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Changes procedures for determining the amount of compensation that may be received for wage loss or permanent total disability. Allows workers' compensation and benefits to be awarded to a victim of sexual assault at the workplace. Prohibits certain prisoners from receiving workers' compensation and benefits while confined to a county jail and designates the Bureau of Workers' Compensation Special Investigation Department a criminal justice agency. Exempts the addresses and phone numbers of workers receiving workers' compensation and benefits from Ohio's Public Records Law and from public access, except to journalists. Allows employment in a sheltered workshop for injured workers with traumatic brain injuries even if a worker is receiving workers' compensation and benefits. Requires that workers demonstrate "substantial aggravation" of a pre-existing condition by certain objective criteria before workers' compensation and benefits may be awarded, specifies eligibility qualifications for permanent total disability compensation, and reduces the time frame for which claims may be brought. Improves the ability to settle workers' compensation claims under certain conditions, voids certain settlement agreements upon death, increases amounts available on specified attorneys' fees and changes rules of procedure related to certain appeals. Prevents the Workers' Compensation Oversight Commission from setting a different policy than requirements outlined in Ohio law regarding who may serve as investment managers. Allows self-insuring employers to pay compensation and benefits directly under certain conditions. IF APPROVED, THESE AMENDMENTS AND ENACTMENTS WILL BE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

These changes involve both the administration of the program and injured worker benefits. Some of these provisions are summarized below. Remember, these provisions will go into effect with a majority YES vote; they will be dropped from current law with a majority NO vote. Administrative Provisions: These provisions will go into effect with a majority YES vote; they will be dropped with a majority NO vote.

• Expanded anti-fraud provisions, including the designation of the Workers' Compensation Special Investigation Department as a criminal justice agency with access to criminal justice information.
• Requirements that Workers' Compensation investment criteria must comply with the provisions of the Campaign Finance Law, but may not be more restrictive than the provisions under the Campaign Finance Law.
• Journalists' access to claimants' names and addresses. Injured Worker Provisions: These provisions will go into effect with a majority YES vote; they will be dropped with a majority NO vote.
• The definition of "injury" that excludes psychiatric conditions except when they arise from a physical injury or occupational disease, or from forced participation in sexual conduct.
• The change in the basis of calculation of "non-working wage loss," and the limitation of such payments to 52 weeks.
• The definition of "injury" that requires that a pre-existing condition be substantially aggravated by an injury and documented by objective diagnostic findings. Once the condition has returned to its pre-injury state, no compensation can be paid based on that condition.
• The reduction in the authority of the Industrial Commission to make modifications, changes, findings or awards for a medical or a compensation claim from six years after the payment of medical benefits and ten years from the date of payment of compensation to a limit of five years in both cases.
• Changes in the qualifications for permanent total disability compensation that eliminate consideration of certain social factors.

Arguments against implementing the provisions (a NO vote):
1. Several provisions that reduce injured workers' benefits would be eliminated.
2. The provision shortening the time frame for the Industrial Commission's jurisdiction over inactive claims would not be implemented. The shortened time frame could be detrimental because certain occupational injuries and diseases worsen over time and changes may not become apparent within the 5-year limit.
3. Some factors that were previously included in the determination of permanent total disability, such as education and work experience, were eliminated by one of the provisions and would be restored.

Voters should note that legal action is pending in regard to State Issues 1, 4 and 5. It is possible that court action may affect whether voters will actually vote on these Issues on Election Day, November 7, 2006.

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Vote YES On Issue 1 Voting "YES" preserves the rights of injured workers so they are compensated quickly and fairly and promotes common-sense cost-saving reforms for employers.

S.B. 7 was passed by a majority of Ohio's legislators who worked with employee rights advocates and Ohio's employers to ensure Ohio workers are protected if they are injured during work, while also preserving Ohio jobs with cost-saving changes for employers. Special interest groups who were unsuccessful in blocking the bill during the legislative process have led an effort to prevent enactment of this meaningful reform measure of the Workers' Compensation system. Your "YES" vote will ensure these needed reforms become law.

S.B. 7 increases protections against fraud in Ohio's Workers' Compensation system and does the following:

Speeds up compensation for Ohio's injured workers Better protects women in the workplace Provides opportunities for job creation and job retention in Ohio

Voting "YES" will:

Improve a system where injured workers receive needed care and return to work quickly; Fix current flaws in the system that result in costly waste, fraud and abuse; Stop those who prey on injured workers by protecting workers' privacy by removing their home addresses and telephone numbers from public record; For the first time, allow workers' compensation benefits if a woman is sexually assaulted while at work; Prohibit prisoners from continuing to collect Workers' Compensation benefits while in jail; Ensure more than $100 million in savings to the system that protects injured workers and helps employers reinvest in their businesses so they may preserve and create Ohio jobs. Support injured workers. Preserve and Create jobs.

Vote "YES" on Issue 1.

Submitted by: State Representative Stephen Buehrer and State Senator Gary Cates.

Vote NO on Issue 1

Senate Bill 7 is a devious attack on injured workers' benefits in just another effort to pay for "Coingate" and other bad investment "kick-back" schemes on the backs of injured workers. Don't let them get away with taking your family's benefits. Vote NO to reject Senate Bill 7.

In 1997, lawmakers tried to pass a similar bill to benefit greedy corporations saying it was necessary to save businesses $200 million per year. Less than 2 weeks after voters like yourself stood up and said NO to those take-aways, the truth was exposed when the BWC gave employers over $2 Billion of injured workers' monies. Since then, the BWC has given employers refunds or credits of over $12 BILLION of money earmarked for injured workers, their widows and orphans ! Big business and greedy corporations lied to us then, and they are trying to lie to us again now. We voted against their greed in 1997 + we need to do it again this November.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !

Only the injured worker take-away provisions of this bill are being challenged. Be truthful with Ohio's families and tell them the benefits that Senate Bill 7 will eliminate:

Cuts the time a claim remains open for the payment of compensation and medical benefits from 10 to 5 years. Reduces non-working wage loss compensation from 200 to 52 weeks. Reverses 5 separate Supreme Court Cases which ruled in favor of granting workers' rights and benefits. Discriminates against older workers or anyone who has had a previous injury by eliminating their ability to file a claim for a pre-existing condition unless the new injury substantially aggravates it. Protect yourself. Protect your family.

Protect Ohio.

Vote NO on Issue 1

Submitted by: Committee to Protect Injured Workers, Widows and Orphans, Lloyd C. Mahaffey, James W. Harris and Sarah Ogdahl

Sections of law from Am. Sub. S. B. No. 7 to be referred to the electors for their approval or rejection:

(Language added by the Act is underlined. Language deleted by the Act is indicated by a strikethrough.)

