AGO 1993-011.
Case Date | May 17, 1993 |
Court | Ohio |
Ohio Attorney General Opinions
1993.
AGO 1993-011.
May 17,
1993OPINION NO.
1993-011J. Wesley
Trimble, Administrator Bureau of Workers' Compensation
30 West Spring Street Columbus, Ohio
43266-0581Dear Administrator Trimble: You have requested an opinion regarding the appropriate method of
levying assessments under R.C. 4123.411(B) with respect to the disabled
workers' relief fund. Created in 1953 by R.C. 4123.412,(fn1)
see 1953-1954 Ohio Laws 506, 508 (Am. Sub. H.B. 105,
eff. Oct. 21, 1953), the disabled workers' relief fund "was designed to
subsidize the monthly income of permanently and totally disabled workers
whenever it fell below a certain statutory minimum." State ex rel.
Martin v. Connor, 9 Ohio St. 3d 213, 213, 459 N.E.2d 889, 890
(1984). A disabled worker who is eligible to participate in that fund,
see R.C. 4123.413, receives an additional monthly
benefit, the amount of which is determined in accordance with the formula set
forth in R.C. 4123.414. See Thompson v. Industrial Commission of
Ohio, 1 Ohio St. 3d 244, 244, 438 N.E.2d 1167, 1167 (1982)
("[g]enerally speaking, disabled workers are eligible for a [disabled workers'
relief fund] payment if their combined workers' compensation and Social
Security disability benefits amount to less than a statutorily mandated base").
See also Wean Incorporated v. Industrial Commission of
Ohio, 52 Ohio St. 3d 266, 557 N.E.2d 121 (1990).
Authority of the Administrator of Workers' Compensation to Levy Assessments Under R.C. 4123.411Assessments against the payrolls of all employers are the primary sources of the moneys that constitute the disabled workers' relief fund. R.C. 4123.411 empowers the Administrator of Workers' Compensation to levy those assessments. R.C. 4123.411 reads, in part, as follows:
(A) For the purpose of carrying out sections 4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code, the administrator of workers' compensation, subject to the approval of the workers' compensation board, shall levy an assessment against all employers at a rate, of at least five but not to exceed ten cents per one hundred dollars of payroll, such rate to be determined annually for each employer group listed in divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section, which will produce an amount no greater than the amount estimated by the administrator to be necessary to carry out such sections for the period for which the assessment is levied. In the event the amount produced by the assessment is not sufficient to carry out such sections the additional amount necessary shall be provided from the income produced as a result of investments made pursuant to section 4123.44 of the Revised Code.
Assessments shall be levied according to the following schedule:
(1) Private fund employers, except self-insured employers--in January and July of each year upon gross payrolls of the preceding six months;
(2) Counties and taxing district employers therein, except self-insured county hospitals--in January of each year upon gross payrolls of the preceding twelve months;
(3) The state as an employer--in January, April, July, and October of each year upon gross payrolls of the preceding three months.
Amounts assessed in accordance with this section shall be collected from each employer as prescribed in rules adopted by the administrator pursuant to division (E) of section 4121.13 of the Revised Code.
The moneys derived from the assessment provided for in this section shall be credited to the disabled workers' relief fund created by section 4123.412 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall establish by rule classifications of employers within divisions (A)(1) to (3) of this section and shall determine rates for each class so as to fairly apportion the costs of carrying out sections 4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code.
(B) For all injuries and disabilities occurring on or after January 1, 1987, the administrator, for the purposes of carrying out sections 4123.412 to 4123.418 of the Revised Code, shall levy an assessment against all employers at a rate per one hundred dollars of payroll, such rate to be determined annually...
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