Ohio employers who regularly send their employees out of state should already be familiar with workers' compensation coverage rules for other states, but for those employers who rarely send employees out of state, a careful review of interstate jurisdiction is highly advisable. Even when an Ohio employer holds a training meeting across states lines, depending on the state, an employee injured while attending the meeting might have valid claims in both Ohio and in the other state, unless the proper paperwork is completed and coverage is secured ahead of time.
Establishing jurisdiction in Ohio for work related injuries requires in-depth analysis alone, before any consideration is given to the rules of the other state. According to a BWC legal memorandum dated March 5, 2009 written by Tom Sico, Ohio will take jurisdiction over work related injuries only after,
"A totality-of-the-circumstances analysis is used to determine whether an employment relationship has sufficient Ohio contacts to be considered localized in this state."BWC has a brief overview of interstate jurisdiction here.
If your company plans on sending one or more employees out of Ohio for any work-related activity or training, contact Dawson Disantis & Myers for an individualized analysis of the possible out-of-state coverage you might need. Or, if you would like us to e-mail you a copy of the BWC's internal legal memorandum on the topic of interstate jurisdiction, give us a call and we'd be happy to forward it to you.
