Regards pay, workers' comp for transportation network drivers

hb840_00_IN

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 840

2025-2026

Representative Mohamed

To
amend sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01,
and 4925.10 and to enact sections 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, 4925.18,
4925.19, 4925.20, 4925.25, 4925.26, 4925.27, and 4925.28 of the
Revised Code
regarding
minimum pay, workers' compensation, and other requirements applicable
to transportation network company drivers.

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

Section
1.
That
sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01, and
4925.10 be amended and sections 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, 4925.18,
4925.19, 4925.20, 4925.25, 4925.26, 4925.27, and 4925.28 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
4121.01.
(A)
As used in sections 4121.01 to 4121.29 of the Revised Code:

(1)
"Place of employment" means every place, whether indoors or
out, or underground, and the premises appurtenant thereto, where
either temporarily or permanently any industry, trade, or business is
carried on, or where any process or operation, directly or indirectly
related to any industry, trade, or business, is carried on and where
any person is directly or indirectly employed by another for direct
or indirect gain or profit, but does not include any place where
persons are employed in private domestic service or agricultural
pursuits which do not involve the use of mechanical power.

(2)
"Employment" means any trade, occupation, or process of
manufacture or any method of carrying on such trade, occupation, or
process of manufacture in which any person may be engaged, except in
such private domestic service or agricultural pursuits as do not
involve the use of mechanical power.

(3)
"Employer" means every person, firm, corporation, agent,
manager, representative, or other person having control or custody of
any employment, place of employment, or employee. "Employer"
does not include a franchisor with respect to the franchisor's
relationship with a franchisee or an employee of a franchisee, unless
the franchisor agrees to assume that role in writing or a court of
competent jurisdiction determines that the franchisor exercises a
type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's
employees that is not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the
purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademark, brand, or both. For
purposes of this division, "franchisor" and "franchisee"
have the same meanings as in 16 C.F.R. 436.1.

"Employer" includes a transportation network company with
respect to a transportation network company driver, but only while
the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform
time.

(4)(a)
"Employee" means a person who may be required or directed
by any employer, in consideration of direct or indirect gain or
profit, to engage in any employment, or to go, or work, or be at any
time in any place of employment, including a person described in
division (A)(4)(b) of this section if a motor carrier elects to
consider the person to be an employee.

(b)
"Employee" does not include a person who operates a vehicle
or vessel in the performance of services for or on behalf of a motor
carrier transporting property and to whom all of the following
factors apply:

(i)
The person owns the vehicle or vessel that is used in performing the
services for or on behalf of the carrier, or the person leases the
vehicle or vessel under a bona fide lease agreement that is not a
temporary replacement lease agreement. For purposes of this division,
a bona fide lease agreement does not include an agreement between the
person and the motor carrier transporting property for which, or on
whose behalf, the person provides services.

(ii)
The person is responsible for supplying the necessary personal
services to operate the vehicle or vessel used to provide the
service.

(iii)
The compensation paid to the person is based on factors related to
work performed, including on a mileage-based rate or a percentage of
any schedule of rates, and not solely on the basis of the hours or
time expended.

(iv)
The person substantially controls the means and manner of performing
the services, in conformance with regulatory requirements and
specifications of the shipper.

(v)
The person enters into a written contract with the carrier for whom
the person is performing the services that describes the relationship
between the person and the carrier to be that of an independent
contractor and not that of an employee.

(vi)
The person is responsible for substantially all of the principal
operating costs of the vehicle or vessel and equipment used to
provide the services, including maintenance, fuel, repairs, supplies,
vehicle or vessel insurance, and personal expenses, except that the
person may be paid by the carrier the carrier's fuel surcharge and
incidental costs, including tolls, permits, and lumper fees.

(vii)
The person is responsible for any economic loss or economic gain from
the arrangement with the carrier.

(c)
"Employee" includes a transportation network company driver
while the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch
platform time with respect to the transportation network company.

(5)
"Frequenter" means every person, other than an employee,
who may go in or be in a place of employment under circumstances
which render the person other than a trespasser.

(6)
"Deputy" means any person employed by the industrial
commission or the bureau of workers' compensation, designated as a
deputy by the commission or the administrator of workers'
compensation, who possesses special, technical, scientific,
managerial, professional, or personal abilities or qualities in
matters within the jurisdiction of the commission or the bureau, and
who may be engaged in the performance of duties under the direction
of the commission or the bureau calling for the exercise of such
abilities or qualities.

(7)
"Order" means any decision, rule, regulation, direction,
requirement, or standard, or any other determination or decision that
the bureau is empowered to and does make.

(8)
"General order" means an order that applies generally
throughout the state to all persons, employments, or places of
employment, or all persons, employments, or places of employment of a
class under the jurisdiction of the bureau. All other orders shall be
considered special orders.

(9)
"Local order" means any ordinance, order, rule, or
determination of the legislative authority of any municipal
corporation, or any trustees, or board or officers of any municipal
corporation upon any matter over which the bureau has jurisdiction.

(10)
"Welfare" means comfort, decency, and moral well-being.

(11)
"Safe" or "safety," as applied to any employment
or a place of employment, means such freedom from danger to the life,
health, safety, or welfare of employees or frequenters as the nature
of the employment will reasonably permit, including requirements as
to the hours of labor with relation to the health and welfare of
employees.

(12)
"Employee organization" means any labor or bona fide
organization in which employees participate and that 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.

(13)
"Motor carrier" has the same meaning as in section 4923.01
of the Revised Code.

(14)
"Transportation network company," "transportation
network company driver," "driver platform," "passenger
platform time," "dispatch platform time," and
"passenger platform time" have the same meanings as in
section 4925.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
As used in the Revised Code:

(1)
"Industrial commission" means the chairperson of the
three-member industrial commission created pursuant to section
4121.02 of the Revised Code when the context refers to the authority
vested in the chairperson as the chief executive officer of the
three-member industrial commission pursuant to divisions (A), (B),
(C), and (D) of section 4121.03 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Industrial commission" means the three-member industrial
commission created pursuant to section 4121.02 of the Revised Code
when the context refers to the authority vested in the three-member
industrial commission pursuant to division (E) of section 4121.03 of
the Revised Code.

(3)
"Industrial commission" means the industrial commission as
a state agency when the context refers to the authority vested in the
industrial commission as a state agency.

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 who is a
self-insuring employer and who 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.

(d)
Every person who operates a vehicle or vessel in the performance of
services for or on behalf of a motor carrier transporting property,
unless all of the following factors apply to the person:

(i)
The person owns the vehicle or vessel that is used in performing the
services for or on behalf of the carrier, or the person leases the
vehicle or vessel under a bona fide lease agreement that is not a
temporary replacement lease agreement. For purposes of this division,
a bona fide lease agreement does not include an agreement between the
person and the motor carrier transporting property for which, or on
whose behalf, the person provides services.

