Regards juvenile offenders, qualification for employment

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 701

2025-2026

Representatives Williams, Humphrey

To
amend sections 4109.02 and 4123.35 and to enact sections 2152.30,
4113.90, and 4123.97 of the Revised Code
regarding
juvenile offenders and certificates of qualification for employment.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 4109.02 and 4123.35 be amended and sections 2152.30,
4113.90, and 4123.97 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as
follows:

Sec.
2152.30.
A
child who is seventeen years of age and has previously been found to
be a delinquent child under Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code may
apply to the juvenile court that adjudicated the child a delinquent
child for a certificate of qualification for employment. A court that
receives a petition under this section shall review the petition and,
assuming the petition is accurate and the child is no longer under
the jurisdiction of the court in the delinquency matter, the court
shall issue a certificate of qualification for employment to the
child.

In
any proceeding on a claim against an employer alleging the employer
was negligent in hiring or supervising an individual who is seventeen
years of age and has previously been found to be a delinquent child
under Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code, a certificate of
qualification for employment issued under this section to the
individual provides immunity for the employer as to the claim.

Sec.
4109.02.
(A)
Except as provided in division (B) of this section or in section
4109.06 of the Revised Code, no minor of compulsory school age shall
be employed by any employer unless the minor presents to the employer
a proper age and schooling certificate
or
a certificate of qualification for employment issued under section
2152.30 of the Revised Code
as
a condition of employment.

A
valid certificate
or
certificate of qualification for employment
constitutes
conclusive evidence of the age of the minor and of the employer's
right to employ the minor in occupations not denied by law to minors
of that age under section 4109.06 of the Revised Code or rules
adopted under that section.

(B)
Minors aged sixteen or seventeen are not required to provide an age
and schooling certificate
or
a certificate of qualification for employment issued under section
2152.30 of the Revised Code
as
a condition of employment if they are to be employed during summer
vacation months after the last day of the school term in the spring
and before the first day of the school term in the fall, in
nonagricultural and nonhazardous employment as defined by the "Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938," 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C.A. 201,
and similar state statutes, or in other employment not prohibited to
minors age sixteen or seventeen by law.

(C)
To be hired for the type of employment described in division (B) of
this section, minors shall provide the employer with the following:

(1)
Evidence of proof of age in the same manner as proof of age is
provided the superintendent of schools or chief administrative
officer under division (A)(3) of section 3331.02 of the Revised Code;

(2)
A statement signed by the minor's parent or guardian consenting to
the proposed employment. For the purposes of this section, in the
absence of a parent or guardian, a person over eighteen years of age
with whom the minor resides may sign the statement.

Sec.
4113.90.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Employee" means any person who performs a service for
wages or other remuneration for an employer.

(2)
"Employer" means any person who has one or more employees.
"Employer" includes an agent of an employer, the state or
any agency or instrumentality of the state, and any municipal
corporation, county, township, school district, or other political
subdivision or any agency or instrumentality thereof.

(3)
"Fringe benefit" means any benefit for which the employer
would incur an expense, including health, welfare, or retirement
benefits, whether paid for entirely by the employee or on the basis
of a joint employer-employee contribution; leaves of absence; or
vacation, separation, sick, or holiday pay.

(B)
No employer shall discriminate against an employee in the payment of
wages or the provision of fringe benefits on the basis that an
employee has been granted a certificate of qualification for
employment under section 2152.30 of the Revised Code by paying wages
or providing fringe benefits to the employee that are less than wages
or fringe benefits provided to another employee for equal work on
jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and
responsibility, and which are performed under similar conditions.

(C)
No employer shall discriminate against any employee because the
employee makes a complaint or institutes, or testifies in, any
proceeding under this section.

(D)
An employee who believes the employee has been discriminated against
in violation of this section may sue in any court of competent
jurisdiction. For a violation of division (B) of this section, the
employee may recover two times the amount of the difference between
the wages and value of fringe benefits actually received and the
wages and value of fringe benefits received by a person performing
equal work for the employer from the date of the commencement of the
violation. For a violation of division (C) of this section, the court
may grant a remedy the court considers appropriate under the
circumstances. In addition to any other remedy granted under this
division, the court may award an employee reasonable attorney's fees
and court costs.

