The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) provides insurance coverage to employees for work-related injuries sustained in the course of and arising out of employment and diseases contracted in the course of employment. It also provides benefits to employees' dependents in those cases of death suffered in the course of and arising out of employment. To that end, if an employee sustains a workplace injury or contracts an occupational disease, s/he may be eligible to receive compensation and benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act for loss sustained on account of an injury or illness.
| | 2. | An employee may be simultaneously placed on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act during his/her leave of absence as a result of a work-related injury or illness in accordance with Board policy. |
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| | 3. | Continuation of Salary
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| | | An employee may continue to receive his/her regular compensation (i.e., (full) salary/wage including benefits). This period may include both the time period pending approval of a claim by the BWC, which requires lost time from an employee's performance of his/her functions/duties, in addition to the time period after the claim has been approved/accepted. Any and all applicable BWC laws and regulations shall remain in place during the continuation of salary period. The Board's representative will notify the BWC that "wages are being received in lieu of BWC compensation."
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| | | While an injured employee is not required to accept salary continuation in lieu of temporary total compensation, if s/he does accept it, the employee must complete a First Report of Injury application, and sign a Salary Continuation Agreement, medical release and election form.
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| | | The injured employee is not entitled to both temporary total compensation and salary continuation, and is required to notify the Board and BWC if this occurs.
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| | | The injured employee will not experience a break in service that impacts seniority or other benefits when salary continuation is paid by the Board.
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| | | Wage continuation benefits will be paid only for those periods of lost time that otherwise would qualify the employee for receipt of worker's compensation lost time benefits, subject to the following limitations.
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| | | Wage continuation payments will cease upon any of the following conditions: |
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| | | a. | Attending physician releases employee to return to work. |
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| | | b. | Employee returns to work for another employer. |
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| | | c. | Employee fails to return to a transitional "limited duty" assignment consistent with his/her medical restrictions as approved by the injured worker's treating physician. |
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| | | d. | Employee fails to appear for employer-sponsored medical examination. |
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| | | e. | Employee has reached maximum medical recovery and/or the condition has become permanent. |
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| | | f. | The claim is found to be fraudulent after payment has been commenced. |
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| | | g. | The injured worker attempts to collect both wage continuation and temporary total compensation. |
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| | | h. | Employment termination. |
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| | | i. | Violation of any related Board policy or administrative guideline. |
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| | | j. | The wage continuation plan and all benefits can be terminated at the Board's discretion at any time. |
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An employee who obtains compensation from the BWC by knowingly misrepresenting or concealing facts, making false statements or accepting compensation to which s/he is not entitled, is subject to felony criminal prosecution for fraud (see R.C. 2913.48).