hb840_00

As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session H. B. No. 840

2025-2026

To amend sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01, and 4925.10 and to enact sections 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, 4925.18, 4925.19, 4925.20, 4925.25, 4925.26, 4925.27, and 4925.28 of the Revised Code regarding minimum pay, workers' compensation, and other requirements applicable to transportation network company drivers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01, and 4925.10 be amended and sections 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, 4925.18, 4925.19, 4925.20, 4925.25, 4925.26, 4925.27, and 4925.28 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4121.01. (A) As used in sections 4121.01 to 4121.29 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Place of employment" means every place, whether indoors or out, or underground, and the premises appurtenant thereto, where either temporarily or permanently any industry, trade, or business is carried on, or where any process or operation, directly or indirectly related to any industry, trade, or business, is carried on and where any person is directly or indirectly employed by another for direct or indirect gain or profit, but does not include any place where persons are employed in private domestic service or agricultural pursuits which do not involve the use of mechanical power.

(2) "Employment" means any trade, occupation, or process of manufacture or any method of carrying on such trade, occupation, or process of manufacture in which any person may be engaged, except in such private domestic service or agricultural pursuits as do not involve the use of mechanical power.

(3) "Employer" means every person, firm, corporation, agent, manager, representative, or other person having control or custody of any employment, place of employment, or employee. "Employer" does not include a franchisor with respect to the franchisor's relationship with a franchisee or an employee of a franchisee, unless the franchisor agrees to assume that role in writing or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the franchisor exercises a type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's employees that is not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademark, brand, or both. For purposes of this division, "franchisor" and "franchisee" have the same meanings as in 16 C.F.R. 436.1. "Employer" includes a transportation network company with respect to a transportation network company driver, but only while the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time.

(4)(a) "Employee" means a person who may be required or directed by any employer, in consideration of direct or indirect gain or profit, to engage in any employment, or to go, or work, or be at any time in any place of employment, including a person described in division (A)(4)(b) of this section if a motor carrier elects to consider the person to be an employee.

(b) "Employee" does not include a person who operates a vehicle or vessel in the performance of services for or on behalf of a motor carrier transporting property and to whom all of the following factors apply:

(i) The person owns the vehicle or vessel that is used in performing the services for or on behalf of the carrier, or the person leases the vehicle or vessel under a bona fide lease agreement that is not a temporary replacement lease agreement. For purposes of this division, a bona fide lease agreement does not include an agreement between the person and the motor carrier transporting property for which, or on whose behalf, the person provides services.

(ii) The person is responsible for supplying the necessary personal services to operate the vehicle or vessel used to provide the service.

(iii) The compensation paid to the person is based on factors related to work performed, including on a mileage-based rate or a percentage of any schedule of rates, and not solely on the basis of the hours or time expended.

(iv) The person substantially controls the means and manner of performing the services, in conformance with regulatory requirements and specifications of the shipper.

(v) The person enters into a written contract with the carrier for whom the person is performing the services that describes the relationship between the person and the carrier to be that of an independent contractor and not that of an employee.

(vi) The person is responsible for substantially all of the principal operating costs of the vehicle or vessel and equipment used to provide the services, including maintenance, fuel, repairs, supplies, vehicle or vessel insurance, and personal expenses, except that the person may be paid by the carrier the carrier's fuel surcharge and incidental costs, including tolls, permits, and lumper fees.

(vii) The person is responsible for any economic loss or economic gain from the arrangement with the carrier.

(c) "Employee" includes a transportation network company driver while the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time with respect to the transportation network company.

(5) "Frequenter" means every person, other than an employee, who may go in or be in a place of employment under circumstances which render the person other than a trespasser.

(6) "Deputy" means any person employed by the industrial commission or the bureau of workers' compensation, designated as a deputy by the commission or the administrator of workers' compensation, who possesses special, technical, scientific, managerial, professional, or personal abilities or qualities in matters within the jurisdiction of the commission or the bureau, and who may be engaged in the performance of duties under the direction of the commission or the bureau calling for the exercise of such abilities or qualities.

(7) "Order" means any decision, rule, regulation, direction, requirement, or standard, or any other determination or decision that the bureau is empowered to and does make.

(8) "General order" means an order that applies generally throughout the state to all persons, employments, or places of employment, or all persons, employments, or places of employment of a class under the jurisdiction of the bureau. All other orders shall be considered special orders.

