The Ohio Industrial Commission Statewide Hearing Officer Meeting offered some key insights for Ohio employers. Continue Reading Updates for Ohio employers from the 2023 Statewide Hearing Officer Meeting
Five things employers should know about Ohio BWC dividends
In response to a request from Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) has issued $5 billion in dividends to eligible private and public employers. This was the third round of BWC dividends issued to lessen the burdens of COVID-19 on Ohio employers. We’ve answered the five most common questions on the issuance.
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Ohio BWC pandemic-related developments
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 of benefits to injured workers. The BWC is also making efforts to ease the economic impacts to businesses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are some highlights that employers, both self-insured and state-funded, should be aware of during this unprecedented time.
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Resources and events for employers offered by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) hosts monthly webinars for employers to learn more about workers’ compensation topics. The brief webinars help employers stay up to date on developments in the workers’ compensation system. You can visit the employer webinar webpage on the Ohio BWC website to learn more about upcoming webinars and register to attend.
In addition, the BWC is hosting its Fourth Annual Workers’ Compensation Medical and Health Symposium on April 26-27, 2019 at the Great Columbus Convention Center. There is no cost to attend.
Attendees of the provider clinical education track will have access to state and national medical experts. These experts will speak on topics such as:
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Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Finds Ohio BWC Group Rating Program Resulted in Overcharges to Non-Group Employers, Orders Restitution
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
Workers’ Compensation Considerations When Purchasing a Company
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.
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BWC Implements Workplace Wellness Grant Program for Employers
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.
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Ohio BWC Offers a One-Time Waiver of Penalties to Employers Who Fail to Timely Pay Premiums
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has implemented a new policy for employers who fail to pay premiums timely.
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Ohio BWC Creates New Rule Circumventing the Ohio Supreme Court’s Decision
In June 2009, we reported on the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision to create a narrow exception to the broad BWC successor rules. The Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in State ex rel. Valley Roofing, LLC v. Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation created a small exception to the BWC’s broad authority to impose successorship liability when it held that a business that acquired another business’s assets via a bank foreclosure was not a successor to the previous business.
Ohio’s courts have long held that the workers’ compensation statute authorizes the BWC to find successorship whenever “any employer transfers a business in whole or in part or otherwise reorganizes the business.” This broad definition permits the BWC to transfer the experience of a predecessor business to the purchasing business if the purchaser is succeeding the predecessor in some part of the operations of the business. Based on whether the purchase was of all or part of the operations, the BWC will transfer all or part of the predecessor’s experience, rights and obligations to the purchaser.
Continue Reading Ohio BWC Creates New Rule Circumventing the Ohio Supreme Court’s Decision