SECTION 1:

Sec. 4121.10. The industrial commission shall be in continuous session and open for the transaction of business during all business hours of every day excepting Sundays and legal holidays. The sessions of the commission shall be open to the public and shall stand and be adjourned without further notice thereof on its record. All of the proceedings of the commission shall be shown on its record, which shall be a public record except as provided in section 4123.88 of the Revised Code, and all voting shall be had by calling the name of each member of the industrial commission by the executive director, and each member's vote shall be recorded on the record of proceedings as cast. The commission shall keep a separate record of its proceedings relative to claims coming before it for compensation for injured and the dependents of killed employees, which record shall contain its findings and the award in each such claim for compensation considered by it, and in all such claims the reasons for the allowance or rejection thereof shall be stated in said record.

Sec. 4121.12. (A) There is hereby created the workers' compensation oversight commission consisting of eleven members, of which members the governor shall appoint five with the advice and consent of the senate. Of the five members the governor appoints, two shall be individuals who, on account of their previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as representative of employees, at least one of whom is representative of employees who are members of an employee organization; two shall be individuals who, on account of their previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as representative of employers, one of whom represents self-insuring employers and one of whom has experience as an employer in compliance with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code other than a self-insuring employer, and one of those two representatives also shall represent employers whose employees are not members of an employee organization; and one shall represent the public and also be an individual who, on account of the individual's previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, cannot be classed as either predominantly representative of employees or of employers. The governor shall select the chairperson of the commission who shall serve as chairperson at the pleasure of the governor. No more than three members appointed by the governor shall belong to or be affiliated with the same political party.

Each of these five members shall have at least three years' experience in the field of insurance, finance, workers' compensation, law, accounting, actuarial, personnel, investments, or data processing, or in the management of an organization whose size is commensurate with that of the bureau of workers' compensation. At least one of these five members shall be an attorney licensed under Chapter 4705. of the Revised Code to practice law in this state.

(B) Of the initial appointments made to the commission, the governor shall appoint one member who represents employees to a term ending one year after September 1, 1995, one member who represents employers to a term ending two years after September 1, 1995, the member who represents the public to a term ending three years after September 1, 1995, one member who represents employees to a term ending four years after September 1, 1995, and one member who represents employers to a term ending five years after September 1, 1995. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for three years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed.

The governor shall not appoint any person to more than two full terms of office on the commission. This restriction does not prevent the governor from appointing a person to fill a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or removal of a commission member and also appointing that person twice to full terms on the commission, or from appointing a person previously appointed to fill less than a full term twice to full terms on the commission. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration date of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until a successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(C) In making appointments to the commission, the governor shall select the members from the list of names submitted by the workers' compensation oversight commission nominating committee pursuant to this division. Within fourteen days after the governor calls the initial meeting of the nominating committee pursuant to division (C) of section 4121.123 of the Revised Code, the nominating committee shall submit to the governor, for the initial appointments, a list containing four separate names for each of the members on the commission. Within fourteen days after the submission of the list, the governor shall appoint individuals from the list.

For the appointment of the member who is representative of employees who are members of an employee organization, both for initial appointments and for the filling of vacancies, the list of four names submitted by the nominating committee shall be comprised of four individuals who are members of the executive committee of the largest statewide labor federation.

Thereafter, within sixty days after a vacancy occurring as a result of the expiration of a term and within thirty days after other vacancies occurring on the commission, the nominating committee shall submit a list containing four names for each vacancy. Within fourteen days after the submission of the list, the governor shall appoint individuals from the list. With respect to the filling of vacancies, the nominating committee shall provide the governor with a list of four individuals who are, in the judgment of the nominating committee, the most fully qualified to accede to membership on the commission. The nominating committee shall not include the name of an individual upon the list for the filling of vacancies if the appointment of that individual by the governor would result in more than three members of the commission belonging to or being affiliated with the same political party. The committee shall include on the list for the filling of vacancies only the names of attorneys admitted to practice law in this state if, to fulfill the requirement of division (A) of section 4121.12 of the Revised Code, the vacancy must be filled by an attorney.

In order for the name of an individual to be submitted to the governor under this division, the nominating committee shall approve the individual by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members.

(D) The commission shall also consist of two members, known as the investment expert members. One investment expert member shall be appointed by the treasurer of state and one investment expert member shall be jointly appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. Each investment expert member shall have the following qualifications:

(1) Be a resident of this state:;

(2) Within the three years immediately preceding the appointment, not have been employed by the bureau of workers' compensation or by any person, partnership, or corporation that has provided to the bureau services of a financial or investment nature, including the management, analysis, supervision, or investment of assets;

(3) Have direct experience in the management, analysis, supervision, or investment of assets.

Terms of office of the investment expert members shall be for three years, with each term ending on the same day of the same month as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office for the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. The president, speaker, and treasurer shall not appoint any person to more than two full terms of office on the commission. This restriction does not prevent the president, speaker, and treasurer from appointing a person to fill a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, or removal of a commission member and also appointing that person twice to full terms on the commission, or from appointing a person previously appointed to fill less than a full term twice to full terms on the commission. Any investment expert member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office until the end of that term. The member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member's term until the member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

The investment expert members of the oversight commission shall vote only on investment matters.

(E) The remaining four members of the commission shall be the chairperson and ranking minority member of the standing committees of the house of representatives and of the senate to which legislation concerning this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code normally are referred, or a designee of the chairperson or ranking minority member, provided that the designee is a member of the standing committee. Legislative members shall serve during the session of the general assembly to which they are elected and for as long as they are members of the general assembly. Legislative members shall serve in an advisory capacity to the commission and shall have no voting rights on matters coming before the commission. Membership on the commission by legislative members shall not be deemed as holding a public office.

(F) All members of the commission shall receive their reasonable and necessary expenses pursuant to section 126.31 of the Revised Code while engaged in the performance of their duties as members. Members appointed by the governor and the investment expert members also shall receive an annual salary not to exceed eighteen thousand dollars payable on the following basis:

(1) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, a member shall receive two thousand dollars during a month in which the member attends one or more meetings of the commission and shall receive no payment during a month in which the member attends no meeting of the commission.

(2) A member may receive no more than the annual eighteen thousand dollar salary regardless of the number of meetings held by the commission during a year or the number of meetings in excess of nine within a year that the member attends.

The chairperson of the commission shall set the meeting dates of the commission as necessary to perform the duties of the commission under this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code. The commission shall meet at least nine times during the period commencing on the first day of September and ending on the thirty-first day of August of the following year. The administrator of workers' compensation shall provide professional and clerical assistance to the commission, as the commission considers appropriate.