(9) "Local order" means any ordinance, order, rule, or determination of the legislative authority of any municipal corporation, or any trustees, or board or officers of any municipal corporation upon any matter over which the bureau has jurisdiction.

(10) "Welfare" means comfort, decency, and moral well-being.

(11) "Safe" or "safety," as applied to any employment or a place of employment, means such freedom from danger to the life, health, safety, or welfare of employees or frequenters as the nature of the employment will reasonably permit, including requirements as to the hours of labor with relation to the health and welfare of employees.

(12) "Employee organization" means any labor or bona fide organization in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment.

(13) "Motor carrier" has the same meaning as in section 4923.01 of the Revised Code.

(14) "Transportation network company," "transportation network company driver," "driver platform," "passenger platform time," "dispatch platform time," and "passenger platform time" have the same meanings as in section 4925.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) As used in the Revised Code:

(1) "Industrial commission" means the chairperson of the three-member industrial commission created pursuant to section 4121.02 of the Revised Code when the context refers to the authority vested in the chairperson as the chief executive officer of the three-member industrial commission pursuant to divisions (A), (B), (C), and (D) of section 4121.03 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Industrial commission" means the three-member industrial commission created pursuant to section 4121.02 of the Revised Code when the context refers to the authority vested in the three-member industrial commission pursuant to division (E) of section 4121.03 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Industrial commission" means the industrial commission as a state agency when the context refers to the authority vested in the industrial commission as a state agency.

Sec. 4123.01. As used in this chapter:

(A)(1) "Employee" means:

(a) Every person in the service of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, township, or school district therein, including regular members of lawfully constituted police and fire departments of municipal corporations and townships, whether paid or volunteer, and wherever serving within the state or on temporary assignment outside thereof, and executive officers of boards of education, under any appointment or contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including any elected official of the state, or of any county, municipal corporation, or township, or members of boards of education.

As used in division (A)(1)(a) of this section, the term "employee" includes the following persons when responding to an inherently dangerous situation that calls for an immediate response on the part of the person, regardless of whether the person is within the limits of the jurisdiction of the person's regular employment or voluntary service when responding, on the condition that the person responds to the situation as the person otherwise would if the person were on duty in the person's jurisdiction:

(i) Off-duty peace officers. As used in division (A)(1)(a)(i) of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(ii) Off-duty firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, of a lawfully constituted fire department.

(iii) Off-duty first responders, emergency medical technicians-basic, emergency medical technicians-intermediate, or emergency medical technicians-paramedic, whether paid or volunteer, of an ambulance service organization or emergency medical service organization pursuant to Chapter 4765. of the Revised Code.

(b) Every person in the service of any person, firm, or private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (i) employs one or more persons regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, including aliens and minors, household workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single household and casual workers who earn one hundred sixty dollars or more in cash in any calendar quarter from a single employer, or (ii) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the state insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

(c) Every person who performs labor or provides services pursuant to a construction contract, as defined in section 4123.79 of the Revised Code, if at least ten of the following criteria apply:

(i) The person is required to comply with instructions from the other contracting party regarding the manner or method of performing services;

(ii) The person is required by the other contracting party to have particular training;

(iii) The person's services are integrated into the regular functioning of the other contracting party;

(iv) The person is required to perform the work personally;

(v) The person is hired, supervised, or paid by the other contracting party;

(vi) A continuing relationship exists between the person and the other contracting party that contemplates continuing or recurring work even if the work is not full time;

(vii) The person's hours of work are established by the other contracting party;

(viii) The person is required to devote full time to the business of the other contracting party;

(ix) The person is required to perform the work on the premises of the other contracting party;

(x) The person is required to follow the order of work set by the other contracting party;

(xi) The person is required to make oral or written reports of progress to the other contracting party;

(xii) The person is paid for services on a regular basis such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;

(xiii) The person's expenses are paid for by the other contracting party;

(xiv) The person's tools and materials are furnished by the other contracting party;

(xv) The person is provided with the facilities used to perform services;

(xvi) The person does not realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the services provided;

(xvii) The person is not performing services for a number of employers at the same time;

(xviii) The person does not make the same services available to the general public;

(xix) The other contracting party has a right to discharge the person;

(xx) The person has the right to end the relationship with the other contracting party without incurring liability pursuant to an employment contract or agreement.

