Tarkowsky Employment Law Bulletin: Summer 2017

Enactment of Ohio Revised Code §4123.932 (effective 7/1/17)

• Previously, if an employee was injured in a motor vehicle accident while working, he/she would have a valid workers’ compensation, regardless of who was at fault for the accident.
• Under this new statute, however, if a third party is at fault, the employer’s workers’ compensation experience may not be affected.
• R.C. 4123.932 states that if an employee is involved in a motor vehicle accident with a third party, the employer’s BWC policy won’t be charged if the following apply:
  • (1)  The employer pays premiums into the state insurance fund.
  • (2)  The claim is based on a motor vehicle accident involving a third party.
  • (3)  The third party is issued a citation for violation of any law or ordinance regulating the operation of a motor vehicle arising from the accident on which the claim is based; and
  • (4)  Either of the following circumstances apply to the claim:
    • (a)  Any form of insurance maintained by the third party covers the claim, or
    • (b)  Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage as described in section 3937.18 of the Revised Code, covers the claim.

Employer’s Impact:

• For state funded employers, this statute will help employers who frequently send their employees on the road.
• Instead of trudging through the subrogation process, and having no control over how much is recovered from a third party, an employer may not assume any liability in a claim from the outset.
  • This statute allocates all benefits that an employee may receive from the third-party automobile accident to the state’s surplus fund, instead of the through the employer’s experience.