(G) The commission shall:

(1) Review progress of the bureau in meeting its cost and quality objectives and in complying with this chapter and Chapters 4123., 4127., and 4131. of the Revised Code;

(2) Issue an annual report on the cost and quality objectives of the bureau to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the governor;

(3) Review all independent financial audits of the bureau. The administrator shall provide access to records of the bureau to facilitate the review required under this division.

(4) Study issues as requested by the administrator or the governor;

(5) Contract with an independent actuarial firm to assist the commission in making recommendations to the administrator regarding premium rates;

(6) Establish objectives, policies, and criteria for the administration of the investment program that include asset allocation targets and ranges, risk factors, asset class benchmarks, time horizons, total return objectives, and performance evaluation guidelines, and monitor the administrator's progress in implementing the objectives, policies, and criteria on a quarterly basis. The commission shall not specify in the objectives, policies, and criteria that the administrator or employees of the bureau are prohibited from conducting business with an investment management firm, any investment management professional associated with that firm, any third party solicitor associated with that firm, or any political action committee controlled by that firm or controlled by an investment management professional of that firm based on criteria that are more restrictive than the restrictions described in divisions (Y) and (Z) of section 3517.13 of the Revised Code. The commission shall review and publish the objectives, policies, and criteria no less than annually and shall make copies available to interested parties. The commission shall prohibit, on a prospective basis, any specific investment it finds to be contrary to its investment objectives, policies, and criteria.

The objectives, policies, and criteria adopted by the commission for the operation of the investment program shall prohibit investing assets of funds, directly or indirectly, in vehicles that target any of the following:

(a) Coins;

(b) Artwork;

(c) Horses;

(d) Jewelry or gems;

(e) Stamps;

(f) Antiques;

(g) Artifacts;

(h) Collectibles;

(i) Memorabilia;

(j) Similar unregulated investments that are not commonly part of an institutional portfolio, that lack liquidity, and that lack readily determinable valuation.

(7) Specify in the objectives, policies, and criteria for the investment program that the administrator is permitted to invest in an investment class only if the commission, by a majority vote, opens that class. After the commission opens a class but prior to the administrator investing in that class, the commission shall adopt rules establishing due diligence standards for employees' of the bureau to follow when investing in that class and shall establish policies and procedures to review and monitor the performance and value of each investment class. The commission shall submit a report annually on the performance and value of each investment class to the governor, the president and minority leader of the senate, and the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives. The commission may vote to close any investment class.

(8) Advise and consent on all of the following:

(a) Administrative rules the administrator submits to it pursuant to division (B)(5) of section 4121.121 of the Revised Code for the classification of occupations or industries, for premium rates and contributions, for the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for rules and systems of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating;

(b) The overall policy of the bureau of workers' compensation as set by the administrator;

(c) The duties and authority conferred upon the administrator pursuant to section 4121.37 of the Revised Code;

(d) Rules the administrator adopts for the health partnership program and the qualified health plan system, as provided in sections 4121.44, 4121.441, and 4121.442 of the Revised Code;

(e) Rules the administrator submits to it pursuant to Chapter 4167. of the Revised Code regarding the public employment risk reduction program and the protection of public health care workers from exposure incidents.

As used in this division, "public health care worker" and "exposure incident" have the same meanings as in section 4167.25 of the Revised Code.

(9) Perform all duties required under section 4121.125 of the Revised Code.

(H) The office of a member of the commission who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony, a theft offense as defined in section 2913.01 of the Revised Code, or a violation of section 102.02, 102.03, 102.04, 2921.02, 2921.11, 2921.13, 2921.31, 2921.41, 2921.42, 2921.43, or 2921.44 of the Revised Code shall be deemed vacant. The vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. A person who has pleaded guilty to or been convicted of an offense of that nature is ineligible to be a member of the commission. A member who receives a bill of indictment for any of the offenses specified in this section shall be automatically suspended from the commission pending resolution of the criminal matter.

(I) As used in this section, "employee organization" means any labor or bona fide organization in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms and other conditions of employment.

Sec. 4121.131. The bureau of workers' compensation special investigation department is a criminal justice agency in investigating reported violations of law relating to workers' compensation, and as such may apply for access to the computerized databases administered by the national crime information center or the law enforcement automated data system in Ohio and to other computerized databases administered for the purpose of making criminal justice information accessible to state and criminal justice agencies.

Sec. 4123.01. As used in this chapter:

(A)(1) "Employee" means:

(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, township, or school district therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships, whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including any elected official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or township, or members of boards of education.

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term "employee" includes the following persons when responding to an inherently dangerous situation that calls for an immediate response on the part of the person, regardless of whether the person is within the limits of the jurisdiction of the person's regular employment or voluntary service when responding, on the condition that the person responds to the situation as the person otherwise would if the person were on duty in the person's jurisdiction:

(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.

(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.

(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79 of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria apply:

(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of performing services;

(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party to have particular training;

(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular functioning of the other contracting party;

(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;

(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other contracting party;

(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or recurring work even if the work is not full time;

(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the other contracting party;

(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the business of the other contracting party;

(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the premises of the other contracting party;

(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set by the other contracting party;

(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports of progress to the other contracting party;

(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;

(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other contracting party;

(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the other contracting party;

(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to perform services;

(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the services provided;

(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of employers at the same time;

(xviii) The person does not make the same services available to the general public;

(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge the person;

(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant to an employment contract or agreement.

Every person in the service of any independent contractor or subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or if a self-insuring employer has failed to pay compensation and benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal, with such independent contractor unless such employees or their legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.

(2) "Employee" does not mean:

(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of ministry;

(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation;

(c) An individual incorporated as a corporation; or

(d) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section 4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code.

Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section. If an employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual incorporated as a corporation, or family farm corporation, such employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of the sole proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or the officers of the family farm corporation. In the event of an election, the employer shall serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice naming the persons to be covered, include such employee's remuneration for premium purposes in all future payroll reports, and no person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, proprietor, individual incorporated as a corporation, or partner shall be deemed an employee within this division until the employer has served such notice.

For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole proprietor, any member of a partnership, an individual incorporated as a corporation, the officers of a family farm corporation, or a person excluded from the definition of "employee" under division (A)(2) of this section, that they should check any health and disability insurance policy, or other form of health and disability plan or contract, presently covering them, or the purchase of which they may be considering, to determine whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits for illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered by workers' compensation.