(ii)
The person is responsible for supplying the necessary personal
services to operate the vehicle or vessel used to provide the
service.

(iii)
The compensation paid to the person is based on factors related to
work performed, including on a mileage-based rate or a percentage of
any schedule of rates, and not solely on the basis of the hours or
time expended.

(iv)
The person substantially controls the means and manner of performing
the services, in conformance with regulatory requirements and
specifications of the shipper.

(v)
The person enters into a written contract with the carrier for whom
the person is performing the services that describes the relationship
between the person and the carrier to be that of an independent
contractor and not that of an employee.

(vi)
The person is responsible for substantially all of the principal
operating costs of the vehicle or vessel and equipment used to
provide the services, including maintenance, fuel, repairs, supplies,
vehicle or vessel insurance, and personal expenses, except that the
person may be paid by the carrier the carrier's fuel surcharge and
incidental costs, including tolls, permits, and lumper fees.

(vii)
The person is responsible for any economic loss or economic gain from
the arrangement with the carrier.

(e)
A transportation network company driver while the driver is engaged
in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time with respect to
the transportation network company.

(2)
"Employee" does not mean any of the following:

(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;

(d)
An officer of a nonprofit corporation, as defined in section 1702.01
of the Revised Code, who volunteers the person's services as an
officer;

(e)
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;

(f)(i)
A qualifying employee described in division (A)(14)(a) of section
5703.94 of the Revised Code when the qualifying employee is
performing disaster work in this state during a disaster response
period pursuant to a qualifying solicitation received by the
employee's employer;

(ii)
A qualifying employee described in division (A)(14)(b) of section
5703.94 of the Revised Code when the qualifying employee is
performing disaster work in this state during a disaster response
period on critical infrastructure owned or used by the employee's
employer;

(iii)
As used in division (A)(2)(f) of this section, "critical
infrastructure," "disaster response period," "disaster
work," and "qualifying employee" have the same
meanings as in section 5703.94 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)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this
section in accordance with rules adopted by the administrator, with
the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board
of directors. 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. Nothing in this section
shall prohibit a partner, sole proprietor, or any person excluded
from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division
(A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section from electing to be
included as an "employee" under this chapter in accordance
with rules adopted by the administrator, with the advice and consent
of the board.

In
the event of an election, the employer or person electing coverage
shall serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice
naming the person to be covered and include the person's remuneration
for premium purposes in all future payroll reports. No partner, sole
proprietor, or person excluded from the definition of "employee"
pursuant to division (A)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this
section, shall receive benefits or compensation under this chapter
until the bureau receives written notice of the election permitted by
this section.

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, or a person excluded from the definition of
"employee" under division (A)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c),
or (e) 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)(1)
"Employer" means:

(a)
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;

(b)
Every person, firm, professional employer organization, alternate
employer organization, and private corporation, including any public
service corporation, that (i) 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 (ii) 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.

(2)
"Employer" does not include a franchisor with respect to
the franchisor's relationship with a franchisee or an employee of a
franchisee, unless the franchisor agrees to assume that role in
writing or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the
franchisor exercises a type or degree of control over the franchisee
or the franchisee's employees that is not customarily exercised by a
franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademark,
brand, or both. For purposes of this division, "franchisor"
and "franchisee" have the same meanings as in 16 C.F.R.
436.1.

(3)
"Employer" includes a transportation network company with
respect to a transportation network company driver, but only while
the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform
time.

(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)
Injury or disability sustained by an employee who performs the
employee's duties in a work area that is located within the
employee's home and that is separate and distinct from the location
of the employer, unless all of the following apply:

(a)
The employee's injury or disability arises out of the employee's
employment.

(b)
The employee's injury or disability was caused by a special hazard of
the employee's employment activity.

(c)
The employee's injury or disability is sustained in the course of an
activity undertaken by the employee for the exclusive benefit of the
employer.

(5)
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)
"Private employer" means an employer as defined in division
(B)(1)(b) of this section.

(I)
"Professional employer organization" has the same meaning
as in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code.

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

(K)
"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.

(L)
"Other-states' insurer" means an insurance company that is
authorized to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage in any
of the states that permit employers to obtain insurance for workers'
compensation claims through insurance companies.

(M)
"Other-states' coverage" means both of the following:

(1)
Insurance coverage secured by an eligible employer for workers'
compensation claims of employees who are in employment relationships
localized in a state other than this state or those employees'
dependents;

(2)
Insurance coverage secured by an eligible employer for workers'
compensation claims that arise in a state other than this state where
an employer elects to obtain coverage through either the
administrator or an other-states' insurer.

(N)
"Limited other-states coverage" means insurance coverage
provided by the administrator to an eligible employer for workers'
compensation claims of employees who are in an employment
relationship localized in this state but are temporarily working in a
state other than this state, or those employees' dependents.

(O)
"Motor carrier" has the same meaning as in section 4923.01
of the Revised Code.

(P)
"Alternate employer organization" has the same meaning as
in section 4133.01 of the Revised Code.

(Q)
"Transportation network company," "transportation
network company driver," "driver platform," "passenger
platform time," "dispatch platform time," and
"passenger platform time" have the same meanings as in
section 4925.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
4123.26.
(A)
Every employer shall keep records of, and furnish to the bureau of
workers' compensation upon request, all information required by the
administrator of workers' compensation to carry out this chapter.

(B)
Except as otherwise provided in
division
(C) of
this
section, every private employer employing one or more employees
regularly in the same business, or in or about the same
establishment, shall submit a payroll report to the bureau. Until the
policy year commencing July 1, 2015, a private employer shall submit
the payroll report in January of each year. For a policy year
commencing on or after July 1, 2015, the employer shall submit the
payroll report on or before August fifteenth of each year unless
otherwise specified by the administrator in rules the administrator
adopts. The employer shall include all of the following information
in the payroll report, as applicable:

(1)
For payroll reports submitted prior to July 1, 2015, the number of
employees employed during the preceding year from the first day of
January through the thirty-first day of December who are localized in
this state;

(2)
For payroll reports submitted on or after July 1, 2015, the number of
employees localized in this state employed during the preceding
policy year from the first day of July through the thirtieth day of
June;

(3)
The number of such employees localized in this state employed at each
kind of employment and the aggregate amount of wages paid to such
employees;

(4)
If an employer elects to secure other-states' coverage or limited
other-states' coverage pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised
Code through either the administrator, if the administrator elects to
offer such coverage, or an other-states' insurer the information
required under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section and any
additional information required by the administrator in rules the
administrator adopts, with the advice and consent of the bureau of
workers' compensation board of directors, to allow the employer to
secure other-states' coverage or limited other-states' coverage.