Every person in the service of any independent contractor or subcontractor who has failed to pay into the state insurance fund the amount of premium determined and fixed by the administrator of workers' compensation for the person's employment or occupation or who is a self-insuring employer and who has failed to pay compensation and benefits directly to the employer's injured and to the dependents of the employer's killed employees as required by section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, shall be considered as the employee of the person who has entered into a contract, whether written or verbal, with such independent contractor unless such employees or their legal representatives or beneficiaries elect, after injury or death, to regard such independent contractor as the employer.

(d) Every person who operates a vehicle or vessel in the performance of services for or on behalf of a motor carrier transporting property, unless all of the following factors apply to the person:

(ii) The person is responsible for supplying the necessary personal services to operate the vehicle or vessel used to provide the service.

(iv) The person substantially controls the means and manner of performing the services, in conformance with regulatory requirements and specifications of the shipper.

(vii) The person is responsible for any economic loss or economic gain from the arrangement with the carrier.

(e) A transportation network company driver while the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time with respect to the transportation network company.

(2) "Employee" does not mean any of the following:

(a) A duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister or assistant or associate minister of a church in the exercise of ministry;

(b) Any officer of a family farm corporation;

(d) An officer of a nonprofit corporation, as defined in section 1702.01 of the Revised Code, who volunteers the person's services as an officer;

(e) An individual who otherwise is an employee of an employer but who signs the waiver and affidavit specified in section 4123.15 of the Revised Code on the condition that the administrator has granted a waiver and exception to the individual's employer under section 4123.15 of the Revised Code;

(f)(i) A qualifying employee described in division (A)(14)(a) of section 5703.94 of the Revised Code when the qualifying employee is performing disaster work in this state during a disaster response period pursuant to a qualifying solicitation received by the employee's employer;

(ii) A qualifying employee described in division (A)(14)(b) of section 5703.94 of the Revised Code when the qualifying employee is performing disaster work in this state during a disaster response period on critical infrastructure owned or used by the employee's employer;

(iii) As used in division (A)(2)(f) of this section, "critical infrastructure," "disaster response period," "disaster work," and "qualifying employee" have the same meanings as in section 5703.94 of the Revised Code.

Any employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section in accordance with rules adopted by the administrator, with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors. If an employer is a partnership, sole proprietorship, individual incorporated as a corporation, or family farm corporation, such employer may elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter, any member of such partnership, the owner of the sole proprietorship, the individual incorporated as a corporation, or the officers of the family farm corporation. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a partner, sole proprietor, or any person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section from electing to be included as an "employee" under this chapter in accordance with rules adopted by the administrator, with the advice and consent of the board.

In the event of an election, the employer or person electing coverage shall serve upon the bureau of workers' compensation written notice naming the person to be covered and include the person's remuneration for premium purposes in all future payroll reports. No partner, sole proprietor, or person excluded from the definition of "employee" pursuant to division (A)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section, shall receive benefits or compensation under this chapter until the bureau receives written notice of the election permitted by this section.

For informational purposes only, the bureau shall prescribe such language as it considers appropriate, on such of its forms as it considers appropriate, to advise employers of their right to elect to include as an "employee" within this chapter a sole proprietor, any member of a partnership, or a person excluded from the definition of "employee" under division (A)(1)(d) or (A)(2)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section, that they should check any health and disability insurance policy, or other form of health and disability plan or contract, presently covering them, or the purchase of which they may be considering, to determine whether such policy, plan, or contract excludes benefits for illness or injury that they might have elected to have covered by workers' compensation.

(B)(1) "Employer" means:

(a) The state, including state hospitals, each county, municipal corporation, township, school district, and hospital owned by a political subdivision or subdivisions other than the state;

(b) Every person, firm, professional employer organization, alternate employer organization, and private corporation, including any public service corporation, that (i) has in service one or more employees or shared employees regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, or (ii) is bound by any such contract of hire or by any other written contract, to pay into the insurance fund the premiums provided by this chapter.

All such employers are subject to this chapter. Any member of a firm or association, who regularly performs manual labor in or about a mine, factory, or other establishment, including a household establishment, shall be considered an employee in determining whether such person, firm, or private corporation, or public service corporation, has in its service, one or more employees and the employer shall report the income derived from such labor to the bureau as part of the payroll of such employer, and such member shall thereupon be entitled to all the benefits of an employee.

(2) "Employer" does not include a franchisor with respect to the franchisor's relationship with a franchisee or an employee of a franchisee, unless the franchisor agrees to assume that role in writing or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the franchisor exercises a type or degree of control over the franchisee or the franchisee's employees that is not customarily exercised by a franchisor for the purpose of protecting the franchisor's trademark, brand, or both. For purposes of this division, "franchisor" and "franchisee" have the same meanings as in 16 C.F.R. 436.1.