(B) "Employer" means:

(1) The state, including state hospitals, each county, municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the state;

(2) Every person, firm, professional employer organization as defined in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code, and private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (a) has in service one or more employees or shared employees regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or (b) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member of a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in or about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a household establishment, shall be considered an employee in determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or public service corporation, has in its service, one or more employees and the employer shall report the income derived from such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer, and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of an employee.

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external accidental means or accidental in character and result, received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's employment. "Injury" does not include:

(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from an injury or occupational disease sustained by that claimant or where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from sexual conduct in which the claimant was forced by threat of physical harm to engage or participate;

(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;

(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or fitness activity;

(4) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury. Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a substantial aggravation.

(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally adopted prior to the injury.

(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded for the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority of the voting stock is held by and the majority of the stockholders are persons or the spouse of persons related to each other within the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules of the civil law, and at least one of the related persons is residing on or actively operating the farm, and none of whose stockholders are a corporation. A family farm corporation does not cease to qualify under this division where, by reason of any devise, bequest, or the operation of the laws of descent or distribution, the ownership of shares of voting stock is transferred to another person, as long as that person is within the degree of kinship stipulated in this division.

(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different manner from the public in general.

(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of county commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code, provided that the electors of the county in which the sports facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.

(H) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in division (B)(1) of this section.

(I) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete vaginal or anal intercourse.

Sec. 4123.512. (A) The claimant or the employer may appeal an order of the industrial commission made under division (E) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code in any injury or occupational disease case, other than a decision as to the extent of disability to the court of common pleas of the county in which the injury was inflicted or in which the contract of employment was made if the injury occurred outside the state, or in which the contract of employment was made if the exposure occurred outside the state. If no common pleas court has jurisdiction for the purposes of an appeal by the use of the jurisdictional requirements described in this division, the appellant may use the venue provisions in the Rules of Civil Procedure to vest jurisdiction in a court. If the claim is for an occupational disease, the appeal shall be to the court of common pleas of the county in which the exposure which caused the disease occurred. Like appeal may be taken from an order of a staff hearing officer made under division (D) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code from which the commission has refused to hear an appeal. The appellant shall file the notice of appeal with a court of common pleas within sixty days after the date of the receipt of the order appealed from or the date of receipt of the order of the commission refusing to hear an appeal of a staff hearing officer's decision under division (D) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code. The filing of the notice of the appeal with the court is the only act required to perfect the appeal.

If an action has been commenced in a court of a county other than a court of a county having jurisdiction over the action, the court, upon notice by any party or upon its own motion, shall transfer the action to a court of a county having jurisdiction.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, if the commission determines under section 4123.522 of the Revised Code that an employee, employer, or their respective representatives have not received written notice of an order or decision which is appealable to a court under this section and which grants relief pursuant to section 4123.522 of the Revised Code, the party granted the relief has sixty days from receipt of the order under section 4123.522 of the Revised Code to file a notice of appeal under this section.

(B) The notice of appeal shall state the names of the claimant and the employer, the number of the claim, the date of the order appealed from, and the fact that the appellant appeals therefrom.

The administrator of workers' compensation, the claimant, and the employer shall be parties to the appeal and the court, upon the application of the commission, shall make the commission a party. The party filing the appeal shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal on the admnistrator of workers' compensation administrator at the central office of the bureau of workers' compensation in Columbus. The administrator shall notify the employer that if the employer fails to become an active party to the appeal, then the administrator may act on behalf of the employer and the results of the appeal could have an adverse effect upon the employer's premium rates.

(C) The attorney general or one or more of the attorney general's assistants or special counsel designated by the attorney general shall represent the administrator and the commission. In the event the attorney general or the attorney general's designated assistants or special counsel are absent, the administrator or the commission shall select one or more of the attorneys in the employ of the administrator or the commission as the administrator's attorney or the commission's attorney in the appeal. Any attorney so employed shall continue the representation during the entire period of the appeal and in all hearings thereof except where the continued representation becomes impractical.

(D) Upon receipt of notice of appeal, the clerk of courts shall provide notice to all parties who are appellees and to the commission.

The claimant shall, within thirty days after the filing of the notice of appeal, file a petition containing a statement of facts in ordinary and concise language showing a cause of action to participate or to continue to participate in the fund and setting forth the basis for the jurisdiction of the court over the action. Further pleadings shall be had in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure, provided that service of summons on such petition shall not be required and provided that the claimant may not dismiss the complaint without the employer's consent if the employer is the party that filed the notice of appeal to court pursuant to this section. The clerk of the court shall, upon receipt thereof, transmit by certified mail a copy thereof to each party named in the notice of appeal other than the claimant. Any party may file with the clerk prior to the trial of the action a deposition of any physician taken in accordance with the provisions of the Revised Code, which deposition may be read in the trial of the action even though the physician is a resident of or subject to service in the county in which the trial is had. The bureau of workers' compensation shall pay the cost of the stenographic deposition filed in court and of copies of the stenographic deposition for each party from the surplus fund and charge the costs thereof against the unsuccessful party if the claimant's right to participate or continue to participate is finally sustained or established in the appeal. In the event the deposition is taken and filed, the physician whose deposition is taken is not required to respond to any subpoena issued in the trial of the action. The court, or the jury under the instructions of the court, if a jury is demanded, shall determine the right of the claimant to participate or to continue to participate in the fund upon the evidence adduced at the hearing of the action.

(E) The court shall certify its decision to the commission and the certificate shall be entered in the records of the court. Appeals from the judgment are governed by the law applicable to the appeal of civil actions.

(F) The cost of any legal proceedings authorized by this section, including an attorney's fee to the claimant's attorney to be fixed by the trial judge, based upon the effort expended, in the event the claimant's right to participate or to continue to participate in the fund is established upon the final determination of an appeal, shall be taxed against the employer or the commission if the commission or the administrator rather than the employer contested the right of the claimant to participate in the fund. The attorney's fee shall not exceed twenty-five forty-two hundred dollars.

(G) If the finding of the court or the verdict of the jury is in favor of the claimant's right to participate in the fund, the commission and the administrator shall thereafter proceed in the matter of the claim as if the judgment were the decision of the commission, subject to the power of modification provided by section 4123.52 of the Revised Code.