(5)(a)
In accordance with the rules adopted by the administrator pursuant to
division (C) of section 4123.32 of the Revised Code, if the employer
employs employees who are covered under the federal "Longshore
and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act," 98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C.
901 et seq., and under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised
Code, both of the following amounts:

(i)
The amount of wages the employer pays to those employees when the
employees perform labor and provide services for which the employees
are eligible to receive compensation and benefits under the federal
"Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act";

(ii)
The amount of wages the employer pays to those employees when the
employees perform labor and provide services for which the employees
are eligible to receive compensation and benefits under this chapter
and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

(b)
The allocation of wages identified by the employer pursuant to
divisions (B)(5)(a)(i) and (ii) of this section shall not be presumed
to be an indication of the law under which an employee is eligible to
receive compensation and benefits.

(C)
Each employer that is recognized by the administrator as a
professional employer organization or alternate employer organization
shall submit a monthly payroll report containing the number of
employees employed during the preceding calendar month, the number of
those employees employed at each kind of employment, and the
aggregate amount of wages paid to those employees.

(D)
An employer described in division (B) of this section shall submit
the payroll report required under this section to the bureau on a
form prescribed by the bureau. The bureau may require that the
information required to be furnished be verified under oath. The
bureau or any person employed by the bureau for that purpose, may
examine, under oath, any employer, or the officer, agent, or employee
thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining any information which the
employer is required to furnish to the bureau.

(E)

On
or before the last day of January, April, July, and October of each
year, a transportation network company shall submit to the
administrator a true and accurate report of the hours for which
transportation network company drivers were engaged in passenger
platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation
network company's driver platform during the preceding calendar
quarter and the total amount paid to drivers engaged in passenger
platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform
during the preceding calendar quarter. The sufficiency of the
statement is subject to the approval of the administrator. The
administrator may, for the effective administration of this chapter,
require a transportation network company in individual instances to
furnish a supplementary report containing the name of each individual
driver, the hours the driver engaged in passenger platform time and
dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver
platform, and the driver's compensation. The administrator may adopt
rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to
establish other reporting periods and due dates in lieu of reports
following each calendar quarter.

(F)

No
private employer shall fail to furnish to the bureau
the
payroll
a

report
required by this section, nor shall any employer fail to keep records
of or furnish such other information as may be required by the bureau
under this section.

(F)
(G)

The administrator may adopt rules setting forth penalties for failure
to submit
the
payroll
a

report
required by this section, including but not limited to exclusion from
alternative rating plans and discount programs.

Sec.
4123.29.
(A)
The administrator of workers' compensation, subject to the approval
of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, shall do
all of the following:

(1)
Classify occupations or industries with respect to their degree of
hazard and determine the risks of the different classes according to
the categories the national council on compensation insurance
establishes that are applicable to employers in this state;

(2)(a)

Fix

Except
as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, fix
the
rates of premium of the risks of the classes based upon the total
payroll in each of the classes of occupation or industry sufficiently
large to provide a fund for the compensation provided for in this
chapter and to maintain a state insurance fund from year to year. The
administrator shall set the rates at a level that assures the
solvency of the fund. Where the payroll cannot be obtained or, in the
opinion of the administrator, is not an adequate measure for
determining the premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the
administrator may determine the rates of premium upon such other
basis, consistent with insurance principles, as is equitable in view
of the degree of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is
made to payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing
premiums, the reference shall be construed to have been made also to
such other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the administrator
may determine under this section.

(b)

Fix
the rates of premium for transportation network companies by
multiplying the total number of hours spent by transportation network
company drivers in passenger platform time and dispatch platform time
on the transportation network company's driver platform by the rates
established for taxicab companies or similar industries. The
administrator may adopt rules adjusting premium rates fixed in
accordance with this division provided the premium rates in the rules
are sufficiently large to provide transportation network company
drivers with the compensation and benefits provided for in this
chapter and to maintain the solvency of the fund.

(c)

If
an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage, including
limited other-states' coverage, pursuant to section 4123.292 of the
Revised Code through the administrator, if the administrator elects
to offer such coverage, calculate the employer's premium for the
state insurance fund in the same manner as otherwise required under

division
(A) of
this
section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that the
administrator may establish in rule an alternative calculation of the
employer's premium to appropriately account for the expenditure of
wages, payroll, or both attributable to the labor performed and
services provided by that employer's employees when those employees
performed labor and provided services in this state and in the other
state or states for which the employer elects to secure other-states'
coverage.

(c)
(d)

If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage pursuant to
section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through an other-states'
insurer, calculate the employer's premium for the state insurance
fund in the same manner as otherwise required under
division
(A) of
this
section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the
administrator determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both
upon which to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall
use only the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to
the labor performed and services provided by that employer's
employees when those employees performed labor and provided services
in this state only and to which the other-states' coverage does not
apply. The administrator may adopt rules setting forth the
information that an employer electing to obtain other-states'
coverage through an other-states' insurer shall report for purposes
of determining the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both
attributable to the labor performed and services provided in this
state.

(d)
(e)

The administrator in setting or revising rates shall furnish to
employers an adequate explanation of the basis for the rates set.

(3)
Develop and make available to employers who are paying premiums to
the state insurance fund alternative premium plans. Alternative
premium plans shall include retrospective rating plans. The
administrator may make available plans under which an advanced
deposit may be applied against a specified deductible amount per
claim.

(4)(a)
Offer to insure the obligations of employers under this chapter under
a plan that groups, for rating purposes, employers, and pools the
risk of the employers within the group provided that the employers
meet all of the following conditions:

(i)
All of the employers within the group are members of an organization
that has been in existence for at least two years prior to the date
of application for group coverage;

(ii)
The organization was formed for purposes other than that of obtaining
group workers' compensation under this division;

(iii)
The employers' business in the organization is substantially similar
such that the risks which are grouped are substantially homogeneous;

(iv)
The group of employers consists of at least one hundred members or
the aggregate workers' compensation premiums of the members, as
determined by the administrator, are estimated to exceed one hundred
fifty thousand dollars during the coverage period;

(v)
The formation and operation of the group program in the organization
will substantially improve accident prevention and claims handling
for the employers in the group;

(vi)
Each employer seeking to enroll in a group for workers' compensation
coverage has an account in good standing with the bureau of workers'
compensation. The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth the
criteria by which the administrator will determine whether an
employer's account is in good standing.

(b)
If an organization sponsors more than one employer group to
participate in group plans established under this section, that
organization may submit a single application that supplies all of the
information necessary for each group of employers that the
organization wishes to sponsor.

(c)
In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this
section, the administrator shall consider an employer group as a
single employing entity for purposes of group rating. No employer may
be a member of more than one group for the purpose of obtaining
workers' compensation coverage under this division.