(3) "Employer" includes a transportation network company with respect to a transportation network company driver, but only while the driver is engaged in passenger platform time or dispatch platform time.

(C) "Injury" includes any injury, whether caused by external accidental means or accidental in character and result, received in the course of, and arising out of, the injured employee's employment. "Injury" does not include:

(1) Psychiatric conditions except where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from an injury or occupational disease sustained by that claimant or where the claimant's psychiatric conditions have arisen from sexual conduct in which the claimant was forced by threat of physical harm to engage or participate;

(2) Injury or disability caused primarily by the natural deterioration of tissue, an organ, or part of the body;

(3) Injury or disability incurred in voluntary participation in an employer-sponsored recreation or fitness activity if the employee signs a waiver of the employee's right to compensation or benefits under this chapter prior to engaging in the recreation or fitness activity;

(4) Injury or disability sustained by an employee who performs the employee's duties in a work area that is located within the employee's home and that is separate and distinct from the location of the employer, unless all of the following apply:

(a) The employee's injury or disability arises out of the employee's employment.

(b) The employee's injury or disability was caused by a special hazard of the employee's employment activity.

(c) The employee's injury or disability is sustained in the course of an activity undertaken by the employee for the exclusive benefit of the employer.

(5) A condition that pre-existed an injury unless that pre-existing condition is substantially aggravated by the injury. Such a substantial aggravation must be documented by objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results. Subjective complaints may be evidence of such a substantial aggravation. However, subjective complaints without objective diagnostic findings, objective clinical findings, or objective test results are insufficient to substantiate a substantial aggravation.

(D) "Child" includes a posthumous child and a child legally adopted prior to the injury.

(E) "Family farm corporation" means a corporation founded for the purpose of farming agricultural land in which the majority of the voting stock is held by and the majority of the stockholders are persons or the spouse of persons related to each other within the fourth degree of kinship, according to the rules of the civil law, and at least one of the related persons is residing on or actively operating the farm, and none of whose stockholders are a corporation. A family farm corporation does not cease to qualify under this division where, by reason of any devise, bequest, or the operation of the laws of descent or distribution, the ownership of shares of voting stock is transferred to another person, as long as that person is within the degree of kinship stipulated in this division.

(F) "Occupational disease" means a disease contracted in the course of employment, which by its causes and the characteristics of its manifestation or the condition of the employment results in a hazard which distinguishes the employment in character from employment generally, and the employment creates a risk of contracting the disease in greater degree and in a different manner from the public in general.

(G) "Self-insuring employer" means an employer who is granted the privilege of paying compensation and benefits directly under section 4123.35 of the Revised Code, including a board of county commissioners for the sole purpose of constructing a sports facility as defined in section 307.696 of the Revised Code, provided that the electors of the county in which the sports facility is to be built have approved construction of a sports facility by ballot election no later than November 6, 1997.

(H) "Private employer" means an employer as defined in division (B)(1)(b) of this section.

(I) "Professional employer organization" has the same meaning as in section 4125.01 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Public employer" means an employer as defined in division (B)(1)(a) of this section.

(K) "Sexual conduct" means vaginal intercourse between a male and female; anal intercourse, fellatio, and cunnilingus between persons regardless of gender; and, without privilege to do so, the insertion, however slight, of any part of the body or any instrument, apparatus, or other object into the vaginal or anal cavity of another. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete vaginal or anal intercourse.

(L) "Other-states' insurer" means an insurance company that is authorized to provide workers' compensation insurance coverage in any of the states that permit employers to obtain insurance for workers' compensation claims through insurance companies.

(M) "Other-states' coverage" means both of the following:

(1) Insurance coverage secured by an eligible employer for workers' compensation claims of employees who are in employment relationships localized in a state other than this state or those employees' dependents;

(2) Insurance coverage secured by an eligible employer for workers' compensation claims that arise in a state other than this state where an employer elects to obtain coverage through either the administrator or an other-states' insurer.

(N) "Limited other-states coverage" means insurance coverage provided by the administrator to an eligible employer for workers' compensation claims of employees who are in an employment relationship localized in this state but are temporarily working in a state other than this state, or those employees' dependents.

(O) "Motor carrier" has the same meaning as in section 4923.01 of the Revised Code.

(P) "Alternate employer organization" has the same meaning as in section 4133.01 of the Revised Code.