(H) An appeal from an order issued under division (E) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code or any action filed in court in a case in which an award of compensation has been made shall not stay the payment of compensation under the award or payment of compensation for subsequent periods of total disability during the pendency of the appeal. If, in a final administrative or judicial action, it is determined that payments of compensation or benefits, or both, made to or on behalf of a claimant should not have been made, the amount thereof shall be charged to the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code. In the event the employer is a state risk, the amount shall not be charged to the employer's experience. In the event the employer is a self-insuring employer, the self-insuring employer shall deduct the amount from the paid compensation the self-insuring employer reports to the administrator under division (L) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code. All

A self-insuring employer may elect to pay compensation and benefits under this section directly to an employee or an employee's dependents by filing an application with the bureau of workers' compensation not more than one hundred eighty days and not less than ninety days before the first day of the employer's next six-month coverage period. If the self-insuring employer timely files the application, the application is effective on the first day of the employer's next six-month coverage period, provided that the administrator shall compute the employer's assessment for the surplus fund due with respect to the period during which that application was filed without regard to the filing of the application. On and after the effective date of the employer's election, the self-insuring employer shall pay directly to an employee or to an employee's dependents compensation and benefits under this section regardless of the date of the injury or occupational disease, and the employer shall receive no money or credits from the surplus fund on account of those payments and shall not be required to pay any amounts into the surplus fund on account of this section. The election made under this division is irrevocable.

All actions and proceedings under this section which are the subject of an appeal to the court of common pleas or the court of appeals shall be preferred over all other civil actions except election causes, irrespective of position on the calendar.

This section applies to all decisions of the commission or the administrator on November 2, 1959, and all claims filed thereafter are governed by sections 4123.511 and 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

Any action pending in common pleas court or any other court on January 1, 1986, under this section is governed by former sections 4123.514, 4123.515, 4123.516, and 4123.519 and section 4123.522 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.52. The jurisdiction of the industrial commission and the authority of the administrator of workers' compensation over each case is continuing, and the commission may make such modification or change with respect to former findings or orders with respect thereto, as, in its opinion is justified. No modification or change nor any finding or award in respect of any claim shall be made with respect to disability, compensation, dependency, or benefits, after six five years from the date of injury in the absence of the payment of medical benefits under this chapter, in which event the modification, change, finding, or award shall be made within six years after the payment of medical benefits, or in the absence of payment of compensation under section 4123.57, 4123.58, or division (A) or (B) of section 4123.56 of the Revised Code or wages in lieu of compensation in a manner so as to satisfy the requirements of section 4123.84 of the Revised Code, in which event the modification, change, finding, or award shall be made within ten five years from the date of the last payment of compensation or from the date of death, nor unless written notice of claim for the specific part or parts of the body injured or disabled has been given as provided in section 4123.84 or 4123.85 of the Revised Code, and the. The commission shall not make any modification, change, finding, or award which shall award compensation for a back period in excess of two years prior to the date of filing application therefor. This section does not affect the right of a claimant to compensation accruing subsequent to the filing of any such application, provided the application is filed within the time limit provided in this section.

This section does not deprive the commission of its continuing jurisdiction to determine the questions raised by any application for modification of award which has been filed with the commission after June 1, 1932, and prior to the expiration of the applicable period but in respect to which no award has been granted or denied during the applicable period.

The commission may, by general rules, provide for the destruction of files of cases in which no further action may be taken.

The commission and administrator of workers' compensation each may, by general rules, provide for the retention and destruction of all other records in their possession or under their control pursuant to section 121.211 and sections 149.34 to 149.36 of the Revised Code. The bureau of workers' compensation may purchase or rent required equipment for the document retention media, as determined necessary to preserve the records. Photographs, microphotographs, microfilm, films, or other direct document retention media, when properly identified, have the same effect as the original record and may be offered in like manner and may be received as evidence in proceedings before the industrial commission, staff hearing officers, and district hearing officers, and in any court where the original record could have been introduced.

Sec. 4123.54. (A) Every employee, who is injured or who contracts an occupational disease, and the dependents of each employee who is killed, or dies as the result of an occupational disease contracted in the course of employment, wherever such injury has occurred or occupational disease has been contracted, provided the same were not:

(1) Purposely self-inflicted; or

(2) Caused by the employee being intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by a physician where the intoxication or being under the influence of the controlled substance not prescribed by a physician was the proximate cause of the injury, is entitled to receive, either directly from the employee's self-insuring employer as provided in section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, or from the state insurance fund, the compensation for loss sustained on account of the injury, occupational disease, or death, and the medical, nurse, and hospital services and medicines, and the amount of funeral expenses in case of death, as are provided by this chapter.

(B) For the purpose of this section, provided that an employer has posted written notice to employees that the results of, or the employee's refusal to submit to, any chemical test described under this division may affect the employee's eligibility for compensation and benefits pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, there is a rebuttable presumption that an employee is intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the employee's physician and that being intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the employee's physician is the proximate cause of an injury under either of the following conditions:

(1) When any one or more of the following is true:

(a) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within eight hours of an injury, is determined to have an alcohol concentration level equal to or in excess of the levels established in divisions (A)(1)(b) to (i) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code;

(b) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined to have one of the following controlled substances not prescribed by the employee's physician in the employee's system that tests above the following levels in an enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique screening test and above the levels established in division (B)(3)(1)(c) of this section in a gas chromatography mass spectrometry test:

(i) For amphetamines, one thousand nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(ii) For cannabinoids, fifty nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(iii) For cocaine, including crack cocaine, three hundred nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(iv) For opiates, two thousand nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(v) For phencyclidine, twenty-five nanograms per milliliter of urine.

(c) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined to have one of the following controlled substances not prescribed by the employee's physician in the employee's system that tests above the following levels by a gas chromatography mass spectrometry test:

(i) For amphetamines, five hundred nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(ii) For cannabinoids, fifteen nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(iii) For cocaine, including crack cocaine, one hundred fifty nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(iv) For opiates, two thousand nanograms per milliliter of urine;

(v) For phencyclidine, twenty-five nanograms per milliliter of urine.

(d) The employee, through a qualifying chemical test administered within thirty-two hours of an injury, is determined to have barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, or propoxyphene in the employee's system that tests above levels established by laboratories certified by the United States department of health and human services.

(2) When the employee refuses to submit to a requested chemical test, on the condition that that employee is or was given notice that the refusal to submit to any chemical test described in division (B)(1) of this section may affect the employee's eligibility for compensation and benefits under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) For purposes of division (B) of this section, a chemical test is a qualifying chemical test if it is administered to an employee after an injury under at least one of the following conditions:

(a) When the employee's employer had reasonable cause to suspect that the employee may be intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance not prescribed by the employee's physician;

(b) At the request of a police officer pursuant to section 4511.191 of the Revised Code, and not at the request of the employee's employer;

(c) At the request of a licensed physician who is not employed by the employee's employer, and not at the request of the employee's employer.