(d)
At the time the administrator revises premium rates pursuant to this
section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, if the premium rate
of an employer who participates in a group plan established under
this section changes from the rate established for the previous year,
the administrator, in addition to sending the invoice with the rate
revision to that employer, shall provide an explanation of the rate
revision to the third-party administrator that administers the group
plan for that employer's group.

(e)
In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this
section, the administrator shall establish a program designed to
mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would come into the
experience of a private, state fund group-rated employer or a taxing
district employer for the first time and be a contributing factor in
that employer being excluded from a group-rated plan. The
administrator shall establish eligibility criteria and requirements
that such employers must satisfy in order to participate in this
program. For purposes of this program, the administrator shall
establish a discount on premium rates applicable to employers who
qualify for the program.

(f)
In no event shall division (A)(4) of this section be construed as
granting to an employer status as a self-insuring employer.

(g)
The administrator shall develop classifications of occupations or
industries that are sufficiently distinct so as not to group
employers in classifications that unfairly represent the risks of
employment with the employer.

(5)
Generally promote employer participation in the state insurance fund
through the regular dissemination of information to all classes of
employers describing the advantages and benefits of opting to make
premium payments to the fund. To that end, the administrator shall
regularly make employers aware of the various workers' compensation
premium packages developed and offered pursuant to this section.

(6)
Make available to every employer who is paying premiums to the state
insurance fund a program whereby the employer or the employer's agent
pays to the claimant or on behalf of the claimant the first fifteen
thousand dollars of a compensable workers' compensation medical-only
claim filed by that claimant that is related to the same injury or
occupational disease. No formal application is required; however, an
employer must elect to participate by telephoning the bureau after
July 1, 1995. Once an employer has elected to participate in the
program, the employer will be responsible for all bills in all
medical-only claims with a date of injury the same or later than the
election date, unless the employer notifies the bureau within
fourteen days of receipt of the notification of a claim being filed
that it does not wish to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer
notifies the bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been
paid, or the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service
on which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular
medical-only claim. If an employer elects to enter the program, the
administrator shall not reimburse the employer for such amounts paid
and shall not charge the first fifteen thousand dollars of any
medical-only claim paid by an employer to the employer's experience
or otherwise use it in merit rating or determining the risks of any
employer for the purpose of payment of premiums under this chapter. A
certified health care provider shall extend to an employer who
participates in this program the same rates for services rendered to
an employee of that employer as the provider bills the administrator
for the same type of medical claim processed by the bureau and shall
not charge, assess, or otherwise attempt to collect from an employee
any amount for covered services or supplies that is in excess of that
rate. If an employer elects to enter the program and the employer
fails to pay a bill for a medical-only claim included in the program,
the employer shall be liable for that bill and the employee for whom
the employer failed to pay the bill shall not be liable for that
bill. The administrator shall adopt rules to implement and administer
division (A)(6) of this section. Upon written request from the
bureau, the employer shall provide documentation to the bureau of all
medical-only bills that they are paying directly. Such requests from
the bureau may not be made more frequently than on a semiannual
basis. Failure to provide such documentation to the bureau within
thirty days of receipt of the request may result in the employer's
forfeiture of participation in the program for such injury. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to claims in which an
employer with knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or
occupational disease, has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total
disability.

(B)
The administrator, with the advice and consent of the board, by rule,
may do both of the following:

(1)
Grant an employer who pays the employer's annual estimated premium in
full prior to the start of the policy year for which the estimated
premium is due, a discount as the administrator fixes from time to
time;

(2)
Levy a minimum annual administrative charge upon risks where premium
reports develop a charge less than the administrator considers
adequate to offset administrative costs of processing.

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.

For
a policy year commencing on or after the effective date of this
amendment, each employer that is a transportation network company
shall pay quarterly into the state insurance fund the amount of
premium the administrator fixes for transportation network company
drivers based on the total passenger platform time and dispatch
platform time on the transportation network company's driver
platform. Premiums for a calendar quarter, whether reported or not,
shall become due and delinquent on the day immediately following the
last day of the month following the calendar quarter. The
administrator, with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers'
compensation board of directors, may adopt rules establishing other
payment amounts and due dates and may also establish terms and
conditions for payment of premiums and assessments based on estimated
passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the
transportation network company's driver platform. Payments based on
estimates shall be subject to approval as to sufficiency of the
estimate and to appropriate periodic adjustments made by the
administrator based on actual passenger platform time and dispatch
platform time on the transportation network company's driver
platform.

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 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.
4925.01.
As
used in this chapter
,
"transportation
:

(A)
"Transportation
network
company," "transportation network company driver,"
"transportation company services," "digital network,"
and "transportation network company rider" have the same
meanings as in section 3942.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
"Compensation" means payment owed to a transportation
network company driver by reason of providing network services,
including the minimum payment for passenger platform time described
in section 4925.11 of the Revised Code and mileage, incentives, and
tips.

(C)
"Dispatch location" means the location of the driver at the
time the driver accepts a trip request through the driver platform.

(D)
"Dispatched trip" means the provision of transportation by
a transportation network company driver for a passenger through the
use of a transportation network company's application dispatch
system.

(E)
"Driver platform" means the driver-facing application
dispatch system software or any online-enabled application service,
web site, or system used by a transportation company driver, or which
enables services to be delivered to a driver, that enables the
prearrangement of passenger trips for compensation.

(F)
"Driver resource center" means the nonprofit organization
selected in accordance with section 4925.25 of the Revised Code that
provides services to transportation network company drivers.

(G)
"Network services" means services related to the
transportation of passengers through the driver platform that are
provided by a transportation network company driver while logged in
to the driver platform, including services provided during available
platform time, dispatch platform time, and passenger platform time.

(H)
"Passenger drop-off location" means the location of a
driver's vehicle when the passenger leaves the vehicle.

(I)
"Passenger pick-up location" means the location of the
driver's vehicle at the time the driver starts the trip in the driver
platform.

(J)
"Passenger platform miles" means all miles driven during
passenger platform time as recorded in a transportation network
company's driver platform.

(K)
"Dispatch platform time" means the time a driver spends
traveling from a dispatch location to a passenger pick-up location.
Dispatch platform time ends when a passenger cancels a trip or the
driver begins the trip through the driver platform. For shared rides,
dispatch platform time means the time a driver spends traveling from
the first dispatch location to the first passenger pick-up location.

(L)
"Passenger platform time" means the period of time when the
driver is transporting one or more passengers on a trip. For shared
rides, passenger platform time means the period of time commencing
when the first passenger enters the driver's vehicle until the time
when the last passenger exits the driver's vehicle.

