by Ryan LaFlamme | Apr 25, 2014 | General
State ex rel. Jacobs v. Indus. Comm.
This month, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld a denial of temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for an employee based on job abandonment. TTD benefits serve as wage replacement for employees who have suffered a workplace injury which causes the employee not to be able to return to work. Generally, an employee cannot be terminated for absenteeism while receiving TTD benefits.
Here, the employee was released to work with restrictions which the employer accommodated with a light duty assignment that met the restrictions in place. The employee accepted the light duty assignment, reported to work for one hour, and then left complaining of pain and indicating that she was going to visit her doctor. The employee did not return to work and the employer confirmed that the employee did not visit her doctor. The employer sent two letters to the employee over a 15 day period indicating that the employee was AWOL and in jeopardy of termination. The employee was then terminated for job abandonment after failing to respond to the letters.
Subsequent to the termination, the employee sought TTD benefits which were denied based on her termination for job abandonment. The employee argued that she was unable to return to work due the industrial injury (the basic standard for awarding TTD), that she had not abandoned her job because reporting her inability to continue her light duty work constituted a rejection of the employer’s light duty offer, and that because the employer terminated her while she was disabled, the employer could not argue that she voluntarily abandoned her job. The Industrial Commission as well as the lower courts rejected these arguments.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the employee’s arguments as well, holding that by accepting the employer’s light duty offer, she was subject to the employer’s absenteeism policy. Further, the employee failed to provide any medical certification that the light duty work was beyond her capabilities, let alone providing any explanation at all for her failure to return to work. The Court concluded; “When a claimant is discharged because of actions that were initiated by the claimant and that were not related to the industrial injury, a voluntary separation from employment has occurred that breaks the causal relationship between the industrial injury and the loss of earnings.”
Accordingly, employers should be aware that employees serving in light duty assignments can be treated just like any other employee with regard to workplace rules and regulations.
by Erin Wessendorf-Wortman | Feb 11, 2014 | General, Labor and Employment
On February 10, 2014, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service gave businesses an extra year to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate. Click for U.S. Treasury Press Release.
Effective immediately, businesses with 50-99 employees will not face penalties for failing to provide health care coverage until 2016. However, these businesses will have to provide the government with information regarding their employees’ health insurance plans.
Previously, businesses with 100+ employees needed to provide health care coverage by January 1, 2015 for at least 95% of full-time workers or face a penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee (minus the first 30 employees). Now, the administration has amended this requirement so that on January 1, 2015, businesses with 100+ employees must offer health care coverage to at least 70% of their full-time workers, or face a penalty. This percentage jumps back up to 95% on January 1, 2016.
by Pamela Leist | Feb 10, 2014 | General, Legislation
The Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate are both considering bills to ease the burden on Ohio school districts that have taken an unusual number of calamity days this school year due to harsh winter conditions.
One of the pending bills, House Bill 416, was proposed on January 28th. It would grant four additional calamity days to schools for the 2013-2014 school year. Districts would therefore be excused for a total of nine calamity days. HB 416 passed the House Education Committee on January 30th, and currently awaits a vote in the full House before it heads to the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 269 was also proposed on January 28th. The senate bill would likewise grant districts three additional calamity days, for a total of eight excused days. The bill currently remains in the Senate Education Committee. Governor Kasich has encouraged the Senate and House to pass legislation to extend calamity days for this school year, and is expected to sign whichever bill is voted through the legislature.
In addition to possible extension of calamity days under HB 416 and SB 269, Senator Randy Gardner recently introduced Senate Bill 273 on February 6th. If passed, the bill would excuse graduating seniors from any calamity make-up days that a district would schedule to take place after graduation. Seniors would still be required to make up days that occur prior to graduation, however.
All the proposed bills are considered emergency measures, and will take effect immediately if passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor.
UPDATE: On February 19th, 2014 the Ohio House passed a revised version of HB 416. If the bill passes in the Senate and is signed by the governor, it would grant schools two additional calamity days for this school year. In addition, the bill would permit schools to schedule two additional staff in-service days for both teachers and nonteaching employees. Finally, HB 416 would re-codify a school district’s ability to make up missed time by increasing the length of one or more school days by half hour increments. Districts used to have the authority to make up time under certain circumstances by extending the school day pursuant to ORC 3313.482, but that statute was repealed effective September 29th, 2013 along with the requirement that schools adopt a yearly contingency plan.