(2) As used in division (C)(1)(a) of this section, "reasonable cause" means, but is not limited to, evidence that an employee is or was using alcohol or a controlled substance drawn from specific, objective facts and reasonable inferences drawn from these facts in light of experience and training. These facts and inferences may be based on, but are not limited to, any of the following:

(a) Observable phenomena, such as direct observation of use, possession, or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance, or of the physical symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, such as but not limited to slurred speech, dilated pupils, odor of alcohol or a controlled substance, changes in affect, or dynamic mood swings;

(b) A pattern of abnormal conduct, erratic or aberrant behavior, or deteriorating work performance such as frequent absenteeism, excessive tardiness, or recurrent accidents, that appears to be related to the use of alcohol or a controlled substance, and does not appear to be attributable to other factors;

(c) The identification of an employee as the focus of a criminal investigation into unauthorized possession, use, or trafficking of a controlled substance;

(d) A report of use of alcohol or a controlled substance provided by a reliable and credible source;

(e) Repeated or flagrant violations of the safety or work rules of the employee's employer, that are determined by the employee's supervisor to pose a substantial risk of physical injury or property damage and that appear to be related to the use of alcohol or a controlled substance and that do not appear attributable to other factors.

(D) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the rights of an employer to test employees for alcohol or controlled substance abuse.

(E) For the purpose of this section, laboratories certified by the United States department of health and human services or laboratories that meet or exceed the standards of that department for laboratory certification shall be used for processing the test results of a qualifying chemical test.

(F) The written notice required by division (B) of this section shall be the same size or larger then the certificate of premium payment notice furnished by the bureau of workers' compensation and shall be posted by the employer in the same location as the certificate of premium payment notice or the certificate of self-insurance.

(G) If a condition that pre-existed an injury is substantially aggravated by the injury, and that substantial aggravation is documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results, no compensation or benefits are payable because of the pre-existing condition once that condition has returned to a level that would have existed without the injury.

(H) Whenever, with respect to an employee of an employer who is subject to and has complied with this chapter, there is possibility of conflict with respect to the application of workers' compensation laws because the contract of employment is entered into and all or some portion of the work is or is to be performed in a state or states other than Ohio, the employer and the employee may agree to be bound by the laws of this state or by the laws of some other state in which all or some portion of the work of the employee is to be performed. The agreement shall be in writing and shall be filed with the bureau of workers' compensation within ten days after it is executed and shall remain in force until terminated or modified by agreement of the parties similarly filed. If the agreement is to be bound by the laws of this state and the employer has complied with this chapter, then the employee is entitled to compensation and benefits regardless of where the injury occurs or the disease is contracted and the rights of the employee and the employee's dependents under the laws of this state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and arising out of the employee's employment. If the agreement is to be bound by the laws of another state and the employer has complied with the laws of that state, the rights of the employee and the employee's dependents under the laws of that state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of injury, disease, or death in the course of and arising out of the employee's employment without regard to the place where the injury was sustained or the disease contracted.

If any employee or the employee's dependents are awarded workers' compensation benefits or recover damages from the employer under the laws of another state, the amount awarded or recovered, whether paid or to be paid in future installments, shall be credited on the amount of any award of compensation or benefits made to the employee or the employee's dependents by the bureau.

If an employee is a resident of a state other than this state and is insured under the workers' compensation law or similar laws of a state other than this state, the employee and the employee's dependents are not entitled to receive compensation or benefits under this chapter, on account of injury, disease, or death arising out of or in the course of employment while temporarily within this state, and the rights of the employee and the employee's dependents under the laws of the other state are the exclusive remedy against the employer on account of the injury, disease, or death.

(H)(I) Compensation or benefits are not payable to a claimant during the period of confinement of the claimant in any state or federal correctional institution, or in any county jail in lieu of incarceration in a state or federal correctional institution, whether in this or any other state for conviction of violation of any state or federal criminal law.

Sec. 4123.56. (A) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, in the case of temporary disability, an employee shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the employee's average weekly wage so long as such disability is total, not to exceed a maximum amount of weekly compensation which is equal to the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code, and not less than a minimum amount of compensation which is equal to thirty-three and one-third per cent of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code unless the employee's wage is less than thirty-three and one-third per cent of the minimum statewide average weekly wage, in which event the employee shall receive compensation equal to the employee's full wages; provided that for the first twelve weeks of total disability the employee shall receive seventy-two per cent of the employee's full weekly wage, but not to exceed a maximum amount of weekly compensation which is equal to the lesser of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code or one hundred per cent of the employee's net take-home weekly wage. In the case of a self-insuring employer, payments shall be for a duration based upon the medical reports of the attending physician. If the employer disputes the attending physician's report, payments may be terminated only upon application and hearing by a district hearing officer pursuant to division (C) of section 4123.511 of the Revised Code. Payments shall continue pending the determination of the matter, however payment shall not be made for the period when any employee has returned to work, when an employee's treating physician has made a written statement that the employee is capable of returning to the employee's former position of employment, when work within the physical capabilities of the employee is made available by the employer or another employer, or when the employee has reached the maximum medical improvement. Where the employee is capable of work activity, but the employee's employer is unable to offer the employee any employment, the employee shall register with the director of job and family services, who shall assist the employee in finding suitable employment. The termination of temporary total disability, whether by order or otherwise, does not preclude the commencement of temporary total disability at another point in time if the employee again becomes temporarily totally disabled.

After two hundred weeks of temporary total disability benefits, the medical section of the bureau of workers' compensation shall schedule the claimant for an examination for an evaluation to determine whether or not the temporary disability has become permanent. A self-insuring employer shall notify the bureau immediately after payment of two hundred weeks of temporary total disability and request that the bureau schedule the claimant for such an examination.

When the employee is awarded compensation for temporary total disability for a period for which the employee has received benefits under Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code, the bureau shall pay an amount equal to the amount received from the award to the director of job and family services and the director shall credit the amount to the accounts of the employers to whose accounts the payment of benefits was charged or is chargeable to the extent it was charged or is chargeable.

If any compensation under this section has been paid for the same period or periods for which temporary nonoccupational accident and sickness insurance is or has been paid pursuant to an insurance policy or program to which the employer has made the entire contribution or payment for providing insurance or under a nonoccupational accident and sickness program fully funded by the employer, compensation paid under this section for the period or periods shall be paid only to the extent by which the payment or payments exceeds the amount of the nonoccupational insurance or program paid or payable. Offset of the compensation shall be made only upon the prior order of the bureau or industrial commission or agreement of the claimant.

