Current through all regulations passed and filed through March 18, 2024
(A) For the purpose of sections
145.35,
145.36,
145.361,
145.362
, and
145.37
of the Revised Code and agency 145 of the Administrative Code:
(1) "Disability" means a presumed permanent
mental or physical incapacity for the performance of the member's present or
most recent public duty that is the result of a disabling condition that has
occurred or has increased since an individual became a member.
(2) "Has not attained the applicable age "
means a member has filed an application for a disability retirement with the
public employees retirement system and not become the applicable age before the
last day public service terminated.
(3) "On-duty illness or injury" means an
illness or injury that:
(a) occurred during
or resulted from performance of duties under the direct supervision of a
member's public employer, and
(b)
is not an exacerbation of an existing illness or injury medically diagnosed
before the first day of employment with the employer reporting to the
retirement system.
(4)
"Original disability plan" means the plan that provides a benefit pursuant to
section
145.36
of the Revised Code.
(5) "Revised
disability plan" means the plan that provides a benefit pursuant to section
145.361
of the Revised Code.
(6) "Medical
examination" means a physical or psychological examination, as appropriate, or
an examination of the entire disability application and medical
reports.
(7) "Rehabilitative
services" includes, but is not limited to, treatment, evaluations, or training,
or any combination of them, that is acceptable to the physician(s) selected by
the board.
(8) "Receiving
rehabilitative services" means that the recipient has elected to participate in
rehabilitative services not less than six months prior to the beginning of the
third year following the benefit effective date.
(9) "Regional job market" means within a
seventy-five mile radius of the member's address on file with the retirement
system.
(B) A member
shall make application for a disability benefit on a form provided by the
retirement system.
(1) A complete disability
application shall consist of the member's disability benefit application, the
report of the employer, job description, and the report of physician that has
been completed by the member's physician and affirmatively indicates the
existence of the member's disability and the date on which the illness or
injury occurred. The application and supporting reports must be submitted on
forms provided by the retirement system. Medical information submitted in
support of a member's application shall not be accepted after the business day
immediately prior to the member's first or only medical examination.
(2) Consideration of a member's application
shall be limited to the disabling condition(s) listed in the report of
attending physician(s) that was completed by the member's
physician(s).
(3) Upon receipt of a
complete disability application, as described in paragraph (B) (1) of this
rule, the retirement system's medical consultant(s) shall review all such
documentation and prepare a recommendation to the board.
(a) Payment of any administrative fees or
fees for the preparation of the report of the member's physician(s) shall be
the responsibility of the member.
(b) Payment of any fees for the preparation
of the report of the examining physician(s) shall be the responsibility of the
retirement system. Fees assessed by the examining physician(s) due to the
member's cancellation of an examination are the responsibility of the
member.
(C)
The board shall review disability applications and the written recommendations
of its medical consultant at its regular meetings. The determination by the
board on any application is final.
The board may approve a member's application contingent on the
following conditions.
(1) The medical
consultant determines that:
(a) The member has
a disability as defined in section
145.35
of the Revised Code and this rule, and whichever of the following
apply:
(b)
(i) For disability benefit applications
received before January 7, 2013, and for disability benefit recipients whose
applications were received on or after January 7, 2013, and who are on leave of
absence as defined in section
145.362
of the Revised Code, additional medical treatment offers an expectation of
improvement of the disabling condition to the extent a member may return to the
member's previous or similar job duties; or
(ii) For disability benefit recipients whose
application is received on or after January 7, 2013, and who are not on leave
of absence as defined in section
145.362
of the Revised Code, additional medical treatment or rehabilitative services
offers an expectation of improvement of the disabling condition to the extent a
member may return to work in any position described in division (B) of that
section.
(2)
Such additional medical treatment shall be of common medical acceptance and
readily available, and may include, but is not limited to, medicine, alcohol or
drug rehabilitation, or mechanical devices but would exclude surgery or other
invasive procedures.
(3) The member, prior
to receipt of disability benefits, shall agree in writing on a form provided by
the board to obtain the recommended treatment and submit required medical
reports during the treatment period.
(4) The member
terminates public employment not later than the end of the month following the
month in which the board made its decision to approve the disability benefit
application. If a member fails to terminate public employment within this time
frame, the disability application is void and the disability benefit shall not
be paid and is forfeited. If eligible, the member may file a new disability
application.
(D) A
member may withdraw an application for a disability benefit prior to receipt of
the initial benefit payment in the same method as described in rule
145-1-65
of the Administrative Code.
(E) The
following apply to disability applications filed after the board's decision is
final:
(1) Any subsequent applications for a
disability benefit filed within the two years following the board's final
decision of denial shall be submitted with medical evidence supporting
progression of the disabling condition or evidence of a new disabling
condition.
(2) The retirement board
shall not consider an application under this paragraph if the medical
consultant or examining physician concludes there is no evidence of progression
or a new disabling condition and the application shall be voided.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (E)(1) and
(E)(2) of this rule, a member may file a new disability application without
showing progression or a new condition if the member has changed his or her
position of public employment since the board's decision became
final.
(4) If two years have
elapsed since the date the member's contributing service terminated, no
subsequent application shall be accepted.