A new bill was also introduced in the Senate on February 19th that would grant additional calamity waivers under certain conditions. Specifically SB 284 provides four additional calamity days to schools, but only after each district satisfies both of the following:
- The reason the school was not open for the required number of days was, pursuant to ORC 3317.01 (version in effect prior to July 1, 2014), due to “disease epidemic, hazardous weather conditions, law enforcement emergencies, inoperability of school buses or other equipment necessary to the school’s operation, damage to a school building, or other temporary circumstances due to utility failure rendering the school building unfit for school use”; and
- The district has first completed make-up days or hours specified in the district’s contingency plan.
Under prior law, a district’s contingency plan accounted for make-up of at least five additional calamity days. Boards were required to approve this year’s contingency plan before the statute was repealed. Because of the inconsistency with current law, SB 284 also includes a provision that recognizes a board’s authority to modify the district contingency plan. In addition, SB 284 again grants schools the authority to make up days by half hour increments. Finally, the bill would excuse graduating seniors from make-up days scheduled to take place after graduation.
by Pamela Leist | Jan 28, 2014 | General
The Ohio Department of Education recently announced that it will temporarily lift the August 1st deadline for submission of online calamity day make-up plans to assist school districts that have experienced a high number of weather-related closings this school year.
Online make-up plans, commonly referred to as “blizzard bag” plans, allow schools to make up as many as three days during a school year in which a school or district exceeds the five permissible calamity day closings granted under law. Ohio law, specifically ORC §3313.88, requires a board to submit an online make-up plan to ODE by August 1st each school year. Districts must also include a copy of the board resolution and written consent from the teacher’s union at the time of submission. For this year only, ODE has temporarily waived the deadline requirement.
A district online make-up plan must include several key provisions. Pursuant to ORC 3313.88, each teacher must develop a sufficient number of lessons for each course taught by that teacher in the school year to equal or exceed the amount of instruction a student would otherwise receive over three regular days in the teacher’s class. Under normal circumstances, Ohio law requires that teachers complete the lessons by November 1st.
In addition, teachers must specify the order in which the lessons will be posted on the district’s website. Teachers are also responsible for updating or replacing lessons as necessary throughout the school year based on the instructional needs and progress of the students in each class. Districts have the option to grant teachers one professional development day after the district certifies that the teacher has completed and submitted lessons equal to the specified amount of instructional time included in the plan.
The district employees who are responsible for posting material on a district or school website must make the lessons available online to students as soon as is practicable after a school closure which will be made up pursuant to the plan. A lesson must be posted for each course that was scheduled to meet on the day that school is closed.
Students enrolled in a particular course or class for which a lesson is posted online will have two weeks from the date of posting to complete and turn in the lesson. A student who does not complete the lesson within this timeframe will receive an incomplete or failing grade unless the student has a sufficient reason for late submission as determined by the classroom teacher. The student’s classroom teacher will be responsible for grading all online lessons.
In order to accommodate students who may not have access to a computer, the law requires that a district choose between one of two options. Under the first option, districts must permit students who do not have access to a computer to complete the posted lessons at school when the school reopens. The district shall provide access to district computers before, during and/or after the school day for completion of assignments provided the equipment is available and accessible during those times, or alternatively may provide a paper assignment that is substantially equivalent. Students who utilize this option will be required to complete and submit all lessons within two weeks after the school reopens.
As a second option, districts may elect to distribute “blizzard bags”, which are paper copies of each lesson posted online. Teachers are required to prepare paper copies of all online lessons, and also to update the paper copies whenever the teacher updates an online lesson. A district must specify how blizzard bags will be distributed in the district’s plan.
Districts that have chosen to take advantage of ODE’s offer to approve and submit plans for this school year should keep several things in mind. First, ODE will not permit districts to make up days that have already been taken. Rather, districts may only utilize the online-makeup option for calamity days that occur after the district submits its plan. Second, a district should consult with legal counsel to discuss how use of blizzard bags may impact students who receive special services under an IEP pursuant to state and federal law.
Finally, districts that wish to approve online make-up plans for next school year will need to adjust the plans to accommodate Ohio’s new minimum hour requirement. When the Ohio legislature passed HB 59, it elected to eliminate the five calamity days currently available to schools and also switch from a minimum day to minimum hour requirement. Beginning in 2014-2015, districts may still close buildings during emergency conditions, but must ensure that schools provide at least the minimum hours of instruction during the school year mandated by law. Online class make-up of up to three days will still be available to districts that fall below the minimum hour requirement, provided that districts submit plans by August 1st each year.
For additional details about online make-up plans and submission, you are encouraged to contact your district’s legal counsel or the Ohio Department of Education.
UPDATE: The Ohio Department of Education has agreed to permit schools to apply online class plans retroactively for calamity days that have already been taken and which exceed the five days permitted by law. However, districts may not post lessons or distribute blizzard bags to make up any missed days until they receive a written notice of approval from ODE.