As used in this division, "net take-home weekly wage" means the amount obtained by dividing an employee's total remuneration, as defined in section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, paid to or earned by the employee during the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters which immediately precede the first day of the employee's entitlement to benefits under this division, by the number of weeks during which the employee was paid or earned remuneration during those four quarters, less the amount of local, state, and federal income taxes deducted for each such week.

(B) Where (1) If an employee in a claim allowed under this chapter suffers a wage loss as a result of returning to employment other than the employee's former position of employment or as a result of being unable to find employment consistent with the claimant's physical capabilities due to an injury or occupational disease, the employee shall receive compensation at sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the difference between the employee's average weekly wage loss and the employee's present earnings not to exceed the statewide average weekly wage for a period not to exceed two hundred weeks. The payments may continue for up to a maximum of two hundred weeks, but the payments shall be reduced by the corresponding number of weeks in which the employee receives payments pursuant to division (B) of section 4121.67 Of the Revised Code.

(2) If an employee in a claim allowed under this chapter suffers a wage loss as a result of being unable to find employment consistent with the employee's disability resulting from the employee's injury or occupational disease, the employee shall receive compensation at sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the difference between the employee's average weekly wage and the employee's present earnings, not to exceed the statewide average weekly wage. The payments may continue for up to a maximum of fifty-two weeks. The first twenty-six weeks of payments under division (B)(2) of this section shall be in addition to the maximum of two hundred weeks of payments allowed under division (B)(1) of this section. If an employee in a claim allowed under this chapter receives compensation under division (B)(2) of this section in excess of twenty-six weeks, the number of weeks of compensation allowable under division (B)(1) of this section shall be reduced by the corresponding number of weeks in excess of twenty-six, and up to fifty-two, that is allowable under division (B)(1) of this section.

(3) The number of weeks of wage loss payable to an employee under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section shall not exceed two hundred and twenty-six weeks in the aggregate.

(C) In the event an employee of a professional sports franchise domiciled in this state is disabled as the result of an injury or occupational disease, the total amount of payments made under a contract of hire or collective bargaining agreement to the employee during a period of disability is deemed an advanced payment of compensation payable under sections 4123.56 to 4123.58 of the Revised Code. The employer shall be reimbursed the total amount of the advanced payments out of any award of compensation made pursuant to sections 4123.56 to 4123.58 of the Revised Code.

(D) If an employee receives temporary total disability benefits pursuant to division (A) of this section and social security retirement benefits pursuant to the "Social Security Act," the weekly benefit amount under division (A) of this section shall not exceed sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.58. (A) In cases of permanent total disability, the employee shall receive an award to continue until his the employee's death in the amount of sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of his the employee's average weekly wage, but, except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, not more than a maximum amount of weekly compensation which is equal to sixty-six and two-thirds per cent of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code in effect on the date of injury or on the date the disability due to the occupational disease begins, nor not less than a minimum amount of weekly compensation which is equal to fifty per cent of the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code in effect on the date of injury or on the date the disability due to the occupational disease begins, unless the employee's average weekly wage is less than fifty per cent of the statewide average weekly wage at the time of the injury, in which event he the employee shall receive compensation in an amount equal to his the employee's average weekly wage.

(B) In the event the weekly workers' compensation amount when combined with disability benefits received pursuant to the Social Security Act is less than the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code, then the maximum amount of weekly compensation shall be the statewide average weekly wage as defined in division (C) of section 4123.62 of the Revised Code. At any time that social security disability benefits terminate or are reduced, the workers' compensation award shall be recomputed to pay the maximum amount permitted under this division.

(C) The loss or loss of Permanent total disability shall be compensated according to this section only when at least one of the following applies to the claimant:

(1) The claimant has lost, or lost the use of both hands or both arms, or both feet or both legs, or both eyes, or of any two thereof, constitutes total and permanent disability, to be compensated according to this section. Compensation; however, the loss or loss of use of one limb does not constitute the loss or loss of use of two body parts;

(2) The impairment resulting from the employee's injury or occupational disease prevents the employee from engaging in sustained remunerative employment utilizing the employment skills that the employee has or may reasonably be expected to develop.

(D) Permanent total disability shall not be compensated when the reason the employee is unable to engage in sustained remunerative employment is due to any of the following reasons, whether individually or in combination:

(1) Impairments of the employee that are not the result of an allowed injury or occupational disease;

(2) Solely the employee's age or aging;

(3) The employee retired or otherwise voluntarily abandoned the workforce for reasons unrelated to the allowed injury or occupational disease.

(4) The employee has not engaged in educational or rehabilitative efforts to enhance the employee's employability, unless such efforts are determined to be in vain.

(E) Compensation payable under this section for permanent total disability is in addition to benefits payable under division (B) of section 4123.57 of the Revised Code.

(F) If an employee is awarded compensation for permanent total disability under this section because the employee sustained a traumatic brain injury, the employee is entitled to that compensation regardless of the employee's employment in a sheltered workshop subsequent to the award, on the condition that the employee does not receive income, compensation, or remuneration from that employment in excess of two thousand dollars in any calendar quarter. As used in this division, "sheltered workshop" means a state agency or nonprofit organization established to carry out a program of rehabilitation for handicapped individuals or to provide these individuals with remunerative employment or other occupational rehabilitating activity.

Sec. 4123.61. The average weekly wage of an injured employee at the time of the injury or at the time disability due to the occupational disease begins is the basis upon which to compute benefits.

In cases of temporary total disability the compensation for the first twelve weeks for which compensation is payable shall be based on the full weekly wage of the claimant at the time of the injury or at the time of the disability due to occupational disease begins; when a factory, mine, or other place of employment is working short time in order to divide work among the employees, the bureau of workers' compensation shall take that fact into consideration when determining the wage for the first twelve weeks of temporary total disability.

Compensation for all further temporary total disability shall be based as provided for permanent disability claims.

In death, permanent total disability claims, permanent partial disability claims, and impairment of earnings claims, the claimant's or the decedent's average weekly wage for the year preceding the injury or the date the disability due to the occupational disease begins is the weekly wage upon which compensation shall be based. In ascertaining the average weekly wage for the year previous to the injury, or the date the disability due to the occupational disease begins any period of unemployment due to sickness, industrial depression, strike, lockout, or other cause beyond the employee's control shall be eliminated.

In cases where there are special circumstances under which the average weekly wage cannot justly be determined by applying this section, the administrator of workers' compensation, in determining the average weekly wage in such cases, shall use such method as will enable him the administrator to do substantial justice to the claimants, provided that the administrator shall not recalculate the claimant's average weekly wage for awards for permanent total disability solely for the reason that the claimant continued working and the claimant's wages increased following the injury.