(M)
"Shared ride" means a dispatched trip that, before its
commencement, a passenger requests through the transportation network
company's digital network to share the dispatched trip with one or
more passengers and each passenger is charged a fare that is
calculated, in whole or in part, based on the passenger's request to
share all or a part of the dispatched trip with one or more
passengers, regardless of whether the passenger actually shares all
or a part of the dispatched trip.

Sec.
4925.10.
(A)
Chapters 4111.
,
4121., 4123.,

and

4141.
,

and sections 4113.15 and 4113.16 of the Revised Code do not apply to
transportation network companies with regard to transportation
network company drivers and transportation network company drivers
are not employees for purposes of those chapters or sections, except
where agreed to by written contract. If the parties agree to the
application of one or more of these laws in a written contract, the
transportation network company shall notify the appropriate agency of
the election to cover the driver. If the parties subsequently change
this election, the transportation network company shall notify the
appropriate agency of the change.

(B)
Except where agreed to by written contract, a transportation network
company driver is not an agent of a transportation network company.

(C)
A driver may bring an action and recover under section 4113.52 of the
Revised Code if a transportation network company has discontinued or
otherwise removed the driver's access to the transportation network
company's digital network because of the driver making a report under
that section. If a driver brings an action under that section, the
driver shall comply with the procedures for employees established in
that section to receive the relief and remedies listed in division
(E) of that section.

A
driver is not an employee for purposes of sections 4113.51 and
4113.52 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division shall be
construed to create an employer and employee relationship between a
transportation network company driver and a transportation network
company.

Sec.
4925.15.
(A)
Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall
ensure that a transportation network company driver's total
compensation is not less than one of the following:

(1)
For all dispatched trips originating in a city with a population of
more than six hundred thousand, on a per trip basis the greater of
the following:

(a)
Fifty nine cents per passenger platform minute for all passenger
platform time for that trip, and one dollar and thirty-eight cents
per passenger platform mile for all passenger platform miles driven
on that trip;

(b)
Five dollars and seventeen cents per dispatched trip.

(2)
For all other dispatched trips, the greater of the following:

(a)
Thirty-four cents per passenger platform minute and one dollar and
seventeen cents per passenger platform mile;

(b)
Three dollars per dispatched trip.

(3)
For all trips originating elsewhere and terminating in a city with a
population of more than six hundred thousand, both of the following
apply:

(a)
For all passenger platform time spent within the city on that trip
and for all passenger platform miles driven in the city on that trip,
the compensation standard under division (A)(1) of this section
applies.

(b)
For all passenger platform time spent outside the city on that trip
and for all passenger platform miles driven outside the city on that
trip, the compensation standard under division (A)(2) of this section
applies.

(B)
On September 30, 2027, and every thirtieth day of September
thereafter, the director of commerce shall adjust the rates specified
in division (A) of this section by increasing the current year's per
mile and per minute amounts and per trip minimums by the rate of
inflation according to the consumer price index or its successor
index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers for all items
as calculated by the federal government. The adjusted wage rate takes
effect on the first day of January immediately following the date of
the adjustment.

(C)
For shared rides, the per trip minimums in divisions (A)(1) and (2)
of this section shall apply only to the entirety of the shared ride,
and not on the basis of the individual passenger's trip within the
shared ride.

(D)
For the purposes of this section, a dispatched trip includes all of
the following:

(1)
A dispatched trip in which the driver transports the passenger to the
passenger drop-off location;

(2)
A dispatched trip canceled after two minutes by a passenger or the
transportation network company, unless cancellation is due to the
driver's conduct, or no cancellation fee is charged to the passenger;

(3)
A dispatched trip that is canceled by the driver for good cause
consistent with company policy;

(4)
A dispatched trip where the passenger does not appear at the
passenger pick-up location within five minutes.

(E)
A transportation network company may exclude time and miles if doing
so is reasonably necessary to remedy or prevent fraudulent use of the
transportation network company's online-enabled application or
platform.

(F)
A transportation network company shall remit to drivers all tips.
Tips paid to a driver are in addition to, and may not count towards,
the driver's minimum compensation under this section.

(G)
Amounts charged to a passenger and remitted to the driver for tolls,
fees, or surcharges incurred by a driver during a trip are not
included in calculating compensation for purposes of this section.

(H)
Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, a driver
cannot simultaneously be engaged in dispatch platform time and
passenger platform time for the same transportation network company.

Sec.
4925.16.
(A)
Except as provided in division (B) of this section, beginning January
1, 2027, a transportation network company shall only make deductions
from a transportation network company driver's compensation when the
driver expressly authorizes the deduction in writing and does so in
advance for a lawful purpose. Any authorization by a driver must be
voluntary and knowing.

(B)
Nothing in this section prohibits a transportation network company
from deducting compensation as required by state or federal law or as
directed by a court order.

(C)
No transportation network company or any person acting in the
interest of the transportation network company shall derive any
financial profit or benefit from any deduction permitted under this
section. For purposes of this section, all the following apply:

(1)
Reasonable interest charged by the transportation network company or
any person acting in the interest of a transportation network
company, for a loan or credit extended to the driver, is not
considered to be of financial benefit to the transportation network
company or person acting in the interest of a transportation network
company;

(2)
A deduction will be considered for financial profit or benefit only
if it results in a gain over and above the fair market value of the
goods or services for which the deduction was made.

Sec.
4925.17.
(A)
Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall
provide each transportation network company driver with a written
notice of rights that provides information on all of the following:

(1)
The right to the applicable per minute rate and per mile rate or per
trip rate required under section 4925.15 of the Revised Code;

(2)
The right to be protected from retaliation for exercising rights
protected by this chapter in good faith;

(3)
The right to seek legal action or file a complaint with the director
of commerce for a violation of the requirements of this chapter,
including a transportation network company's failure to pay the
minimum per minute rate or per mile rate or per trip rate, or a
transportation network company's retaliation against a driver or
other person for engaging in an activity protected by this chapter.

(B)
A transportation network company shall provide the notice required by
division (A) of this section in an electronic format that is readily
accessible by the driver. The notice of rights shall be made
available to the driver via smart phone application or online world
wide web portal.

(C)
Beginning January 1, 2027, not more than twenty-four hours after a
driver completes a dispatched trip, a transportation network company
shall transmit an electronic receipt to the driver that contains all
the following information about the trip:

(1)
The total amount of passenger platform time;

(2)
The total mileage driven during passenger platform time;

(3)
The rate of pay, including the rate per minute, rate per mile,
percentage of passenger fare, and any applicable price multiplier or
variable pricing policy in effect for the trip;

(4)
Tip compensation;

(5)
Gross payment;

(6)
Net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges, lease fees, or
other charges;

(7)
Itemized deductions or fees, including any toll, surcharge,
commission, lease fees, and other charges.