Legal Citations: ORC §3313.88 (renumbered effective July 1, 2014 as ORC §3313.482), ORC §3313.48, ORC §3313.481, and ORC §3317.01.
by Erin Wessendorf-Wortman | Jan 10, 2014 | Board Policy & Representation, General, Labor and Employment, School Management
The State Employment Relations Board (SERB) upheld the clear and unambiguous language of R.C. §3319.111, holding that school districts may implement a new teacher evaluation policy in line with OTES without negotiating with their teachers association when the applicable collective bargaining agreement naturally expires.
The Parma Education Association filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Parma City School District Board of Education alleging that the Board of Education violated the collective bargaining agreement and collective bargaining laws when the Board of Education unilaterally implemented a new teacher evaluation procedure while the parties were in negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement and the current agreement had expired.
SERB indicated that school districts are not typically allowed to make changes to the terms and conditions of employment during negotiations of an expired collective bargaining agreement. However, if laws specifically indicate that they supersede the collective bargaining rights outlined in Chapter 4117 of the Revised Code, then a school district may follow the specifics of the law. In this case, R.C. §3319.111 specifically states that teacher evaluation procedures supersede Chapter 4117 of the Revised Code and any conflicting terms of a collective bargaining agreement when the existing collective bargaining agreement naturally expires.
The Board of Education did not violate the rights of the Parma Education Association. The Board of Education acted within its legal rights when it unilaterally implemented its teacher evaluation policy and procedures once its current collective bargaining expired, even though it was negotiating a successor collective bargaining agreement.
SERB’s decision appears obvious based on the clear, unambiguous language of the statute, but this decision is important to highlight the management rights given to boards of education in establishing teacher evaluation policies and procedures through the House Bill 153 and Senate Bill 316 changes to R.C. §3319.111.
by Jeremy Neff | Dec 23, 2013 | General, Special Education, Student Education and Discipline
The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” on January 25, 2013, that seemed to require school districts to offer alternative sports options for children with disabilities. OCR is charged with enforcing Section 504, among other laws. The letter suggested that wheelchair basketball, for example, might need to be offered when a wheelchair-bound child cannot be accommodated in the existing basketball program. Controversy ensued, and ERF advised clients that there is no requirement to create new activities to provide opportunities for those who cannot be reasonably accommodated in existing activities. This month OCR issued a letter that confirms ERF’s earlier advice. OCR’s letter explains that it does not believe that Section 504 requires the creation of new activities for children with disabilities (essentially rescinding its earlier guidance).
In its earlier letter, OCR wrote that:
“Students with disabilities who cannot participate in the school district’s existing extracurricular athletics program – even with reasonable modifications or aids and services – should still have an equal opportunity to receive the benefits of extracurricular athletics. When the interests and abilities of some students with disabilities cannot be as fully and effectively met by the school district’s existing extracurricular athletic program, the school district should create additional opportunities for those students with disabilities.
“In those circumstances, a school district should offer students with disabilities opportunities for athletic activities that are separate or different from those offered to students without disabilities. These athletic opportunities provided by school districts should be supported equally, as with a school district’s other athletic activities.”
It went on to explain that when there are not sufficient wheelchair bound athletes to support an activity a district could work with other districts to form a joint team, form co-ed teams, or encourage non-disabled students to participate. Beyond the logistics and time required by this mandate, districts were alarmed by the cost of funding new programs even as they are being forced to cut funding for existing programming.
With its recent letter OCR unequivocally steps back from the requirements set forth in its prior letter. It writes that while a district might choose to create new programs for children with disabilities, “it is not OCR’s view that a school district is required to do so.” Pressure from school districts and the organizations that work for and support them clearly had a significant role in forcing OCR to rethink its earlier letter. In fact, the letter earlier this month was in response to a request by the National School Boards Association for clarification. The new letter is being reported here not only because it puts to rest any notion that districts must create separate sports for children with disabilities, but also because it shows that school districts can effectively lobby for change. At a time of unprecedented new requirements and unfunded mandates this is an important lesson.
Both OCR letters on extracurricular activities are also a good reminder about the importance and scope of Section 504. This law is meant to “level the playing field” for children with disabilities. It applies to a broad range of disabilities – far more than those covered by IDEA. It also applies to all services, activities, and benefits offered by a school district. Regarding extracurricular activities, a qualified child with a disability has a right to reasonable accommodations to allow the child to try out for and participate in sports. Precisely what this means depends on the facts of each case, but suffice it to say that schools need to be creative about developing, and committed to providing, equal opportunities to children with disabilities both in the classroom and on the playing field. Please contact a member of our Special Education Practice Team for assistance in complying with Section 504.
