By Porter Wright on Recently, Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 81 which contains several changes to workers’ compensation laws. Most significantly, the bill contains a provision that will codify the common law voluntary abandonment doctrine. This provision should ensure that injured workers do not receive certain disability benefits if their loss of income is not related to the … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As Ohio attempts to move forward during this pandemic, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is doing the same. For example, the BWC has resumed the scheduling of medical exams where necessary, is using alternative methods such as file reviews when possible, and has provided guidance on telemedicine resources to assist with the continuation … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Presently there are many uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. It is certainly possible employees will allege they contracted coronavirus while at work. Given that the United States has not experienced a pandemic in a significant period of time, this is a gray area for employers. Most states do not have specific legislation addressing this situation. … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on On Sept. 27, 2018,the Ohio Supreme Court took the unusual step of overturning two prior decisions in an attempt to clarify a confusing aspect of workers’ compensation law. A long-standing tenet of workers’ compensation law, temporary total disability compensation, is intended to compensate an injured worker when they are unable to work due to a … Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on The Ohio Supreme Court has definitively decided that an employee cannot unilaterally dismiss an employer-initiated appeal in a workers’ compensation case; rather, the employer must consent to the dismissal. After a workers’ compensation claim proceeds administratively before the Industrial Commission, any party may appeal the Commission’s decision to permit the employee to participate in the … Continue Reading
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 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 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
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on Effective January 10, 2012, the BWC has implemented a new program providing grants up to $15,000 over 4 years to state-fund employers to create workplace wellness programs for the prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses and to address health risk factors to reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries and illnesses.… Continue Reading
By Rebecca Kopp Levine on The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has implemented a new policy for employers who fail to pay premiums timely.… Continue Reading