(E)
Any action arising under this section shall be initiated within one
year after the date of violation.

Sec.
4123.35.
(A)
Except as provided in this section, and until the policy year
commencing July 1, 2015, every private employer and every publicly
owned utility shall pay semiannually in the months of January and
July into the state insurance fund the amount of annual premium the
administrator of workers' compensation fixes for the employment or
occupation of the employer, the amount of which premium to be paid by
each employer to be determined by the classifications, rules, and
rates made and published by the administrator. The employer shall pay
semiannually a further sum of money into the state insurance fund as
may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying the rules
of the administrator.

Except
as otherwise provided in this section, for a policy year commencing
on or after July 1, 2015, every private employer and every publicly
owned utility shall pay annually in the month of June immediately
preceding the policy year into the state insurance fund the amount of
estimated annual premium the administrator fixes for the employment
or occupation of the employer, the amount of which estimated premium
to be paid by each employer to be determined by the classifications,
rules, and rates made and published by the administrator. The
employer shall pay a further sum of money into the state insurance
fund as may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying
the rules of the administrator. Upon receipt of the payroll report
required by division (B) of section 4123.26 of the Revised Code, the
administrator shall adjust the premium and assessments charged to
each employer for the difference between estimated gross payrolls and
actual gross payrolls, and any balance due to the administrator shall
be immediately paid by the employer. Any balance due the employer
shall be credited to the employer's account.

For
a policy year commencing on or after July 1, 2015, each employer that
is recognized by the administrator as a professional employer
organization or alternate employer organization shall pay monthly
into the state insurance fund the amount of premium the administrator
fixes for the employer for the prior month based on the actual
payroll of the employer reported pursuant to division (C) of section
4123.26 of the Revised Code.

A
receipt certifying that payment has been made shall be issued to the
employer by the bureau of workers' compensation. The receipt is
prima-facie evidence of the payment of the premium. The administrator
shall provide each employer written proof of workers' compensation
coverage as is required in section 4123.83 of the Revised Code.
Proper posting of the notice constitutes the employer's compliance
with the notice requirement mandated in section 4123.83 of the
Revised Code.

The
bureau shall verify with the secretary of state the existence of all
corporations and organizations making application for workers'
compensation coverage and shall require every such application to
include the employer's federal identification number.

A
private employer who has contracted with a subcontractor is liable
for the unpaid premium due from any subcontractor with respect to
that part of the payroll of the subcontractor that is for work
performed pursuant to the contract with the employer.

Division
(A) of this section providing for the payment of premiums
semiannually does not apply to any employer who was a subscriber to
the state insurance fund prior to January 1, 1914, or, until July 1,
2015, who may first become a subscriber to the fund in any month
other than January or July. Instead, the semiannual premiums shall be
paid by those employers from time to time upon the expiration of the
respective periods for which payments into the fund have been made by
them. After July 1, 2015, an employer who first becomes a subscriber
to the fund on any day other than the first day of July shall pay
premiums according to rules adopted by the administrator, with the
advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of
directors, for the remainder of the policy year for which the
coverage is effective.

The
administrator, with the advice and consent of the board, shall adopt
rules to permit employers to make periodic payments of the premium
and assessment due under this division. The rules shall include
provisions for the assessment of interest charges, where appropriate,
and for the assessment of penalties when an employer fails to make
timely premium payments. The administrator, in the rules the
administrator adopts, may set an administrative fee for these
periodic payments. An employer who timely pays the amounts due under
this division is entitled to all of the benefits and protections of
this chapter. Upon receipt of payment, the bureau shall issue a
receipt to the employer certifying that payment has been made, which
receipt is prima-facie evidence of payment. Workers' compensation
coverage under this chapter continues uninterrupted upon timely
receipt of payment under this division.

Every
public employer, except public employers that are self-insuring
employers under this section, shall comply with sections 4123.38 to
4123.41, and 4123.48 of the Revised Code in regard to the
contribution of moneys to the public insurance fund.

