Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Pursuant to section
4121.37 of the Revised Code, the
administrator of workers' compensation may
establish a program of safety grants for safety interventions or research for
eligible employers. The safety grant program may provide grant funds to an
eligible employer for safety interventions including education, training,
research, or purchase of equipment to prevent occupational injuries, illnesses,
or fatalities.
(1) The purpose of the safety
intervention grant program is for the division of safety and hygiene
of the bureau of wokers' compensation to fund
employer interventions that reduce the risk of injuries, illnesses, and
fatalities in the workplace, investigate the effectiveness of safety
interventions in preventing occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities
and establish safety and health best practices. For this purpose, the bureau
may make safety grants to employers as provided in this rule.
(2) If the division of safety and hygiene concludes
there are interventions outside the scope of the program, the division of
safety and hygiene may establish an unapproved items list to notify employers
of specific safety education, training, research, or purchase of equipment that
the bureau shall not fund.
(B) The bureau may limit participation in the
safety grant program based upon:
(1) The
availability of bureau resources for the program;
(2) The merits of the employer's
proposal;
(3) The type of
employer's policy;
(4) The manual
numbers reported under the employer's policy;
(5) The employer's policy history;
or
(6) The safety grant program
objectives and unapproved items list under paragraph (A) of this
rule.
(C) The bureau
shall determine whether the employer's policy is eligible for the safety grant
program under this rule. The employer must satisfy the following criteria:
(1) The safety grant program is available
only to a private state fund employer, a public employer taxing district, a
marine industry fund employer, or a coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund
employer;
(2) The employer shall
have active state fund-coverage to participate in the safety grant
program;
(3) The employer shall
have active coverage for one year prior before applying for a safety grant and
shall maintain active coverage for the one year after implementation of the
safety intervention under the safety grant approved by the bureau;
(4) The employer shall be current with
respect to all payroll reporting and required payments due to any fund
administered by the bureau;
(5) The
employer shall not have more than forty days of cumulative lapses in workers'
compensation coverage within the prior twelve months.
(D) The bureau will assess whether the
employer's proposed safety intervention is eligible to participate in the
safety grant program under this rule.
(1) The
employer's proposed safety intervention shall explain how one of the following
objectives is attained through receipt of safety grant funds:
(a) Reduction of risk of workplace injuries,
illnesses, or fatalities; or
(b)
Advancement of research into the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses,
or fatalities.
(2) The
owner, chief executive officer, chief financial officer or persons having
fiduciary responsibilities with the employer may be required to meet with a
bureau consultant to review the safety grant program application.
(3) The bureau shall review and evaluate the
safety grant application. The bureau may also assess and evaluate the
employer's safety and loss prevention and control programs. If the bureau
accepts the employer into the safety grant program, the employer shall submit
reports and case studies to the bureau as required by the bureau for a period
of one year following the purchase and implementation of the safety
intervention.
(4) The bureau and
employer shall enter into a written agreement detailing the rights,
obligations, and expectations of the parties for performance of the safety
grant program.
(5) The employer may
not apply for a safety grant for reimbursement of previously purchased safety
interventions.
(6) The employer
shall agree to not eliminate jobs or reduce employment due to the intervention
funded by the safety grant program. If the bureau determines an employer has
violated this provision, the employer shall be immediately disqualified from
participation in the safety grant program, and the employer shall return all
disbursed safety grant funds to the bureau for the intervention that eliminated
jobs or reduced employment.
(7) The
bureau shall establish policies and processes for adding or removing safety
interventions on the unapproved items list. The bureau shall not accept an
employer's proposed intervention if the
employer's proposed intervention contains any item on
the unapproved items list.
(E) The bureau may meet with the owner, chief
executive officer, chief financial officer, or persons having fiduciary
responsibilities with the employer to evaluate the employer's progress in the
safety grant program. The employer shall provide the bureau access to records
or personnel to conduct research into the effectiveness of the safety grant
program.
(F) An employer who
complies with the requirements of the safety grant program under this rule
shall be eligible to receive a grant from the bureau as provided in the written
agreement.
(1) The bureau may establish by
written agreement with the employer the maximum amount of the safety grant
funds.
(2) The bureau may establish
by written agreement with the employer a requirement for matching funds from
the employer in a ratio to be determined by the bureau.
(3) The bureau shall monitor the employer's
use of the safety grant program funds. The bureau may recover the entire grant
if the bureau determines that the employer has not used the grant for the
purposes of the safety grant program or has otherwise violated the written
agreement of the safety grant program.
(G) Reconsideration of determination of
ineligibility to participate in, or disqualification from, the safety grant
program.
(1) An employer may request
reconsideration of a decision finding the employer did not meet the
requirements provided in paragraph (C) of this rule or disqualifying the
employer from continued participation in the safety grant program. The request
must be in writing and filed with the superintendent of the division of safety
and hygiene within thirty days of the notification of the decision.
(2) The employer may submit a request for
reconsideration of the superintendent's decision to the adjudicating committee
in accordance with the provisions contained in rule
4123-14-06 of the Administrative
Code.
(H) Upon the approval, purchase, and
implementation of the safety intervention, the employer shall provide to the
bureau sufficient documentation on the use of the funds, including proof of
payment, proof of the employer's and bureau's contribution, and proof that the
funds were fully applied to the approved safety intervention.
(1)
The employer shall purchase,
implement, and provide purchase documentation for
all approved safety interventions within
the time period determined by the
superintendent from the date that the bureau disburses safety grant funds
to the employer.
(2) The purchase and
implementation of the safety intervention can take place only after the
approval of the safety grant funds.
(3) The bureau may
extend the
period defined in paragraph (H)(1)
of this rule by up to ninety days
in special circumstances where the employer, for reasons beyond their control,
experiences delay in purchasing or implementing the approved safety
intervention. The employer must request additional time in writing that
explains the special circumstances, with any supporting documentation, and
specifying the additional time needed. The bureau may grant additional
extensions of up to ninety days, pursuant to the same requirements and
guidelines for the initial extension, but the cumulative period of all
extensions shall not exceed one year.
(I) The bureau shall evaluate the
effectiveness of the safety grant program on a periodic basis. The bureau may
publish reports of the safety grant program's effectiveness and research
findings to assist employers in preventing workplace injuries and
illnesses.
(J) Marine industry fund
and coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund safety grants.
(1) A marine industry fund employer or a
coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund employer applying for a safety grant is
subject to paragraphs (A) to (I) of this rule.
(2) The bureau's division of safety and
hygiene shall determine whether the marine industry fund employer or the
coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund employer is eligible for the safety grant
program under this rule. The safety grant program in this rule is available
only to a marine industry fund or a coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund employer
that satisfies the following additional criteria:
(a) A marine industry fund employer shall
have and shall maintain active state fund coverage under rule
4123-17-19 of the Administrative
Code.
(b) A coal-workers'
pneumoconiosis fund employer shall have and shall maintain active state fund
coverage under rule
4123-17-20 of the Administrative
Code.
(c) A coal-workers'
pneumoconiosis fund employer may only use the safety grant to purchase
equipment to prevent coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
(3) Additional employer responsibilities
include:
(a) A marine industry fund employer
or a coal-workers' pneumoconiosis fund employer shall contact the local bureau
customer service office to schedule a visit by a bureau safety
consultant.
(b) A coal-workers'
pneumoconiosis fund employer shall also schedule a visit by a mine safety
inspector from the Ohio department of natural resources.
