Important News Regarding Ohio Worker's Compensation

Until recently, Ohio had a provision exempting out-of-state employers from obtaining coverage for temporary workers up to 90 days.

Effective Sep. 11, 2008, Ohio enacted changes to its Workers' Compensation law whereby: Pennsylvania employers doing incidental business in OH are no longer exempt from OH WC law. As a result, Pennsylvania employers who perform work in OH, even on a temporary basis, must have OH coverage for these employees.

Since Ohio is a monopolistic state, the option of adding OH to either item 3.A or item 3.C is not available.

Option 1

Securing a WC policy with the OH Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)

A policy can be secured http://www.ohiobwc.com/employer/forms/coverage/default.asp We would encourage producers to contact the client's carrier to verify that the amount of payroll attributed to OH will not be counted in the PA policy, and ask if the carrier has specific requirements to evidence the attribution of payroll
Ask the client how he will identify the attribution of payroll to the state of OH.

Option 2

If the work is truly an incidental exposure in OH, and the employee works in Pennsylvania most of the time:

The OH BWC suggests using a form C-112, whereby both employer and employee agree that in case of injury occurring in OH, the Pennsylvania employee would be bound exclusively by the laws of Pennsylvania. To be valid, form C-112 must be:

signed by both the employer and the employee
sent to the OH BWC within ten days of signature.

To complete the process, an Ohio WC policy would still need to be maintained by the employer; however, no payroll would be attached for the employees for whom a valid C-112 form was provided, and only an administrative fee of $50 per six-month period would be charged to the employer. As an added precaution, Pennsylvania employers could contractually agree (individually with their employees) that their employment is "principally localized" in Pennsylvania. This statement would have to be done in writing (as provided for in 77 P.S. 411 (d)(5). While this factor is not the only criterion in determining whether the Pennsylvania WC Act applies to injuries occurring outside of Pennsylvania, it would support this finding.

The above suggested courses of action should cover the majority of circumstances. However, ultimately, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry indicated that a final determination could only be made by a WC judge and suggested that employers consult with a legal attorney specializing in PA WC law.