By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Recently, Gov. Kasich signed into law the workers’ compensation budget. In addition to funding the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), the bill enacted a number of substantive changes to the law. These changes are effective Sept. 29, 2017. Below are some of the significant amendments impacting Ohio employers: Decreases statute of limitations: For claims with … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on In its recent decision, Clendenin v. Girl Scouts of W. Ohio, the Supreme Court of Ohio definitively decided that an Industrial Commission order determining that a pre-existing condition that was substantially aggravated by a work-related incident has returned to the pre-injury level is an issue that may not be appealed to a court of common … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on A recent case highlights the intersection of FMLA and workers’ compensation laws. Angela Samuel (Samuel) was employed by Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. (Progressive) as a retention specialist and primarily worked out of her home. While on a leave of absence covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Progressive notified Samuel that she needed to … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Whether the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is taking advantage of the fact that HIV infection has been in the news lately (thanks to Charlie Sheen’s recent disclosure about his own HIV status) or the timing is pure coincidence, the EEOC earlier this month issued two publications regarding the rights afforded by the Americans with … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Ohio law has long held that an employee’s particular health conditions, personal frailties and peculiar susceptibilities do not prohibit the employee from having a compensable work injury when the injury occurred in the course of and arising out of the employee’s employment. Ohio courts do not deny an employee a compensable claim merely because the … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Summertime brings company picnics, charity walks and softball leagues. Great moments for increasing employee morale, but these activities may lead to employer liability if an employee is injured while participating in such activities. In Ohio, employees injured while engaged in an employer-sponsored recreational or fitness activity are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits unless the employee … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Need to refresh your workplace? Join Porter Wright’s Labor and Employment Group on Wednesday, May 13 as we share Fresh Ideas for Employers Topics Include: Freshly Picked: A Review of Recent Employment Law Updates Tracey L. Turnbull, Porter Wright As you look to make sure your policies and practices reflect recent developments, you will not want to … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Ohio Senators have introduced a bill to change Ohio workers’ compensation laws to permit claimants who are peace officers, firefighters or emergency medical personnel diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. Presently, Ohio law only recognizes claims for psychological conditions if the psychological condition arises out of an injury or occupational … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on In State ex rel. Hildebrand v. Wingate Transp., Inc., the Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that an employee who quit his job for reasons unrelated to his work injury was barred from receiving temporary total disability compensation. Brian Hildebrand, a mechanic with Wingate Transport, Inc. injured his back on June 3, 2009. On June 8, 2009, … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on In Hoyle v. DTJ Ents., Inc., the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that provisions of an insurance policy do not require an insurance company to indemnify employers if they are found to have intentionally injured their employee. On March 25, 2008, Duane Allen Hoyle, while working for DTJ Enterprises and Cavanaugh Building Corporation, fell approximately … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on The Supreme Court of Ohio in Friebel v. Visiting Nurse Association of Mid-Ohio recently determined that an employee who was injured in a car accident while dropping passengers off at a mall on the way to perform her work duties could not use the doctrine of dual intent or dual purpose in support of her … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on As we have explained before, one of an employer’s main defenses in a workers’ compensation claim is that the employee’s own actions – rather than the work-related injuries — have led to the employee being off work. The Ohio Supreme Court recently revisited the analysis of when an employee’s actions constitute a voluntary abandonment of employment … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Every once in a while – okay maybe more frequently than that – I realize that I have missed a court decision on an issue I have been following. Most recently, I had been intrigued by the Sixth Circuit panel decisions in Brown v. Cassens Transport Co. (Brown II) and Jackson v. Sedgwick Claims Management … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on In August 2009, Shaun Armstrong sustained minor physical injuries in a motor vehicle accident while in the scope of his employment. The other driver, who plowed into the back of Armstrong’s truck, was killed. Armstrong’s workers’ compensation claim was allowed for neck and back injuries. He also sought an allowance for PTSD, which the Industrial … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Until the Ohio legislature enacted R.C. 2745.01 in 2005, the employer intentional tort exception to workers’ compensation immunity exasperated Ohio employers. Under the exception as interpreted by the Ohio Supreme Court, employers could be held liable for an intentional tort (with the accompanying tort damages such as punitive damages) so long as they had knowledge … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on As we have previously discussed, the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) has traditionally taken an aggressive position in finding that a business purchasing all or part of another business is responsible for the predecessor entity's workers' compensation risk, frequently resulting in an increase in premiums and penalties for the purchasing entity.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Beginning on August 20, 2012, a bench trial was conducted before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard McMonagle in a class action lawsuit against Stephen Buehrer, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator, in his official capacity in which a class of employers alleged that they were unlawfully excluded from participating in, or were … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on It is important not to require employee attendance at holiday parties and that pressure to attend is properly managed. Mandatory attendance at company-sponsored functions, like holiday parties, can result in workers' compensation claims if an attending employee is injured.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on n Hewitt v. L.E. Myers Co., 2012-Ohio-5317, the Ohio Supreme Court held last week that protective gloves and sleeves are "personal protective items" that an employee controls and not equipment safety guards for purposes of stating a cause of action under Ohio's intentional tort statute, which provides an exception to an employer's workers' compensation immunity.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision in State ex rel. Rouan v. Indus. Comm., last month making it clear that employees who retire, and thereby remove themselves from the workforce, for reasons unrelated to their workers' compensation claims are ineligible to receive Temporary Total Compensation. ("TTC").… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision yesterday in Lawrence v. City of Youngstown, 2012-Ohio-4247 (Sept. 20, 2012), which reminds employers that they have a duty to notify employees within a reasonably prompt time of their discharge. Keith Lawrence, a former City of Youngstown employee, was suspended on January 7, 2007, without pay, pending an … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on In Ohio and nationally, experts are reporting that the unemployment rate is decreasing. Further, the number of job openings is increasing. With returning employees and hiring new employees, employers are at a risk for increased workers' compensation claims.… Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on When a purchase of a business takes place in Ohio, the purchaser often overlooks the fact that it will assume the sellers' workers' compensation claims experience either in part or in whole. The Bureau of Workers' Compensation ("BWC") has taken a fairly strict line in combining and transferring coverage to purchasers.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Ninth Appellate District recently issued a decision that has potential to create more questions than answers when it comes to workers' compensation retaliation and disability discrimination law in Ohio.… Continue Reading