Sec. 4123.65. (A) A state fund employer or the employee of such an employer may file an application with the administrator of workers' compensation for approval of a final settlement of a claim under this chapter. The application shall include the settlement agreement, and except as otherwise specified in this division, be signed by the claimant and employer, and clearly set forth the circumstances by reason of which the proposed settlement is deemed desirable and that the parties agree to the terms of the settlement agreement provided that the agreement need not be signed by the employer if the. A claimant may file an application without an employer's signature in the following situations:

(1) The employer is no longer doing business in Ohio. If;

(2) The claim no longer is in the employer's industrial accident or occupational disease experience as provided in division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code and the claimant no longer is employed with that employer;

(3) The employer has failed to comply with section 4123.35 of the Revised Code.

If a claimant files an application without an employer's signature, and the employer still is doing business in this state, the administrator shall send written notice of the application to the employer immediately upon receipt of the application. If the employer fails to respond to the notice within thirty days after the notice is sent, the application need not contain the employer's signature.

If a state fund employer or an employee of such an employer has not filed an application for a final settlement under this division, the administrator may file an application on behalf of the employer or the employee, provided that the administrator gives notice of the filing to the employer and the employee and to the representative of record of the employer and of the employee immediately upon the filing. An application filed by the administrator shall contain all of the information and signatures required of an employer or an employee who files an application under this division. Every self-insuring employer that enters into a final settlement agreement with an employee shall mail, within seven days of executing the agreement, a copy of the agreement to the administrator and the employee's representative. The administrator shall place the agreement into the claimant's file.

(B) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (D) of this section, a settlement agreed to under this section is binding upon all parties thereto and as to items, injuries, and occupational diseases to which the settlement applies.

(C) No settlement agreed to under division (A) of this section or agreed to by a self-insuring employer and the self-insuring employer's employee shall take effect until thirty days after the administrator approves the settlement for state fund employees and employers, or after the self-insuring employer and employee sign the final settlement agreement. During the thirty-day period, the employer, employee, or administrator, for state fund settlements, and the employer or employee, for self-insuring settlements, may withdraw consent to the settlement by an employer providing written notice to the employer's employee and the administrator or by an employee providing written notice to the employee's employer and the administrator, or by the administrator providing written notice to the state fund employer and employee. If an employee dies during the thirty-day waiting period following the approval of a settlement, the settlement can be voided by any party for good cause shown.

(D) At the time of agreement to any final settlement agreement under division (A) of this section or agreement between a self-insuring employer and the self-insuring employer's employee, the administrator, for state fund settlements, and the self-insuring employer, for self-insuring settlements, immediately shall send a copy of the agreement to the industrial commission who shall assign the matter to a staff hearing officer. The staff hearing officer shall determine, within the time limitations specified in division (C) of this section, whether the settlement agreement is or is not a gross miscarriage of justice. If the staff hearing officer determines within that time period that the settlement agreement is clearly unfair, the staff hearing officer shall issue an order disapproving the settlement agreement. If the staff hearing officer determines that the settlement agreement is not clearly unfair or fails to act within those time limits, the settlement agreement is approved.

(E) A settlement entered into under this section may pertain to one or more claims of a claimant, or one or more parts of a claim, or the compensation or benefits pertaining to either, or any combination thereof, provided that nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a claimant to enter into a settlement agreement for every claim that has been filed with the bureau of workers' compensation by that claimant under Chapter 4121., 4123., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code.

(F) A settlement entered into under this section is not appealable under section 4123.511 or 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.88. (A) No person shall orally or in writing, directly or indirectly, or through any agent or other person fraudulently hold himself the person's self out or represent himself the person's self or his any of the person's partners or associates as authorized by a claimant or employer to take charge of, or represent the claimant or employer in respect of, any claim or matter in connection therewith before the bureau of workers' compensation or the industrial commission or its district or staff hearing officers. No person shall directly or indirectly solicit authority, or pay or give anything of value to another person to solicit authority, or accept or receive pay or anything of value from another person for soliciting authority, from a claimant or employer to take charge of, or represent the claimant or employer in respect of, any claim or appeal which is or may be filed with the bureau or commission. No person shall, without prior authority from the bureau, a member of the commission, the claimant, or the employer, examine or directly or indirectly cause or employ another person to examine any claim file or any other file pertaining thereto. No person shall forge an authorization for the purpose of examining or cause another person to examine any such file. No district or staff hearing officer or other employee of the bureau or commission, notwithstanding the provisions of section 4123.27 of the Revised Code, shall divulge any information in respect of any claim or appeal which is or may be filed with a district or staff hearing officer, the bureau, or commission to any person other than members of the commission or to the superior of the employee except upon authorization of the administrator of workers' compensation or a member of the commission or upon authorization of the claimant or employer. No

(B) The records described or referred to in division (A) of this section are not public records as defined in division (A)(1) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Any information directly or indirectly identifying the address or telephone number of a claimant, regardless of whether the claimant's claim is active or closed, is not a public record. No person shall solicit or obtain any such information from any such employee without first having obtained an authorization therefor as provided in this section.

(C) Except as otherwise specified in division (D) of this section, information kept by the commission or the bureau pursuant to this section is for the exclusive use and information of the commission and the bureau in the discharge of their official duties, and shall not be open to the public nor be used in any court in any action or proceeding pending therein, unless the commission or the bureau is a party to the action or proceeding. The information, however, may be tabulated and published by the commission or the bureau in statistical form for the use and information of other state agencies and the public.

(D)(1) Upon receiving a written request made and signed by a journalist, the commission or the bureau shall disclose to the journalist the address or addresses and telephone number or numbers of claimants, regardless of whether their claims are active or closed, and the dependents of those claimants.

(2) A journalist is permitted to request the information described in division (D)(1) of this section for multiple workers or dependents in one written request.

(3) A journalist shall include all of the following in the written request:

(a) The journalist's name, title, and signature;

(b) The name and title of the journalist's employer;

(c) A statement that the disclosure of the information sought is in the public interest.

(4) Neither the commission nor the bureau may inquire as to the specific public interest served by the disclosure of information requested by a journalist under division (D) of this section.

(E) As used in this section, "journalist" has the same meaning as in division (B)(5) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

SECTION 2. That existing sections 2913.48, 3121.034, 3121.037, 4111.02, [4121.10, 4121.12,] 4121.44, 4121.441, [4123.01,] 4123.29, 4123.32, 4123.35, [4123.512, 4123.52, 4123.54, 4123.56,]4123.57, [4123.58, 4123.61, 4123.65, 4123.88,] 5703.21, and 5747.18 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. (Only the language contained in brackets in this section is being referred to the electors).