(B)
Employers who will abide by the rules of the administrator and who
may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment
of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed
employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and
hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses,
equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55
to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and who do
not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify themselves
against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding
of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to
pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical,
nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses
directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees,
thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The
administrator may charge employers who apply for the status as a
self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the
bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a
determination with respect to an application.

All
employers granted status as self-insuring employers shall demonstrate
sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all
obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator
shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate
the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed
on the employer by this section.

(1)
The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the
following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's
ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the employer by
this section:

(a)
The employer has operated in this state for a minimum of two years,
provided that an employer who has purchased, acquired, or otherwise
succeeded to the operation of a business, or any part thereof,
situated in this state that has operated for at least two years in
this state, also shall qualify;

(b)
Where the employer previously contributed to the state insurance fund
or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of
the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(c)
The sufficiency of the employer's assets located in this state to
insure the employer's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(d)
The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified
public accountant, necessary to provide the employer's full financial
disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not
limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the
current year and previous four years.

(e)
The employer's organizational plan for the administration of the
workers' compensation law;

(f)
The employer's proposed plan to inform employees of the change from a
state fund insurer to a self-insuring employer, the procedures the
employer will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees'
rights to compensation and benefits; and

(g)
The employer has either an account in a financial institution in this
state, or if the employer maintains an account with a financial
institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation
checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the
employer clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a
financial institution in this state.

The
administrator may waive the requirements of division (B)(1)(a) of
this section and the requirement of division (B)(1)(d) of this
section that the financial records, documents, and data be certified
by a certified public accountant. The administrator shall adopt rules
establishing the criteria that an employer shall meet in order for
the administrator to waive the requirements of divisions (B)(1)(a)
and (d) of this section. Such rules may require additional security
of that employer pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the
Revised Code.

The
administrator shall not grant the status of self-insuring employer to
the state, except that the administrator may grant the status of
self-insuring employer to a state institution of higher education,
including its hospitals, that meets the requirements of division
(B)(2) of this section.

(2)
When considering the application of a public employer, except for a
board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section
4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or a
publicly owned utility, the administrator shall verify that the
public employer satisfies all of the following requirements as the
requirements apply to that public employer:

(a)
For the two-year period preceding application under this section, the
public employer has maintained an unvoted debt capacity equal to at
least two times the amount of the current annual premium established
by the administrator under this chapter for that public employer for
the year immediately preceding the year in which the public employer
makes application under this section.

(b)
For each of the two fiscal years preceding application under this
section, the unreserved and undesignated year-end fund balance in the
public employer's general fund is equal to at least five per cent of
the public employer's general fund revenues for the fiscal year
computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(c)
For the five-year period preceding application under this section,
the public employer, to the extent applicable, has complied fully
with the continuing disclosure requirements established in rules
adopted by the United States securities and exchange commission under
17 C.F.R. 240.15c 2-12.

(d)
For the five-year period preceding application under this section,
the public employer has not had its local government fund
distribution withheld on account of the public employer being
indebted or otherwise obligated to the state.

(e)
For the five-year period preceding application under this section,
the public employer has not been under a fiscal watch or fiscal
emergency pursuant to section 118.023, 118.04, or 3316.03 of the
Revised Code.

(f)
For the public employer's fiscal year preceding application under
this section, the public employer has obtained an annual financial
audit as required under section 117.10 of the Revised Code, which has
been released by the auditor of state within seven months after the
end of the public employer's fiscal year.

(g)
On the date of application, the public employer holds a debt rating
of Aa3 or higher according to Moody's investors service, inc., or a
comparable rating by an independent rating agency similar to Moody's
investors service, inc.

(h)
The public employer agrees to generate an annual accumulating book
reserve in its financial statements reflecting an actuarially
generated reserve adequate to pay projected claims under this chapter
for the applicable period of time, as determined by the
administrator.

