---
title: "COVID-19 Legal Update: Ohio"
---

[![GB_logo_PrimaryBluBlkMetalic_woTag.png](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/hs-fs/hubfs/GB_logo_Horizontal3D_GGGB-vector-wotag.png?width=350&height=29&name=GB_logo_Horizontal3D_GGGB-vector-wotag.png "GB_logo_PrimaryBluBlkMetalic_woTag.png")](http://www.gallagherbassett.com?hsLang=en-us)

# COVID-19 Legal Update: Ohio

## COVID-19 Legal Update: Ohio

[<<Back to Regulatory Map](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/covid-19-legal-update-map?hsLang=en-us)

### Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

[BWC](https://info.bwc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/bwc/site/home/!ut/p/z1/dY3BCoJAFEW_Zra-Rzll7YTIDEuiIH2bGGMcRXNknJrfT6hNkHd3LudygSAD6sSrVsLWuhPtyDktbukqiXaxj8dgFiwx3PL4nESndONzuAIBTSv84n8FnEiIsAdSrS4-d2FXzAMFZGQpjTTe04x1ZW0_rBkydM55SmvVSu-uHwz_TSo9WMh-TeibpjxYnr8BEXo)

 

### How does the state define an occupational disease?

(F) "[Occupational disease](http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4123)" 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.

 

### COVid-19 Specific Laws, agency declarations/ press releases, or enacted regulation?

[Ohio's Bureau of Workers Compensation FAQ](https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/downloads/blankpdf/COVID-19-BWCFAQs.pdf)

[Bulletin on Property & Casualty, Life, and Long Term Care Insurance Premium Payments During COVID-19 State of Emergency](https://ohioinsuranceagents.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-07_Premium-Payments.pdf)  
March 30, 2020

[BWC Emergency Rule on Employer Access to the HPP - Employer Enrollment and Selection of MCO](https://info.bwc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/bwc/site/news-and-events/mcoopenenrollmentpostponed-041020/!ut/p/z1/rVJNU4MwEP0r9sAxzfJZ6g0_qnaoTqdaSy4O0C1EIUGIoP56Uz1ZtYyjmckhm_d2971dyuiKMhG3PIsVlyIu9Dti3t3VODw7v3Dg0g8dH4LlfHIaBL5t2R5dUkZZlfI1jcamHYPtITFjNImD4JHEww1xfMtyR6ZjOuBu0alQlcpplHTpQSqFQqEOUGQFb3IDdNAAgV1DYrEm2OrPxoAylbJCgaKWRVHqWCUbfQWuCTgmWEBvdxq1_BEEE_diEZ7Nr9xrh7L9Oj748MMJoJ_PdiBfO3gH7CkxpSwrZPJheyAS288oq3GDNdbDp1qHc6Wq5tAAA7quG2ZSZgUOU1ka8B0l1ybR1WckjbTQ0Y9KplpJy7GjN0LWpe5k8cv5nkNfBfePFfanP4I_pp_2TVobze8fH1mgN3m7vc_a439dZV3AqmfHMz3JKlY54WIj6aqfV5Wlb79w8rCZKTdxs_Lu5OiSRNP2NcTbYDB4A25nv4M!/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/)  
April 9, 2020

[BWC Extends Premium Due Date Until Sept. 1](https://info.bwc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/bwc/site/news-and-events/052820premium/!ut/p/z1/pVJNc4IwEP0reuAYk4JA6A3b-jV-jGOrkosDGCAtJAgR2v76xnrSVp3W3LL7dve9twsJXEHC_YrFvmSC-6n6e8RaT51Rrz9oowketTFyF7Puk-tiQzcsuIAEkjxkG-jhwI58PbAAdnQHtO3QAo4TOEA39lB8Z6HNZo8OucxlAr2gDhuh4JJy2aA8TlmZaEgFNcRpXQKfbwCtVLLUEDJ1rKO8oBnbZXB5QkrHNnK75mA-6s2m5nMbksucD_XozHPR9XpyAvnJ4BtwYcQQkjgVwcFilwcGjiEpaEQLWrR2hQonUublvYY0VNd1KxYiTmkrFJmGfitJRCnh6hgJPSXUPqtkqJRUjNbwhYsiU0zmf9xlH12bYN444XL7Drqx_fDappXR7HW7Ja662v2lviuP_322qplejB_Gamu5LxPAeCTg6hiTZxk2Phh4i8bSDMw4Wz92JsAbVp8junSbzS_6AJgO/dz/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/)xtends Premium Due Date Until Sept. 1  
May 28, 2020

[Enacted Legislation: Qualified Immunity for COVID-19](https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA133-HB-606)  
September 14, 2020

 

