Tarkowsky Employment Law Bulletin: Fall 2020

Statute of Limitations for Violations of Specific Safety Requirements (VSSR)

The statute of limitations for claimants to allege that an employer violated a specific safety requirement has been reduced from two (2) years to one (1) year.
The reduced statute of limitations will apply to all claims with dates of injury on or after September 15, 2020.

In an effort to resolve conflicting case-law, the Ohio Legislature passed House Bill 81 to supersede and eliminate all case-law relating to the doctrine of “voluntary abandonment.” In addition, O.R.C. 4123.56 has been revised to state that “If an employee is not working or has suffered a wage loss as a direct result of reasons unrelated to the allowed injury or occupational disease, the employee is not eligible to receive [temporary total disability] compensation.”
In all likelihood, injured workers and employers will litigate the application of the statutory change.
The revisions to O.R.C. 4123.56 apply to all future claims and all pending claims on the effective date of the change, being September 15, 2020.

House Bill 81 amends O.R.C. 4123.65 to prohibit a state-fund employer from denying or withdrawing consent to a settlement application if: 1.) the claim is no longer within the employer’s experience for impacting its future premiums, and 2.) the employee is no longer employed by the employer.
The purpose of the revision is to eliminate an employer’s right to contest a claimant’s settlement application when the employer has no further stake in the claim.
The revisions to O.R.C. 4123.65 apply to all future claims and all pending claims on the effective date of the change, being September 15, 2020.

Previously under 4123.52, a claim expired after five years passed since the last date of payment for medical or indemnity compensation. Under the revised statute, however, a claim expires after five years “from the date of last medical services being rendered or the date of last payment of compensation.”
As a result, a claim is only active from the last date of service actually received—as opposed to when the last payment was made.
The revisions to 4123.52 apply to all claims with dates of injury on or after July 1, 2020.

Under current law, R.C. 4123.026 requires the BWC and self-insured employers to pay for “post-exposure medical diagnostic services” to investigate whether a peace officer, firefighter or emergency medical worker sustained an injury or occupational disease “when coming into contact with the blood or other body fluid of another person” while in the course of their employment.
O.R.C. 4123.026 has been revised to also apply to corrections officers, as well as the other employees listed above.
Although not specifically stated within the statute, this revision presumably will apply to all claims with dates of injuries after the effective date of the revision, being September 15, 2020.