(i)
For a public employer that is a hospital, the public employer shall
submit audited financial statements showing the hospital's overall
liquidity characteristics, and the administrator shall determine, on
an individual basis, whether the public employer satisfies liquidity
standards equivalent to the liquidity standards of other public
employers.

(j)
Any additional criteria that the administrator adopts by rule
pursuant to division (E) of this section.

The
administrator may adopt rules establishing the criteria that a public
employer shall satisfy in order for the administrator to waive any of
the requirements listed in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (j) of this
section. The rules may require additional security from that employer
pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the Revised Code. The
administrator shall not waive any of the requirements listed in
divisions (B)(2)(a) to (j) of this section for a public employer who
does not satisfy the criteria established in the rules the
administrator adopts.

(C)
A board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section
4123.01 of the Revised Code, as an employer, that will abide by the
rules of the administrator and that may be of sufficient financial
ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured
employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing
of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services
and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is
provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to
4123.67 of the Revised Code, and that does not desire to insure the
payment thereof or indemnify itself against loss sustained by the
direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the
administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually
compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital
services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured
employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being
granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may
charge a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of
section 4123.01 of the Revised Code that applies for the status as a
self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the
bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a
determination with respect to an application. All employers granted
such status shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative
ability to assure that all obligations under this section are
promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the
employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly
meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section. The
administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following
factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to
meet all of the obligations imposed on the board as an employer by
this section:

(1)
The board has operated in this state for a minimum of two years;

(2)
Where the board previously contributed to the state insurance fund or
is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the
buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(3)
The sufficiency of the board's assets located in this state to insure
the board's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(4)
The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified
public accountant, necessary to provide the board's full financial
disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not
limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the
current year and previous four years.

(5)
The board's organizational plan for the administration of the
workers' compensation law;

(6)
The board's proposed plan to inform employees of the proposed
self-insurance, the procedures the board will follow as a
self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and
benefits;

(7)
The board has either an account in a financial institution in this
state, or if the board maintains an account with a financial
institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation
checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the board
clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial
institution in this state;

(8)
The board shall provide the administrator a surety bond in an amount
equal to one hundred twenty-five per cent of the projected losses as
determined by the administrator.

(D)
The administrator shall require a surety bond from all self-insuring
employers, issued pursuant to section 4123.351 of the Revised Code,
that is sufficient to compel, or secure to injured employees, or to
the dependents of employees killed, the payment of compensation and
expenses, which shall in no event be less than that paid or furnished
out of the state insurance fund in similar cases to injured employees
or to dependents of killed employees whose employers contribute to
the fund, except when an employee of the employer, who has suffered
the loss of a hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye prior to the injury for
which compensation is to be paid, and thereafter suffers the loss of
any other of the members as the result of any injury sustained in the
course of and arising out of the employee's employment, the
compensation to be paid by the self-insuring employer is limited to
the disability suffered in the subsequent injury, additional
compensation, if any, to be paid by the bureau out of the surplus
created by section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.

(E)
In addition to the requirements of this section, the administrator
shall make and publish rules governing the manner of making
application and the nature and extent of the proof required to
justify a finding of fact by the administrator as to granting the
status of a self-insuring employer, which rules shall be general in
their application, one of which rules shall provide that all
self-insuring employers shall pay into the state insurance fund such
amounts as are required to be credited to the surplus fund in
division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code. The
administrator may adopt rules establishing requirements in addition
to the requirements described in division (B)(2) of this section that
a public employer shall meet in order to qualify for self-insuring
status.

Employers
shall secure directly from the bureau central offices application
forms upon which the bureau shall stamp a designating number. Prior
to submission of an application, an employer shall make available to
the bureau, and the bureau shall review, the information described in
division (B)(1) of this section, and public employers shall make
available, and the bureau shall review, the information necessary to
verify whether the public employer meets the requirements listed in
division (B)(2) of this section. An employer shall file the completed
application forms with an application fee, which shall cover the
costs of processing the application, as established by the
administrator, by rule, with the bureau at least ninety days prior to
the effective date of the employer's new status as a self-insuring
employer. The application form is not deemed complete until all the
required information is attached thereto. The bureau shall only
accept applications that contain the required information.