(Q) "Transportation network company," "transportation network company driver," "driver platform," "passenger platform time," "dispatch platform time," and "passenger platform time" have the same meanings as in section 4925.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4123.26. (A) Every employer shall keep records of, and furnish to the bureau of workers' compensation upon request, all information required by the administrator of workers' compensation to carry out this chapter.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in ~~division (C) of~~ this section, every private employer employing one or more employees regularly in the same business, or in or about the same establishment, shall submit a payroll report to the bureau. Until the policy year commencing July 1, 2015, a private employer shall submit the payroll report in January of each year. For a policy year commencing on or after July 1, 2015, the employer shall submit the payroll report on or before August fifteenth of each year unless otherwise specified by the administrator in rules the administrator adopts. The employer shall include all of the following information in the payroll report, as applicable:

(1) For payroll reports submitted prior to July 1, 2015, the number of employees employed during the preceding year from the first day of January through the thirty-first day of December who are localized in this state;

(2) For payroll reports submitted on or after July 1, 2015, the number of employees localized in this state employed during the preceding policy year from the first day of July through the thirtieth day of June;

(3) The number of such employees localized in this state employed at each kind of employment and the aggregate amount of wages paid to such employees;

(4) If an employer elects to secure other-states' coverage or limited other-states' coverage pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through either the administrator, if the administrator elects to offer such coverage, or an other-states' insurer the information required under divisions (B)(1) to (3) of this section and any additional information required by the administrator in rules the administrator adopts, with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, to allow the employer to secure other-states' coverage or limited other-states' coverage.

(5)(a) In accordance with the rules adopted by the administrator pursuant to division (C) of section 4123.32 of the Revised Code, if the employer employs employees who are covered under the federal "Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act," 98 Stat. 1639, 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., and under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, both of the following amounts:

(i) The amount of wages the employer pays to those employees when the employees perform labor and provide services for which the employees are eligible to receive compensation and benefits under the federal "Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act";

(ii) The amount of wages the employer pays to those employees when the employees perform labor and provide services for which the employees are eligible to receive compensation and benefits under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

(b) The allocation of wages identified by the employer pursuant to divisions (B)(5)(a)(i) and (ii) of this section shall not be presumed to be an indication of the law under which an employee is eligible to receive compensation and benefits.

(C) Each employer that is recognized by the administrator as a professional employer organization or alternate employer organization shall submit a monthly payroll report containing the number of employees employed during the preceding calendar month, the number of those employees employed at each kind of employment, and the aggregate amount of wages paid to those employees.

(D) An employer described in division (B) of this section shall submit the payroll report required under this section to the bureau on a form prescribed by the bureau. The bureau may require that the information required to be furnished be verified under oath. The bureau or any person employed by the bureau for that purpose, may examine, under oath, any employer, or the officer, agent, or employee thereof, for the purpose of ascertaining any information which the employer is required to furnish to the bureau.

(E) On or before the last day of January, April, July, and October of each year, a transportation network company shall submit to the administrator a true and accurate report of the hours for which transportation network company drivers were engaged in passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform during the preceding calendar quarter and the total amount paid to drivers engaged in passenger platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform during the preceding calendar quarter. The sufficiency of the statement is subject to the approval of the administrator. The administrator may, for the effective administration of this chapter, require a transportation network company in individual instances to furnish a supplementary report containing the name of each individual driver, the hours the driver engaged in passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform, and the driver's compensation. The administrator may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to establish other reporting periods and due dates in lieu of reports following each calendar quarter.

(F) No private employer shall fail to furnish to the bureau ~~the payroll~~ a report required by this section, nor shall any employer fail to keep records of or furnish such other information as may be required by the bureau under this section.

~~(F)~~(G) The administrator may adopt rules setting forth penalties for failure to submit ~~the payroll~~ a report required by this section, including but not limited to exclusion from alternative rating plans and discount programs.

Sec. 4123.29. (A) The administrator of workers' compensation, subject to the approval of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, shall do all of the following:

(1) Classify occupations or industries with respect to their degree of hazard and determine the risks of the different classes according to the categories the national council on compensation insurance establishes that are applicable to employers in this state;

(2)(a) ~~Fix~~ Except as provided in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, fix the rates of premium of the risks of the classes based upon the total payroll in each of the classes of occupation or industry sufficiently large to provide a fund for the compensation provided for in this chapter and to maintain a state insurance fund from year to year. The administrator shall set the rates at a level that assures the solvency of the fund. Where the payroll cannot be obtained or, in the opinion of the administrator, is not an adequate measure for determining the premium to be paid for the degree of hazard, the administrator may determine the rates of premium upon such other basis, consistent with insurance principles, as is equitable in view of the degree of hazard, and whenever in this chapter reference is made to payroll or expenditure of wages with reference to fixing premiums, the reference shall be construed to have been made also to such other basis for fixing the rates of premium as the administrator may determine under this section.

