Drug Testing Laws in the State of Ohio

WORKERS COMPENSATION

Workers' Compensation Premium Reduction Rule The Ohio State Bureau of Workers' Compensation has issued a rule that provides for a five-year phased-in workers' compensation insurance premium reduction that can rise as high as twenty percent. Employers receive different discounts based on the type of drug-free workplace program that is implemented. At the lowest level (six percent), employers must establish a written policy, conduct annual employee education and supervisor training, and conduct drug and alcohol testing ( pre-employment, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, and follow-up). As the discount rises, random testing must be introduced as well as health care coverage for chemical dependencies. Ohio Admin. Code 4123-17-58 (1997). Ohio Rev. Code §4123.34 (1995). Workers' Compensation State law denies worker's compensation benefits coverage to employees who are injured or killed in an accident while under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol where the intoxication or controlled substance was the proximate cause of the injury