(F)
The bureau shall review completed applications within a reasonable
time. If the bureau determines to grant an employer the status as a
self-insuring employer, the bureau shall issue a statement,
containing its findings of fact, that is prepared by the bureau and
signed by the administrator. If the bureau determines not to grant
the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall notify the
employer of the determination and require the employer to continue to
pay its full premium into the state insurance fund. The administrator
also shall adopt rules establishing a minimum level of performance as
a criterion for granting and maintaining the status as a
self-insuring employer and fixing time limits beyond which failure of
the self-insuring employer to provide for the necessary medical
examinations and evaluations may not delay a decision on a claim.

(G)
The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth procedures for
auditing the program of self-insuring employers. The bureau shall
conduct the audit upon a random basis or whenever the bureau has
grounds for believing that a self-insuring employer is not in full
compliance with bureau rules or this chapter.

The
administrator shall monitor the programs conducted by self-insuring
employers, to ensure compliance with bureau requirements and for that
purpose, shall develop and issue to self-insuring employers
standardized forms for use by the self-insuring employer in all
aspects of the self-insuring employers' direct compensation program
and for reporting of information to the bureau.

The
bureau shall receive and transmit to the self-insuring employer all
complaints concerning any self-insuring employer. In the case of a
complaint against a self-insuring employer, the administrator shall
handle the complaint through the self-insurance division of the
bureau. The bureau shall maintain a file by employer of all
complaints received that relate to the employer. The bureau shall
evaluate each complaint and take appropriate action.

The
administrator shall adopt as a rule a prohibition against any
self-insuring employer from harassing, dismissing, or otherwise
disciplining any employee making a complaint, which rule shall
provide for a financial penalty to be levied by the administrator
payable by the offending self-insuring employer.

(H)
For the purpose of making determinations as to whether to grant
status as a self-insuring employer, the administrator may subscribe
to and pay for a credit reporting service that offers financial and
other business information about individual employers. The costs in
connection with the bureau's subscription or individual reports from
the service about an applicant may be included in the application fee
charged employers under this section.

(I)
A self-insuring employer that returns to the state insurance fund as
a state fund employer shall provide the administrator with medical
costs and indemnity costs by claim, and payroll by manual
classification and year, and such other information the administrator
may require. The self-insuring employer shall submit this information
by dates and in a format determined by the administrator. The
administrator shall develop a state fund experience modification
factor for a self-insuring employer that returns to the state
insurance fund based in whole or in part on the employer's
self-insured experience and the information submitted.

(J)
On the first day of July of each year, the administrator shall
calculate separately each self-insuring employer's assessments for
the safety and hygiene fund, administrative costs pursuant to section
4123.342 of the Revised Code, and for the surplus fund under division
(B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, on the basis of the paid
compensation attributable to the individual self-insuring employer
according to the following calculation:

(1)
The total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class
for each fund and for the administrative costs for the year that the
assessment is being made, as determined by the administrator, divided
by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar
year attributable to all amenable self-insuring employers;

(2)
Multiply the quotient in division (J)(1) of this section by the total
amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year that is
attributable to the individual self-insuring employer for whom the
assessment is being determined. Each self-insuring employer shall pay
the assessment that results from this calculation, unless the
assessment resulting from this calculation falls below a minimum
assessment, which minimum assessment the administrator shall
determine on the first day of July of each year with the advice and
consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, in
which event, the self-insuring employer shall pay the minimum
assessment.

In
determining the total amount due for the total assessment against all
self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and the
administrative assessment, the administrator shall reduce
proportionately the total for each fund and assessment by the amount
of money in the self-insurance assessment fund as of the date of the
computation of the assessment.

The
administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the
surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised
Code that is used for reimbursement to a self-insuring employer under
division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code in the same
manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section
except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment
for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those
self-insuring employers that retain participation in reimbursement to
the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of
the Revised Code and the individual self-insuring employer's
proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those
self-insuring employers who retain participation in reimbursement to
the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of
the Revised Code.