(b) Fix the rates of premium for transportation network companies by multiplying the total number of hours spent by transportation network company drivers in passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform by the rates established for taxicab companies or similar industries. The administrator may adopt rules adjusting premium rates fixed in accordance with this division provided the premium rates in the rules are sufficiently large to provide transportation network company drivers with the compensation and benefits provided for in this chapter and to maintain the solvency of the fund.

(c) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage, including limited other-states' coverage, pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through the administrator, if the administrator elects to offer such coverage, calculate the employer's premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as otherwise required under ~~division (A) of~~ this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that the administrator may establish in rule an alternative calculation of the employer's premium to appropriately account for the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees when those employees performed labor and provided services in this state and in the other state or states for which the employer elects to secure other-states' coverage.

~~(c)~~(d) If an employer elects to obtain other-states' coverage pursuant to section 4123.292 of the Revised Code through an other-states' insurer, calculate the employer's premium for the state insurance fund in the same manner as otherwise required under ~~division (A) of~~ this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, except that when the administrator determines the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both upon which to base the employer's premium, the administrator shall use only the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the labor performed and services provided by that employer's employees when those employees performed labor and provided services in this state only and to which the other-states' coverage does not apply. The administrator may adopt rules setting forth the information that an employer electing to obtain other-states' coverage through an other-states' insurer shall report for purposes of determining the expenditure of wages, payroll, or both attributable to the labor performed and services provided in this state.

~~(d)~~(e) The administrator in setting or revising rates shall furnish to employers an adequate explanation of the basis for the rates set.

(3) Develop and make available to employers who are paying premiums to the state insurance fund alternative premium plans. Alternative premium plans shall include retrospective rating plans. The administrator may make available plans under which an advanced deposit may be applied against a specified deductible amount per claim.

(4)(a) Offer to insure the obligations of employers under this chapter under a plan that groups, for rating purposes, employers, and pools the risk of the employers within the group provided that the employers meet all of the following conditions:

(i) All of the employers within the group are members of an organization that has been in existence for at least two years prior to the date of application for group coverage;

(ii) The organization was formed for purposes other than that of obtaining group workers' compensation under this division;

(iii) The employers' business in the organization is substantially similar such that the risks which are grouped are substantially homogeneous;

(iv) The group of employers consists of at least one hundred members or the aggregate workers' compensation premiums of the members, as determined by the administrator, are estimated to exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars during the coverage period;

(v) The formation and operation of the group program in the organization will substantially improve accident prevention and claims handling for the employers in the group;

(vi) Each employer seeking to enroll in a group for workers' compensation coverage has an account in good standing with the bureau of workers' compensation. The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth the criteria by which the administrator will determine whether an employer's account is in good standing.

(b) If an organization sponsors more than one employer group to participate in group plans established under this section, that organization may submit a single application that supplies all of the information necessary for each group of employers that the organization wishes to sponsor.

(c) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this section, the administrator shall consider an employer group as a single employing entity for purposes of group rating. No employer may be a member of more than one group for the purpose of obtaining workers' compensation coverage under this division.

(d) At the time the administrator revises premium rates pursuant to this section and section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, if the premium rate of an employer who participates in a group plan established under this section changes from the rate established for the previous year, the administrator, in addition to sending the invoice with the rate revision to that employer, shall provide an explanation of the rate revision to the third-party administrator that administers the group plan for that employer's group.

(e) In providing employer group plans under division (A)(4) of this section, the administrator shall establish a program designed to mitigate the impact of a significant claim that would come into the experience of a private, state fund group-rated employer or a taxing district employer for the first time and be a contributing factor in that employer being excluded from a group-rated plan. The administrator shall establish eligibility criteria and requirements that such employers must satisfy in order to participate in this program. For purposes of this program, the administrator shall establish a discount on premium rates applicable to employers who qualify for the program.

(f) In no event shall division (A)(4) of this section be construed as granting to an employer status as a self-insuring employer.