(D)
Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall
make the receipt described in division (C) of this section available
in a downloadable format via a smart phone application or world wide
web portal for a period of not less than two years from the date the
transportation network company provided the receipt to the driver.

(E)
Beginning January 1, 2027, on a weekly basis, the transportation
network company shall provide written notice to a driver that
contains all the following information for trips that occurred in the
previous week:

(1)
The driver's total passenger platform time;

(2)
Total mileage driven by the driver during passenger platform time;

(3)
The driver's total tip compensation;

(4)
The driver's gross payment, itemized by all the following:

(a)
Rate per minute;

(b)
Rate per mile;

(c)
Any other method used to calculate pay, including base pay,
percentage of passenger fare, or any applicable price multiplier or
variable pricing policy in effect for the trip.

(5)
The driver's net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges,
lease fees, or other charges;

(6)
Itemized deductions or fees from the driver's payment, including all
tolls, surcharges, commissions, lease fees, and other charges.

Sec.
4925.18.
No
transportation network company shall do any of the following:

(A)
Use a transportation network company driver's exercise of any of the
rights provided under this chapter as a factor in any action that
adversely affects the driver's use of the transportation network;

(B)
Take any adverse action against a driver because the driver files a
complaint, or institutes or causes to be instituted any proceeding
related to this chapter, or testifies or intends to testify in any
such proceeding related to any rights provided under this chapter.

Sec.
4925.19.
(A)
As used in this section, "repeat willful violator" means
any transportation network company that has been the subject of a
final and binding citation and penalty assessment for a willful
violation of section 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, or 4925.18 of the
Revised Code within three years of the date of issuance of the most
recent citation and penalty assessment for a willful violation of any
of those sections.

(B)
The director of commerce shall prescribe a complaint form for a
transportation network company driver to allege that a transportation
network company did any of the following:

(1)
Failed to pay any compensation amounts due to the driver under
section 4125.15 of the Revised Code;

(2)
Made deductions from a driver's compensation prohibited under section
4125.16 of the Revised Code;

(3)
Failed to comply with any of the requirements of section 4125.17 of
the Revised Code;

(4)
Engaged in any of the unlawful practices described in section 4125.18
of the Revised Code.

(C)(1)
Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, if a driver
files a complaint with the director, the director shall investigate
the complaint and issue either a citation and penalty assessment or a
determination of compliance not later than sixty days after the date
on which the director received the complaint. The director may extend
the time period by providing written notice to the driver and the
transportation network company setting forth the reason for the
extension of the time period and specifying the duration of the
extension.

(2)(a)
The director shall not investigate any alleged violation of section
4125.15, 4125.16, or 4125.17 of the Revised Code that occurred more
than three years before the date that the driver files a complaint
under this section.

(b)
Except as provided in this division, the director shall not
investigate any allegation that a transportation network company
engaged in an unlawful practice described in section 4125.18 of the
Revised Code if the alleged practice occurred more than one hundred
eighty days before the date that the driver files a complaint under
this section. The director may, at the director's discretion, extend
the one-hundred-eighty-day period on recognized equitable principles
or because of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the
driver. The director shall extend the period when a preponderance of
evidence exists that the transportation network company has concealed
or misled the driver regarding the alleged unlawful practice.

(D)
The director shall serve a citation and penalty assessment or a
determination of compliance issued under this section to both the
transportation network company and the driver by personal service or
traceable delivery service to their last known addresses. A
transportation network company may designate a mailing address of
record for service and additionally may provide an electronic mail
address to which the director shall direct electronic courtesy copies
of mailed correspondence, if such electronic mail address is
provided.

(E)(1)
If the director determines that a transportation network company has
failed to pay any compensation amounts due to the driver under
section 4125.15 of the Revised Code, or made deductions prohibited
under section 4125.16 of the Revised Code, the director, in the
citation and penalty assessment, shall order the transportation
network company to pay to the driver all compensation owed to the
driver. The director may order the transportation network company to
pay to the driver interest of one per cent per month on all
compensation owed. Compensation and interest shall be calculated from
the first date compensation was owed to the driver, except that the
director may not order the transportation network company to pay any
compensation and interest that were owed more than three years before
the date the complaint was filed with the director.

(2)
If the director determines that a transportation network company
willfully violated section 4125.15 or 4125.16 of the Revised Code,
the director also may order the transportation network company to pay
a civil penalty to the director of not less than one thousand dollars
or an amount equal to ten per cent of the total amount of unpaid
compensation owed to the driver, whichever is greater. The maximum
civil penalty assessed under this division shall not exceed twenty
thousand dollars per driver. The director shall waive any civil
penalty assessed against a transportation network company under this
division if the director finds that the transportation network
company is not a repeat willful violator, and the director determines
that the transportation network company has provided payment to the
driver of all compensation that the director determined that the
transportation network company owed to the driver, including
interest, within thirty days of the transportation network company's
receipt of the citation and penalty assessment. The director may
waive or reduce at any time a civil penalty assessed under this
division if the director determines that the transportation network
company paid all compensation and interest owed to a driver.

(F)
If the director determines that a transportation network company
willfully violated section 4925.17 of the Revised Code, and the
transportation network company fails to take corrective action, the
director may order the transportation network company to pay the
director a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for each willful
violation. For a repeat willful violator, the director may order the
transportation network company to pay a civil penalty of not less
than two thousand dollars for each repeat willful violation per
driver. The maximum civil penalty assessed under this division shall
not exceed twenty thousand dollars per driver.

(G)
If the director determines that a transportation network company
engaged in any of the unlawful practices described in section 4925.18
of the Revised Code, and the complaint is not otherwise resolved, the
director may notify the transportation network company that the
director intends to issue a citation and penalty assessment and may
provide up to thirty days after the date of such notification for the
transportation network company to take corrective action to remedy
the unlawful practice. If the complaint is not otherwise resolved,
then the director shall issue a citation and penalty assessment. In
the citation and penalty assessment, the director may do any of the
following:

(1)
Order the transportation network company to make payable to the
driver earnings that the driver did not receive due to the
transportation network company's action, including interest of one
per cent per month on all earnings owed calculated from the first
date earnings were owed to the driver;

(2)
Order the transportation network company to restore the driver's use
of the driver platform, unless otherwise prohibited by law;

(3)
For the first violation, order the transportation network company to
pay a civil penalty to the director of not less than one thousand
dollars or an amount equal to ten per cent of the total amount of
unpaid compensation attributable to the retaliatory action, whichever
is greater, up to a maximum of twenty thousand dollars;

(4)
For a repeat violation, order the transportation network company to
pay a civil penalty calculated in accordance with division (G)(3) of
this section up to a maximum of forty thousand dollars.

