House Bill 81: Changes To The Ohio Workers' Compensation Law

Ohio H.B. 81, which became effective on September 15, 2020, makes a few noteworthy changes to the Ohio workers' compensation law. The stated intent of the new bill was to create workers' compensation coverage for detention facility employees; however, the new bill makes several changes that could benefit all Ohio employers.

First, H.B. 81 codifies the voluntary abandonment doctrine regarding temporary total disability compensation.  Under the new law, "if an employee is not working or has suffered a wage loss as the direct result of reasons unrelated to the allowed injury or occupational disease, the employee is not eligible to receive compensation." In short, if the employee cannot work due to factors unrelated to the injury, such as being fired for poor attendance unrelated to a compensable injury, the employee will not be able to receive temporary total disability compensation. Because H.B. 81 supersedes all prior court decision regarding voluntarily