(g) The administrator shall develop classifications of occupations or industries that are sufficiently distinct so as not to group employers in classifications that unfairly represent the risks of employment with the employer.

(5) Generally promote employer participation in the state insurance fund through the regular dissemination of information to all classes of employers describing the advantages and benefits of opting to make premium payments to the fund. To that end, the administrator shall regularly make employers aware of the various workers' compensation premium packages developed and offered pursuant to this section.

(6) Make available to every employer who is paying premiums to the state insurance fund a program whereby the employer or the employer's agent pays to the claimant or on behalf of the claimant the first fifteen thousand dollars of a compensable workers' compensation medical-only claim filed by that claimant that is related to the same injury or occupational disease. No formal application is required; however, an employer must elect to participate by telephoning the bureau after July 1, 1995. Once an employer has elected to participate in the program, the employer will be responsible for all bills in all medical-only claims with a date of injury the same or later than the election date, unless the employer notifies the bureau within fourteen days of receipt of the notification of a claim being filed that it does not wish to pay the bills in that claim, or the employer notifies the bureau that the fifteen thousand dollar maximum has been paid, or the employer notifies the bureau of the last day of service on which it will be responsible for the bills in a particular medical-only claim. If an employer elects to enter the program, the administrator shall not reimburse the employer for such amounts paid and shall not charge the first fifteen thousand dollars of any medical-only claim paid by an employer to the employer's experience or otherwise use it in merit rating or determining the risks of any employer for the purpose of payment of premiums under this chapter. A certified health care provider shall extend to an employer who participates in this program the same rates for services rendered to an employee of that employer as the provider bills the administrator for the same type of medical claim processed by the bureau and shall not charge, assess, or otherwise attempt to collect from an employee any amount for covered services or supplies that is in excess of that rate. If an employer elects to enter the program and the employer fails to pay a bill for a medical-only claim included in the program, the employer shall be liable for that bill and the employee for whom the employer failed to pay the bill shall not be liable for that bill. The administrator shall adopt rules to implement and administer division (A)(6) of this section. Upon written request from the bureau, the employer shall provide documentation to the bureau of all medical-only bills that they are paying directly. Such requests from the bureau may not be made more frequently than on a semiannual basis. Failure to provide such documentation to the bureau within thirty days of receipt of the request may result in the employer's forfeiture of participation in the program for such injury. The provisions of this section shall not apply to claims in which an employer with knowledge of a claimed compensable injury or occupational disease, has paid wages in lieu of compensation or total disability.

(B) The administrator, with the advice and consent of the board, by rule, may do both of the following:

(1) Grant an employer who pays the employer's annual estimated premium in full prior to the start of the policy year for which the estimated premium is due, a discount as the administrator fixes from time to time;

(2) Levy a minimum annual administrative charge upon risks where premium reports develop a charge less than the administrator considers adequate to offset administrative costs of processing.

Sec. 4123.35. (A) Except as provided in this section, and until the policy year commencing July 1, 2015, every private employer and every publicly owned utility shall pay semiannually in the months of January and July into the state insurance fund the amount of annual premium the administrator of workers' compensation fixes for the employment or occupation of the employer, the amount of which premium to be paid by each employer to be determined by the classifications, rules, and rates made and published by the administrator. The employer shall pay semiannually a further sum of money into the state insurance fund as may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying the rules of the administrator.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, for a policy year commencing on or after July 1, 2015, every private employer and every publicly owned utility shall pay annually in the month of June immediately preceding the policy year into the state insurance fund the amount of estimated annual premium the administrator fixes for the employment or occupation of the employer, the amount of which estimated premium to be paid by each employer to be determined by the classifications, rules, and rates made and published by the administrator. The employer shall pay a further sum of money into the state insurance fund as may be ascertained to be due from the employer by applying the rules of the administrator. Upon receipt of the payroll report required by division (B) of section 4123.26 of the Revised Code, the administrator shall adjust the premium and assessments charged to each employer for the difference between estimated gross payrolls and actual gross payrolls, and any balance due to the administrator shall be immediately paid by the employer. Any balance due the employer shall be credited to the employer's account.

For a policy year commencing on or after July 1, 2015, each employer that is recognized by the administrator as a professional employer organization or alternate employer organization shall pay monthly into the state insurance fund the amount of premium the administrator fixes for the employer for the prior month based on the actual payroll of the employer reported pursuant to division (C) of section 4123.26 of the Revised Code.