### Court Closures & Modified Call

[Update on COVID-19](https://info.bwc.ohio.gov/wps/portal/bwc/site/news-and-events/covid-19bwcfaqs-032020/!ut/p/z1/pVLJcsIwDP0VesjRWGSB0FvoBgzLMF0gvnQcx0ncJnZI3KTt19ctpy7AdPDN0pP09J4wwRtMJG1ESrVQkubmH5L-43I4uxlPXFj4M9eH4GF1fRUEvmM7ffyACSYlEzEOOfSpCzFD8ZB6yE0YQxHze2jAe17EBwnEL)

 

### Is the administrative court system closed or open?

[Ohio Industrial Commission website includes updates on hearing suspensions](http://www.ic.ohio.gov/news/newsinfo.html)

[Ohio's Bureau of Workers Compensation FAQ](https://www.bwc.ohio.gov/downloads/blankpdf/COVID-19-BWCFAQs.pdf)

 

### Does this state have a shelter-in-place in order?

No - [order](https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/publicorders/Directors-Stay-At-Home-Order-Amended-04-02-20.pdf) was 3/24/2020 to 5/29/20; phased [re-opening](https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/publicorders/Directors-Stay-Safe-Ohio-Order.pdf) began 5/4/20.

 

### Any state-specific guidance on disability, unemployment, or health benefits for COVID-19?

See: [https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/](https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/)

[Certain businesses have been ordered to cease operations](https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/home/public-health-orders/directors-order-barbershops)

[Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (re: unemployment benefits)](http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm)

 

### Additional Comments

4123.026 Costs of post-exposure medical diagnostic services after peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical worker's exposure to blood or other body fluid.

(A) The administrator of workers' compensation, or a self-insuring public employer for the peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers employed by or volunteering for that self-insuring public employer, shall pay the costs of conducting post-exposure medical diagnostic services, consistent with the standards of medical care existing at the time of the exposure, to investigate whether an injury or occupational disease was sustained by a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical worker when coming into contact with the blood or other body fluid of another person in the course of and arising out of the peace officer's, firefighter's, or emergency medical worker's employment, or when responding to an inherently dangerous situation in the manner described in, and in accordance with the conditions specified under, division (A)(1)(a) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, through any of the following means:  
(1) Splash or spatter in the eye or mouth, including when received in the course of conducting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation;  
(2) A puncture in the skin;  
(3) A cut in the skin or another opening in the skin such as an open sore, wound, lesion, abrasion, or ulcer.  
(B) As used in this section:  
(1) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.  
(2) "Firefighter" means a firefighter, whether paid or volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.  
(3) "Emergency medical worker" means a first responder, emergency medical technician-basic, emergency medical technician-intermediate, or emergency medical technician-paramedic, certified under Chapter 4765 of the Revised Code, whether paid or volunteer.

Last Updated: 2/1/2021

|          | [<< Gallagher Bassett COVID-19 Resource Center](https://links.gallagherbassett.com/en-us/covid-19-resource-center?hsLang=en-us) [<< Contact us with your COVID-19 Questions](http://news.gallagherbassett.com/breakingnews-covid-19) This document compiles certain state laws and websites relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. State guidance and other government instruction have changed frequently. We thus may update this document over time. Please do not hesitate to contact your account manager, resolution manager, or your other preferred contact at Gallagher Bassett with any questions. Although we have gathered information relevant to COVID-19 and its impact on workers' compensation claims and your businesses, this is not legal advice, it does not include all pertinent information, nor should it be the basis for legal, claim, benefit, safety, or human resource-related decisions. If you would like guidance on legal issues arising from COVID-19, including whether a COVID-19 related claim is compensable under a specific state’s laws, please seek advice from legal counsel with expertise in the relevant subject areas and state laws. For Gallagher Bassett clients, if you have reported a workers’ compensation claim, then your resolution manager can assist. A Further Note on the Statutes, Definitions, Cases, and Websites Cited in this Document. State law controls if a worker is entitled or not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Each state can approach this question differently, and the relevant statutes, standards of proof, regulating agencies, court precedent, and other aspects of a workers’ compensation claim vary between jurisdictions. As a general principle, state workers’ compensation laws provide medical and wage loss benefits to workers who suffer bodily injury due to an accident, or bodily injury due to an occupational disease. The relevant bodily injury must arise out of and occur in the course of employment. This document primarily compiles state definitions of “occupational disease.” With respect to diseases for which the employee may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the disease typically must arise from particular conditions of employment that make contracting the disease more likely than in the general population, or otherwise there must be a sufficient connection between a disease and workplace. Please consult the relevant state’s workers’ compensation act for the specific language applicable to an “occupational disease” claim. |          |
| --- | --- | --- |