(H)
During an investigation of a complaint filed under this section, if
the director discovers information suggesting additional violations
by the transportation network company against the driver who filed
the complaint, the director may investigate and take appropriate
enforcement action without requiring the driver to file a new or
separate complaint. In the event the director expands an
investigation, the director shall provide reasonable notice to the
driver and transportation network company of the expansion. If the
director discovers information that the transportation network
company retaliated against or otherwise violated rights of other
drivers under this chapter, the director may launch further
investigations under this chapter without requiring additional
complaints to be filed. If the director determines that a
transportation network company engaged in additional violations, the
transportation network company may be subject to additional
enforcement actions for the violations.

(I)
The director may prioritize investigations of alleged unlawful
practices described in section 4925.18 of the Revised Code as needed
to allow for timely resolution of complaints.

(J)
The director shall include in a citation and penalty assessment
issued under this section a summary of the specific violations. When
a transportation network company pays, and a driver accepts, all
compensation and interest assessed as being owed to the driver, both
of the following apply:

(1)
The specific violations applicable to the driver and addressed in the
citation and penalty assessment are satisfied;

(2)
The driver is barred from initiating or pursuing any court action or
other judicial or administrative proceeding, including arbitration,
based on the specific facts addressed in the citation and penalty
assessment.

(K)(1)
Except as provided in division (K)(2) of this section, nothing in
this section affects the right of a driver or the director to pursue
a different judicial, administrative, or other remedy arising from
the same facts and circumstances for which a complaint can be filed
under this section, provided the remedy is otherwise permitted by
law.

(2)
The applicable statute of limitations for a judicial action is tolled
during the director's investigation of a complaint filed under this
section. For the purposes of this division, the director's
investigation begins on the date the complaint is filed and ends when
one of the following occurs:

(a)
The complaint is finally determined through a final and binding
citation and penalty assessment or a determination of compliance;

(b)
The director notifies the transportation network company and the
driver in writing that the complaint has been otherwise resolved.

(L)
Notwithstanding the requirement in section 119.06 of the Revised Code
that an adjudication order not be made before giving an opportunity
for a hearing, a citation and penalty assessment or determination of
compliance is effective without a hearing unless it is appealed in
accordance with section 4925.20 of the Revised Code.

(M)
The transportation network enforcement fund is created in the state
treasury. Any civil penalty collected from a transportation network
company for a violation of sections 4925.15 to 4925.18 of the Revised
Code shall be deposited in the fund. The fund shall be used to
administer and enforce sections 4925.15 to 4925.20 of the Revised
Code.

Sec.
4925.20.
Any
person aggrieved by a citation and penalty assessment or
determination of compliance issued by the director of commerce under
section 4925.19 of the Revised Code may appeal the citation and
penalty assessment or determination of compliance by filing a notice
of appeal with the director within thirty days after service of the
citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance. A
notice of appeal filed with the director under this section stays the
effectiveness of the citation and penalty assessment or determination
of compliance pending final review of the appeal by the director.

On
receiving of an appeal, the director shall, with reasonable
promptness, order a hearing of the appeal and consider and determine
the matters in question. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance
with section 119.09 of the Revised Code.

The
final order of the director is subject to judicial review in
accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code. Orders that are
not appealed within the time periods specified in this section and
section 119.12 of the Revised Code are final and binding and not
subject to further appeal.

Absent
good cause, a transportation network company that fails to allow
adequate inspection of records in an investigation by the director
under section 4925.19 of the Revised Code within a reasonable time
period may not use such records in any appeal under this section to
challenge the correctness of any finding by the director of
compensation owed or penalties assessed.

Sec.
4925.25.
(A)
Not more than four months after the effective date of this section,
the director of commerce or the director's designee shall, through a
competitive process, select and contract with a nonprofit
organization that meets the requirements of division (B) of this
section to be the driver resource center.

(B)
The nonprofit organization selected as the driver resource center
under this section shall satisfy all of the following:

(1)
The organization shall be qualified to operate in this state and meet
any requirements under Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code.

(2)
The organization shall have bylaws giving drivers a right to
membership in the organization.

(3)
The organization shall have demonstrated experience providing
services to gig economy workers and representation services,
outreach, and education.

(4)
The administration and formation of the organization shall not be
funded, excessively influenced, or controlled by a transportation
network company.

Sec.
4925.26.
(A)(1)
Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall
collect and remit a fifteen cent per trip fee to the driver resource
center fund created by division (D) of this section. The remittance
under this section is a pass through of passenger fares and is not a
contribution to the fund from a transportation network company. The
remittance to the fund shall be made on a quarterly basis.

(2)
On September 30, 2027, and every thirtieth day of September
thereafter, the director of commerce shall adjust the fee specified
in division (A)(1) of this section by increasing the current year's
fee by the rate of inflation according to the consumer price index or
its successor index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers
for all items as calculated by the federal government. The fee amount
takes effect on the first day of January immediately following the
date of the adjustment.

(B)
A transportation network company shall submit to the director, with
its remittance under division (A) of this section, a report detailing
the number of trips in the previous quarter and the total amount of
the surcharge charged to customers. The remittance and report is due
on the thirtieth day of the quarter following the imposition of the
remittance.

(C)(1)
Not more than one year after the effective date of this section, a
transportation network company shall provide a transportation network
company driver with an opportunity to make a voluntary per trip
earnings deduction contribution to the driver resource center. If one
hundred or more drivers working for a transportation network company
covered under this chapter authorize such a deduction, the
transportation network company shall make the deduction and remit it
to the driver resource center in accordance with division (C)(2) of
this section.

(2)
All of the following apply to the authorization and deduction
described in division (C)(1) of this section:

(a)
A driver shall expressly authorize the deduction in writing. The
written authorization shall include, at a minimum, sufficient
information to identify the driver and the driver's desired per trip
deduction amount. A deduction may reduce the driver's per trip
earnings below the minimums set forth in section 4925.15 of the
Revised Code.

(b)
The transportation network company may require a written
authorization to be submitted in electronic format from the driver
resource center.

(c)
The transportation network company shall make the deductions within
thirty days after receiving a written authorization and remit the
deductions to the driver resource center on a monthly basis with
remittance due not more than twenty-eight days following the end of
the month.

(d)
The driver's authorization remains in effect until the driver
resource center provides an express revocation to the transportation
network company.

(e)
A transportation network company shall rely on information provided
by the driver resource center regarding the authorization and
revocation of deductions.

(f)
On request by a transportation network company, the driver resource
center shall reimburse the transportation network company for the
costs associated with deduction and remittance. The director of
commerce shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code to calculate reimbursable costs.

(D)
The driver resource center fund is created in the state treasury.
Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited to the
credit of the fund. The director of commerce shall use the fund for
both of the following purposes:

(1)
Paying for services provided by the driver resource center to drivers
and the administrative costs of providing such support on a quarterly
basis;

(2)
Paying the costs of administering the fund.