An
employer who no longer is a self-insuring employer in this state or
who no longer is operating in this state, shall continue to pay
assessments for administrative costs and for the surplus fund under
division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code based upon paid
compensation attributable to claims that occurred while the employer
was a self-insuring employer within this state.

(K)
There is hereby created in the state treasury the self-insurance
assessment fund. All investment earnings of the fund shall be
deposited in the fund. The administrator shall use the money in the
self-insurance assessment fund only for administrative costs as
specified in section 4123.341 of the Revised Code.

(L)

Every

Except
as provided in section 4123.97 of the Revised Code, every

self-insuring
employer shall certify, in affidavit form subject to the penalty for
perjury, to the bureau the amount of the self-insuring employer's
paid compensation for the previous calendar year. In reporting paid
compensation paid for the previous year, a self-insuring employer
shall exclude from the total amount of paid compensation any
reimbursement the self-insuring employer receives in the previous
calendar year from the surplus fund pursuant to section 4123.512 of
the Revised Code for any paid compensation. The self-insuring
employer also shall exclude from the paid compensation reported any
amount recovered under section 4123.931 of the Revised Code and any
amount that is determined not to have been payable to or on behalf of
a claimant in any final administrative or judicial proceeding. The
self-insuring employer shall exclude such amounts from the paid
compensation reported in the reporting period subsequent to the date
the determination is made. The administrator shall adopt rules, in
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that provide for
all of the following:

(1)
Establishing the date by which self-insuring employers must submit
such information and the amount of the assessments provided for in
division (J) of this section for employers who have been granted
self-insuring status within the last calendar year;

(2)
If an employer fails to pay the assessment when due, the
administrator may add a late fee penalty of not more than five
hundred dollars to the assessment plus an additional penalty amount
as follows:

(a)
For an assessment from sixty-one to ninety days past due, the prime
interest rate, multiplied by the assessment due;

(b)
For an assessment from ninety-one to one hundred twenty days past
due, the prime interest rate plus two per cent, multiplied by the
assessment due;

(c)
For an assessment from one hundred twenty-one to one hundred fifty
days past due, the prime interest rate plus four per cent, multiplied
by the assessment due;

(d)
For an assessment from one hundred fifty-one to one hundred eighty
days past due, the prime interest rate plus six per cent, multiplied
by the assessment due;

(e)
For an assessment from one hundred eighty-one to two hundred ten days
past due, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by
the assessment due;

(f)
For each additional thirty-day period or portion thereof that an
assessment remains past due after it has remained past due for more
than two hundred ten days, the prime interest rate plus eight per
cent, multiplied by the assessment due.

(3)
An employer may appeal a late fee penalty and penalty assessment to
the administrator.

For
purposes of division (L)(2) of this section, "prime interest
rate" means the average bank prime rate, and the administrator
shall determine the prime interest rate in the same manner as a
county auditor determines the average bank prime rate under section
929.02 of the Revised Code.

The
administrator shall include any assessment and penalties that remain
unpaid for previous assessment periods in the calculation and
collection of any assessments due under this division or division (J)
of this section.

(M)
As used in this section, "paid compensation" means all
amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for living maintenance
benefits, all amounts for compensation paid pursuant to sections
4121.63, 4121.67, 4123.56, 4123.57, 4123.58, 4123.59, 4123.60, and
4123.64 of the Revised Code, all amounts paid as wages in lieu of
such compensation, all amounts paid in lieu of such compensation
under a nonoccupational accident and sickness program fully funded by
the self-insuring employer, and all amounts paid by a self-insuring
employer for a violation of a specific safety standard pursuant to
Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution and section 4121.47 of
the Revised Code.

(N)
Should any section of this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised
Code providing for self-insuring employers' assessments based upon
compensation paid be declared unconstitutional by a final decision of
any court, then that section of the Revised Code declared
unconstitutional shall revert back to the section in existence prior
to November 3, 1989, providing for assessments based upon payroll.

