NEW OHIO WORKERS’ COMPENSATION “BENEFITS REDUCTION BILL” PASSED

On March 28, 2006, Governor Taft signed Amended Substitute Senate Bill 7 into law.  S.B. 7 makes changes to 14 sections of Chapter 4123 of the Ohio Revised Code which will take effect on June 26, 2006.  The changes which affect injured workers have to do with the following:

1.         The definition of “injury”

2.         Permissible methods of compensation payments

3.         Appeals to Common Pleas Court and attorney fees

4.         The continuing jurisdiction of the administrator

5.         Amounts and time frames for compensation, and

6.         Settlements

1.  The Definition of “Injury”

The changes made to the definition of “injury” in O.R.C. §4123.01(C) cover two specific categories of injuries: psychiatric conditions and pre-existing injuries.

A.        Psychiatric conditions which are considered an “injury” for workers’ compensation purposes are limited to the following situations.

1.         The psychiatric conditions must arise from an actual injury, or

2.         The psychiatric conditions must arise from sexual conduct which was forced by a threat of physical harm.

B.         Pre-existing injuries are only compensable to the extent that

1.         They are “substantially aggravated” by the injury

2.         The injury has not yet returned to it’s pre-aggravation state

2.  Permissible Methods of Compensation Payments

O.R.C. §4123.311 now states that the administrator of workers’ compensation may now pay compensation through direct deposit or may require claimants to access their payments through debit cards which will be credited by the administrator.

3.  Appeals to Common Pleas Court and Attorney Fees

O.R.C. §4123.512 has been amended in two pertinent ways

A.       Section D now requires that if the employer files an appeal to Common Pleas Court, the claimant may not dismiss the complaint without the employer’s consent.

B.        Section F now requires that the maximum award of attorney’s fees be increased from $2,500 to $4,200.

4.  The Continuing Jurisdiction of the Administrator

O.R.C. §4123.52 now limits the continuing jurisdiction of the administrator to 5 years in cases of medical payment claims and lost time claims.  This is a reduction from 6 and 10 years, respectively.

5.  Amounts and Time Frames of Compensation

A.        Wage Loss Compensation O.R.C. §4123.56

1.         Working Wage Loss – The maximum amount of compensation for working wage loss is now 200 weeks

2.         Non-Working Wage Loss – The maximum amount of compensation for non-working wage loss is now 52 weeks.

3.         Combined Non-Working and Working Wage Loss – 26 weeks of the non-working wage loss will not count against the 200 week maximum for working wage loss. A claimant may therefore receive 26 weeks of non-working wage loss compensation followed by 200 weeks of working wage loss compensation for a total maximum compensation of 226 weeks.  For clarification, a worker may also receive 52 weeks of non-working wage loss followed by 174 weeks of working wage loss, also totaling 226 weeks. 

B.        Permanent Partial Disability O.R.C. §4123.57

1.         Employees may now file an application for permanent partial disability compensation as early as 26 weeks (instead of 40 weeks) after the date of termination. 

2.         The maximum award for a facial disfigurement in has been raised from $5,000 to $10,000.

C.        Permanent Total Disability O.R.C. §4123.58

1.         The weekly compensation for permanent total disability is now calculated based upon the statewide average weekly wage as of the date of injury or the date the disability begins.

2.         The administrator may not recalculate the claimant’s weekly wage merely because the claimant continued working and received a wage increase. O.R.C. 4123.61

3.          The loss of the use of one limb no longer will constitute the loss of the use of two body parts.  The loss of an arm would not constitute the loss of both a hand and an arm.

6.  Settlements

A.        An employee may file a settlement application without the employer’s signature when

1.         The employer is no longer doing business in Ohio

2.         The claim is no longer in the employer’s experience and the employee is no longer employed by the employer, or

3.         The employer has failed to comply with O.R.C. §4123.35 (payment of premiums to the state insurance fund)

4.         The employer does not respond within 30 days to the administrator’s notice of the filing of a settlement application which is required when

a.         The employee files a settlement application without the employer’s signature

b.         The employer is doing business in the state of Ohio

B.        A settlement can be voided by any party if the employee dies within 30 days if its approval.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

EFFORT TO REPEAL THE BENEFITS REDUCTION BILL

Ohio attorneys representing various causes and organizations including the United Auto Workers have submitted a signed petition to both the Secretary of State and Attorney General’s offices in order to initiate the referendum process.  The petition seeks to strike down several changes to workers’ compensation law made in the Benefits Reduction Bill. Among the targeted revisions are limits on compensation for psychiatric and pre-existing medical conditions made worse on the job and a reduction in the number of weeks for which a worker can be compensated.

The referendum process will, if successful, put the issue of repealing the Benefits Reduction Bill on the November ballot.  The referendum will not affect the Bill as enacted unless it makes the ballot and receives sufficient votes.  Before that can happen, however, the submitted petitions must be certified by the both the Secretary of State and the Attorney General and then signed by almost 194,000 persons.  The petitions must then be submitted to the Secretary of State who will check to see that the petition purports to have enough signatures and then, if patently sufficient, present the petition to the county boards of elections for verification that the signatures are indeed sufficient.  The petitions must be verified and returned to the Secretary of State no less than 50 days before the election. 

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT GROUP

Questions regarding the matters discussed in this client update, or questions regarding any other employment and labor law matters, may be directed to any attorney in our Labor and Employment Law Group:

David R. Knowles, Chair (drknowles@wegmanlaw.com)                         Telephone: 216-642-3342

Antoinette (Toni) F. Gideon (afgideon@wegmanlaw.com)                       Facsimile:  216-520-0145

Jennifer A. Corso (jacorso@wegmanlaw.com)                                            Firm Website:  www.wegmanlaw.com

WHV Labor and Employment Law Client Alerts are intended as a report on developments in labor and employment law and are not intended to provide legal advice.  The resolution of legal issues depends on the specific facts of each circumstance and the applicable laws.