Sec.
4925.27.
(A)(1)
As used in this section and section 4925.28 of the Revised Code,
"eligible account deactivation" means any of the following
actions taken by a transportation network company with respect to a
transportation network company driver:

(a)
Blocking or restricting access to the transportation network company
driver platform for three or more consecutive days;

(b)
Changing a driver's account status from eligible to provide
transportation network company services to ineligible for three or
more consecutive days.

(2)
"Eligible account deactivation" does not include any change
in a driver's access or account status that is any of the following:

(a)
Related to an allegation of discrimination, harassment, including
sexual harassment or harassment due to someone's membership in a
protected class, or physical or sexual assault, or willful or knowing
commitment of fraud;

(b)
Related to an allegation that the driver was under the influence of
drugs or alcohol while a related active investigation that takes not
longer than ten business days is under way;

(c)
Any other categories the transportation network company and the
driver resource center may agree to as part of the agreement entered
into under this section.

(B)
A transportation network company shall enter into an agreement with
the driver resource center governing the deactivation appeals process
for eligible account deactivations. Any agreement must be approved by
the director of commerce. The director may approve an agreement only
if the agreement complies with division (C) of this section.

(C)
The agreement required by division (B) of this section shall provide
an appeals process for drivers whose account has been subject to an
eligible account deactivation. The appeals process must include all
the following protections:

(1)
An opportunity for a driver representative to support a driver, at
the driver's request, throughout the account deactivation appeals
process for eligible account deactivations;

(2)
A provision requiring a notification be provided to a driver at the
time of the eligible account deactivation of the driver's right to
representation by the driver resource center;

(3)
A requirement that, not more than thirty calendar days after a
request, a transportation network company shall furnish to the driver
resource center an explanation and information the transportation
network company may have relied upon in making the deactivation
decision, excluding confidential, proprietary, or otherwise
privileged communications, provided that personal identifying
information and confidential information is redacted to address
reasonable privacy and confidentiality concerns;

(4)
A good faith, informal resolution process committed to efficient
resolution of conflicts regarding eligible account deactivations not
more than thirty days after the transportation network company is
notified that the driver contests the explanation offered by the
company;

(5)
A formal process that includes a just cause standard, with deadlines
for adjudication of an appeal of an eligible account deactivation by
a panel that includes a mutually agreed-upon neutral third party with
experience in dispute resolution;

(6)
A requirement that the panel described in division (C)(5) of this
section has authority to make binding decisions within the confines
of the law and monetary awards, including back pay, based on an
agreed-upon formula for cases not resolved during the informal
process;

(7)
An agreement by the transportation network company to use the process
set forth in this section to resolve disputes over eligible account
deactivation appeals as an alternative to private arbitration with
regard to such a dispute, should the driver and transportation
network company so choose;

(8)
An agreement by the transportation network company that, for eligible
account deactivations in which the driver or transportation network
company elect private arbitration in lieu of the formal process
outlined in division (C)(5) of this section, the transportation
network company shall offer the driver the opportunity to have the
eligible deactivation adjudicated under the just cause standard
described in division (C)(5) of this section.

(D)
A transportation network company that enters into an agreement
described in division (B) of this section shall reach agreement
through the following steps:

(1)
For a transportation network company operating a digital network in
this state on the effective date of this section, the driver resource
center and transportation network company shall make good faith
efforts to reach an agreement within one hundred twenty days of an
organization being selected as the driver resource center under
section 4925.25 of the Revised Code.

(2)
For a transportation network company that begins operating a digital
network in this state after an organization has been selected as the
driver resource center under section 4925.25 of the Revised Code, the
driver resource center and transportation network company shall make
a good faith effort to reach an agreement within one hundred twenty
days of the transportation network company beginning operation of a
digital network in this state.

(E)
If the driver resource center and transportation network company
cannot reach an agreement, then they shall submit issues of dispute
to a jointly agreed-upon mediator.

(F)
After mediation lasting not more than two months has been exhausted
and no resolution has been reached, the parties will proceed to
binding arbitration before a panel of arbitrators consisting of one
arbitrator selected by the driver resource center, one arbitrator
selected by the transportation network company, and a third
arbitrator selected by the other two. If the two selected arbitrators
cannot agree to the third arbitrator within ten days, then the third
arbitrator shall be determined from a list of seven arbitrators with
experience in labor disputes or interest arbitration designated by
the American arbitration association. A coin toss shall determine
which side strikes the first name. Thereafter, the other side shall
strike a name. The process shall continue until only one name
remains, who shall be the third arbitrator. Alternatively, the driver
resource center and the transportation network company may agree to a
single arbitrator.

(G)
Arbitrators must submit their decision, based on majority rule,
within sixty days of the panel or arbitrators being chosen.

(H)(1)
The decision of the majority of arbitrators is final and binding and
shall be submitted to the director of commerce for final approval. In
reviewing any agreement between a transportation network company and
the driver resource center, the director shall review the agreement
to ensure that its content is consistent with this section and the
public policy goals set forth in this section and section 4925.28 of
the Revised Code. The director shall consider in the review both
qualitative and quantitative effects of the agreement and how the
agreement comports with the state policy. In conducting a review, the
record shall not be limited to the submissions of the parties or to
the terms of the proposed agreement and the director shall have the
right to conduct public hearings and request additional information
from the parties, provided that such information satisfies both of
the following:

(a)
The information is relevant for determining whether the agreement
complies with this section;

(b)
The information does not contain either parties' confidential,
proprietary, or privileged information, or any individual's personal
identifying information from the parties.

(2)
The director may approve or reject a proposed agreement and may
require the parties to submit a revised proposal on all or particular
parts of the proposed agreement. If the director rejects an
agreement, the director shall set forth the reasoning in writing and
shall suggest ways the parties may remedy the failure. Absent good
cause, the director shall issue a written determination regarding the
director's approval or rejection not more than sixty days after
submission of the agreement.

(I)
A transportation network company shall provide a driver whose account
is subject to an account deactivation between the effective date of
this section and the effective date of the agreement required by this
section the contact information of the driver resource center and
notification that the driver may have the right to appeal the account
deactivation with representation by the driver resource center.

(J)
The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code to implement this section.

Sec.
4925.28.
In
enacting sections 4925.25 to 4925.27 of the Revised Code, the state
expressly intends to displace competition with regulation allowing a
transportation network company, at its own volition, to enter into an
agreement with the driver resource center regarding a driver account
deactivation appeals process for eligible account deactivations. It
is the policy of the state to promote a fair appeals process related
to eligible account deactivations that supports the rights of drivers
and transportation network companies and provides fair processes
related to eligible account deactivations.

Section
2.
That
existing sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35,
4925.01, and 4925.10 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.