(O)
The administrator may grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to
self-insure a construction project entered into by the self-insuring
employer that is scheduled for completion within six years after the
date the project begins, and the total cost of which is estimated to
exceed one hundred million dollars or, for employers described in
division (R) of this section, if the construction project is
estimated to exceed twenty-five million dollars. The administrator
may waive such cost and time criteria and grant a self-insuring
employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project
regardless of the time needed to complete the construction project
and provided that the cost of the construction project is estimated
to exceed fifty million dollars. A self-insuring employer who desires
to self-insure a construction project shall submit to the
administrator an application listing the dates the construction
project is scheduled to begin and end, the estimated cost of the
construction project, the contractors and subcontractors whose
employees are to be self-insured by the self-insuring employer, the
provisions of a safety program that is specifically designed for the
construction project, and a statement as to whether a collective
bargaining agreement governing the rights, duties, and obligations of
each of the parties to the agreement with respect to the construction
project exists between the self-insuring employer and a labor
organization.

A
self-insuring employer may apply to self-insure the employees of
either of the following:

(1)
All contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or
provide materials for the construction project;

(2)
All contractors and, at the administrator's discretion, a substantial
number of all the subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide
materials for the construction project.

Upon
approval of the application, the administrator shall mail a
certificate granting the privilege to self-insure the construction
project to the self-insuring employer. The certificate shall contain
the name of the self-insuring employer and the name, address, and
telephone number of the self-insuring employer's representatives who
are responsible for administering workers' compensation claims for
the construction project. The self-insuring employer shall post the
certificate in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction
project.

The
administrator shall maintain a record of the contractors and
subcontractors whose employees are covered under the certificate
issued to the self-insured employer. A self-insuring employer
immediately shall notify the administrator when any contractor or
subcontractor is added or eliminated from inclusion under the
certificate.

Upon
approval of the application, the self-insuring employer is
responsible for the administration and payment of all claims under
this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code for the employees
of the contractor and subcontractors covered under the certificate
who receive injuries or are killed in the course of and arising out
of employment on the construction project, or who contract an
occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction
project. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the
Revised Code, a claim that is administered and paid in accordance
with this division is considered a claim against the self-insuring
employer listed in the certificate. A contractor or subcontractor
included under the certificate shall report to the self-insuring
employer listed in the certificate, all claims that arise under this
chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code in connection with the
construction project for which the certificate is issued.

A
self-insuring employer who complies with this division is entitled to
the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the
Revised Code with respect to the employees of the contractors and
subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division
for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or
occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees'
employment on that construction project, as if the employees were
employees of the self-insuring employer, provided that the
self-insuring employer also complies with this section. No employee
of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate
issued under this division shall be considered the employee of the
self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for any purposes
other than this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.
Nothing in this division gives a self-insuring employer authority to
control the means, manner, or method of employment of the employees
of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate
issued under this division.

The
contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued
under this division are entitled to the protections provided under
this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to
the contractor's or subcontractor's employees who are employed on the
construction project which is the subject of the certificate, for
death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or
occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees'
employment on that construction project.

The
contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued
under this division shall identify in their payroll records the
employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring
employer listed in that certificate for purposes of this chapter and
Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, and the amount that those
employees earned for employment on the construction project that is
the subject of that certificate. Notwithstanding any provision to the
contrary under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code,
the administrator shall exclude the payroll that is reported for
employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring
employer listed in that certificate, and that the employees earned
for employment on the construction project that is the subject of
that certificate, when determining those contractors' or
subcontractors' premiums or assessments required under this chapter
and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. A self-insuring employer
issued a certificate under this division shall include in the amount
of paid compensation it reports pursuant to division (L) of this
section, the amount of paid compensation the self-insuring employer
paid pursuant to this division for the previous calendar year.

Nothing
in this division shall be construed as altering the rights of
employees under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code as
those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996. Nothing in this
division shall be construed as altering the rights devolved under
sections 2305.31 and 4123.82 of the Revised Code as those rights
existed prior to September 17, 1996.

As
used in this division, "privilege to self-insure a construction
project" means privilege to pay individually compensation, and
to furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and
attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the
dependents of killed employees.

