Ohio Workers’ Compensation

On December 20, 2007, the Ohio Supreme Court took the unusual step of “revisiting” its previous holding in Coolidge vs. Riverdale Local School District (2003), 100 Ohio St.3d 14, and limiting its application to teachers under collective bargaining agreements.  In Bickers vs. W & S Life Ins. Co. (2007)  2007-Ohio-6751, the Ohio Supreme Court held that no common law action exists for the wrongful discharge in violation of public policy for an employee who is terminated while receiving workers’ compensation, but that a discharged employee may still have a cause of action for retaliatory discharge under R.C. 4123.90 which remains the exclusive statutory remedy for employees claiming wrongful termination in violation of rights provided by Ohio’s Workers’ Compensation Act.

The Supreme Court, at page 4 of the Bickers opinion,  limited “Coolidge to holding that terminating a teacher for absences due to a work related injury while the teacher is receiving workers’ compensation benefits is a termination without ‘good and just cause’ under R.C. 3319.16.”  The Court specifically stated that because Bickers was not a teacher protected by a collective bargaining agreement under R.C. 3319.16, Bickers could not allege a wrongful discharge claim in reliance on Coolidge.  And most tellingly for employers, the Supreme Court definitively went on to state, “Coolidge does not create a cause of action for an at-will employee who is terminated for non-retaliatory reasons while receiving workers’ compensation.”  The Supreme Court further confirmed that employers may still not retaliate against employees for pursuing a workers’ compensation claim under R.C. 4123.90.

At first blush, many employers would like to read this decision, or one of the many synopses being provided by various law firms, or even these words, restores to employers the unquestionable right to discharge at-will employees. 

Don’t.

If the issue of discharge of an employee arises while the employee is receiving workers’ compensation benefits, or even while the employee is not receiving benefits, but has an open claim, an employer should consult with legal counsel prior to discharging the employee.  Employers should then contact their workers’ compensation third party administrator to discuss any possible implication the discharge may have on the claims administration of the employee’s claim(s).  The recent holding in Bickers may, or may not, be applicable to an employee’s situation under consideration.