In November, the Ohio BWC approved Governor DeWine’s request to send another $5 billion in dividends to Ohio employers. The dividend payments come in the form of paper checks, which the state began mailing out to employers on December 10, 2020, or as credits to employers’ accounts for those employers with outstanding balances owed to
Workers Compensation
Changes in Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law Taking Effect in September 2020

Ohio House Bill 81, first introduced back in February of 2019, contains several significant changes regarding workers’ compensation law. Signed by Governor Mike DeWine on June 16, 2020, the bill is set to become law on September 15, 2020. The changes brought about by the bill include a reduced statute of limitations for Violations of…
Construction Company Ordered to Pay for Former Employee’s Medical Cannabis

A New Jersey appellate court has ruled that a former employee’s medical cannabis must be reimbursed by his former employer. Vincent Hager was an employee of M+K Construction when he suffered a job-site injury in 2001. The injury resulted in several surgeries and chronic pain. Hager was prescribed medical cannabis in 2016, which resulted in…
Ohio House Adds Citizenship Question to Workers’ Compensation Budget Bill

Last week, the Ohio House of Representatives passed the proposed workers’ compensation budget for the next two years, but not before a controversial amendment was added at the last minute. The budget bill, or House Bill 80, was amended to require injured workers to identify themselves as either a U.S. citizen, non-citizen authorized worker, or…
Ohio Workers’ Compensation Quick Hits

Oxycontin No Longer Covered
- In light of the major role Oxycontin has played in the opioid crisis faced by Ohio and the rest of the country, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) has removed the painkiller from its list of approved drugs it will cover for Ohio’s injured workers. Starting in July of this
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General Assembly and Governor Raid Workers’ Compensation Fund
Dangerous precedent with respect to the State’s use of Ohio employers’ money has just been set with the passing of House Bill 49, the state’s Biannual Appropriation Bill. Specifically, House Bill 49 contains a provision authorizing the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) to “raid” BWC and Industrial Commission budgets, transferring up to two…
Firefighters Gain New Workers’ Compensation Rights
Since 1993, the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Act (O.R.C. §4123), has provided firefighters and police officers additional workers’ compensation benefits. Specifically, it is presumed that firefighters and police officers who suffer from cardiovascular, pulmonary, or respiratory disease after being exposed to heat, smoke, toxic gases, chemical fumes and other toxic substances during the course of their…
No Valid Injury Needed for Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Claim
The Ohio Supreme Court recently held that employees need not prove they were actually injured on the job to prevail in a retaliation claim.
Employers should already be aware that, under Ohio law, they may not discharge or take punitive action against an employee for filing a workers’ compensation claim after sustaining an injury at…