(P)
A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division
(O) of this section shall designate a safety professional to be
responsible for the administration and enforcement of the safety
program that is specifically designed for the construction project
that is the subject of the application.

A
self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division
(O) of this section shall employ an ombudsperson for the construction
project that is the subject of the application. The ombudsperson
shall have experience in workers' compensation or the construction
industry, or both. The ombudsperson shall perform all of the
following duties:

(1)
Communicate with and provide information to employees who are injured
in the course of, or whose injury arises out of employment on the
construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the
course of employment on the construction project;

(2)
Investigate the status of a claim upon the request of an employee to
do so;

(3)
Provide information to claimants, third party administrators,
employers, and other persons to assist those persons in protecting
their rights under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised
Code.

A
self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division
(O) of this section shall post the name of the safety professional
and the ombudsperson and instructions for contacting the safety
professional and the ombudsperson in a conspicuous place at the site
of the construction project.

(Q)
The administrator may consider all of the following when deciding
whether to grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to
self-insure a construction project as provided under division (O) of
this section:

(1)
Whether the self-insuring employer has an organizational plan for the
administration of the workers' compensation law;

(2)
Whether the safety program that is specifically designed for the
construction project provides for the safety of employees employed on
the construction project, is applicable to all contractors and
subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the
construction project, and has as a component, a safety training
program that complies with standards adopted pursuant to the
"Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970," 84 Stat.
1590, 29 U.S.C.A. 651, and provides for continuing management and
employee involvement;

(3)
Whether granting the privilege to self-insure the construction
project will reduce the costs of the construction project;

(4)
Whether the self-insuring employer has employed an ombudsperson as
required under division (P) of this section;

(5)
Whether the self-insuring employer has sufficient surety to secure
the payment of claims for which the self-insuring employer would be
responsible pursuant to the granting of the privilege to self-insure
a construction project under division (O) of this section.

(R)
As used in divisions (O), (P), and (Q), "self-insuring employer"
includes the following employers, whether or not they have been
granted the status of being a self-insuring employer under division
(B) of this section:

(1)
A state institution of higher education;

(2)
A school district;

(3)
A county school financing district;

(4)
An educational service center;

(5)
A community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised
Code;

(6)
A municipal power agency as defined in section 3734.058 of the
Revised Code.

(S)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Unvoted debt capacity" means the amount of money that a
public employer may borrow without voter approval of a tax levy;

(2)
"State institution of higher education" means the state
universities listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code,
community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3354. of the Revised
Code, university branches created pursuant to Chapter 3355. of the
Revised Code, technical colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3357. of
the Revised Code, and state community colleges created pursuant to
Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4123.97.
(A)
As used in this section, "paid compensation" has the same
meaning as in section 4123.35 of the Revised Code.

(B)
Except as provided in division (C) of this section, any compensation
and benefits related to a claim that is compensable under this
chapter or Chapter 4121., 4127., or 4131. of the Revised Code shall
be charged to the surplus fund account created under division (B) of
section 4123.34 of the Revised Code and not charged to an individual
employer's experience if both of the following apply to that claim:

(1)
The employer of the employee who is the subject of the claim pays
premiums into the state insurance fund.

(2)
The employee who is the subject of the claim is seventeen years of
age and has been granted a certificate of qualification for
employment under section 2152.30 of the Revised Code.

(C)
Division (B) of this section does not prohibit increasing an
employer's premium to recoup an additional award for a violation of a
specific safety rule pursuant to Ohio Constitution, Article II,
Section 35 and section 4121.47 of the Revised Code.

(D)
A self-insuring employer shall deduct all compensation and benefits
payable on account of an employee who is seventeen years of age and
has been granted a certificate of qualification for employment under
section 2152.30 of the Revised Code from the paid compensation the
self-insuring employer reports to the administrator under division
(L) of section 4123.35 of the Revised Code. This division does not
permit a self-insuring employer to deduct any amounts paid by the
self-insuring employer for a violation of a specific safety standard
pursuant to Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 35 and section
4121.47 of the Revised Code.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 4109.02 and 4123.35 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.