving a written request made and signed by an
individual whose primary occupation is as a journalist, the
commission or the bureau shall disclose to the journalist
individual the address or addresses and telephone number or
numbers of claimants, regardless of whether their claims are
active or closed, and the dependents of those claimants.
(2) A journalist An individual described in division (D)(1)
of this section is permitted to request the information described
in that division (D)(1) of this section for multiple workers or
dependents in one written request.
(3) A journalist An individual described in division (D)(1)
of this section shall include all of the following in the written
request:
(a) The journalist's individual's name, title, and signature;
(b) The name and title of the journalist's individual's
employer;
(c) A statement that the disclosure of the information sought
is in the public interest.
(4) Neither the commission nor the bureau may inquire as to
the specific public interest served by the disclosure of
information requested by a journalist an individual under division
(D) of this section.
(E) As used in this section, "journalist" has the same
meaning as in division (B)(9) of section 149.43 of the Revised
Code.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29,
4123.34,
4123.51, 4123.54, 4123.82, and 4123.88 of the Revised
Code
are
hereby
repealed.
SECTION 3. This act applies to all claims pursuant to
Chapters 4121., 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code
arising on and after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 4. In the case of any institution of higher education
that has sustained claims arising from deaths and injuries of a
catastrophic nature arising from a motor vehicle accident
occurring outside of this state, the Administrator of
Workers'
Compensation shall suspend the imposition of any premium
increase
or any change in the experience of such an institution of
higher
education until after the conclusion of any subrogation
claims
that are brought by the Administrator in relation to those
deaths
and injuries.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding division (A) of section 4121.78 of
the Revised Code, any legislation proposing to make changes to
Chapters 4121., 4123., 4125., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code
that is enacted by the General Assembly on or before June 30,
2008, shall not be subject to the requirement of the Workers'
Compensation Council to study all changes to those chapters and to
report to the General Assembly on their probable costs, actuarial
implications, and desirability as a matter of public policy.
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