For a policy year commencing on or after the effective date of this amendment, each employer that is a transportation network company shall pay quarterly into the state insurance fund the amount of premium the administrator fixes for transportation network company drivers based on the total passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform. Premiums for a calendar quarter, whether reported or not, shall become due and delinquent on the day immediately following the last day of the month following the calendar quarter. The administrator, with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, may adopt rules establishing other payment amounts and due dates and may also establish terms and conditions for payment of premiums and assessments based on estimated passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform. Payments based on estimates shall be subject to approval as to sufficiency of the estimate and to appropriate periodic adjustments made by the administrator based on actual passenger platform time and dispatch platform time on the transportation network company's driver platform.

A receipt certifying that payment has been made shall be issued to the employer by the bureau of workers' compensation. The receipt is prima-facie evidence of the payment of the premium. The administrator shall provide each employer written proof of workers' compensation coverage as is required in section 4123.83 of the Revised Code. Proper posting of the notice constitutes the employer's compliance with the notice requirement mandated in section 4123.83 of the Revised Code.

The bureau shall verify with the secretary of state the existence of all corporations and organizations making application for workers' compensation coverage and shall require every such application to include the employer's federal identification number.

A private employer who has contracted with a subcontractor is liable for the unpaid premium due from any subcontractor with respect to that part of the payroll of the subcontractor that is for work performed pursuant to the contract with the employer.

Division (A) of this section providing for the payment of premiums semiannually does not apply to any employer who was a subscriber to the state insurance fund prior to January 1, 1914, or, until July 1, 2015, who may first become a subscriber to the fund in any month other than January or July. Instead, the semiannual premiums shall be paid by those employers from time to time upon the expiration of the respective periods for which payments into the fund have been made by them. After July 1, 2015, an employer who first becomes a subscriber to the fund on any day other than the first day of July shall pay premiums according to rules adopted by the administrator, with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, for the remainder of the policy year for which the coverage is effective.

The administrator, with the advice and consent of the board, shall adopt rules to permit employers to make periodic payments of the premium and assessment due under this division. The rules shall include provisions for the assessment of interest charges, where appropriate, and for the assessment of penalties when an employer fails to make timely premium payments. The administrator, in the rules the administrator adopts, may set an administrative fee for these periodic payments. An employer who timely pays the amounts due under this division is entitled to all of the benefits and protections of this chapter. Upon receipt of payment, the bureau shall issue a receipt to the employer certifying that payment has been made, which receipt is prima-facie evidence of payment. Workers' compensation coverage under this chapter continues uninterrupted upon timely receipt of payment under this division.

Every public employer, except public employers that are self-insuring employers under this section, shall comply with sections 4123.38 to 4123.41, and 4123.48 of the Revised Code in regard to the contribution of moneys to the public insurance fund.

(B) Employers who will abide by the rules of the administrator and who may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and who do not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify themselves against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge employers who apply for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application.

All employers granted status as self-insuring employers shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section.

(1) The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the employer by this section:

(a) The employer has operated in this state for a minimum of two years, provided that an employer who has purchased, acquired, or otherwise succeeded to the operation of a business, or any part thereof, situated in this state that has operated for at least two years in this state, also shall qualify;

(b) Where the employer previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(c) The sufficiency of the employer's assets located in this state to insure the employer's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(d) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the employer's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(e) The employer's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(f) The employer's proposed plan to inform employees of the change from a state fund insurer to a self-insuring employer, the procedures the employer will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits; and

(g) The employer has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the employer maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the employer clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state.

The administrator may waive the requirements of division (B)(1)(a) of this section and the requirement of division (B)(1)(d) of this section that the financial records, documents, and data be certified by a certified public accountant. The administrator shall adopt rules establishing the criteria that an employer shall meet in order for the administrator to waive the requirements of divisions (B)(1)(a) and (d) of this section. Such rules may require additional security of that employer pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall not grant the status of self-insuring employer to the state, except that the administrator may grant the status of self-insuring employer to a state institution of higher education, including its hospitals, that meets the requirements of division (B)(2) of this section.

(2) When considering the application of a public employer, except for a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, a board of a county hospital, or a publicly owned utility, the administrator shall verify that the public employer satisfies all of the following requirements as the requirements apply to that public employer:

(a) For the two-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has maintained an unvoted debt capacity equal to at least two times the amount of the current annual premium established by the administrator under this chapter for that public employer for the year immediately preceding the year in which the public employer makes application under this section.

(b) For each of the two fiscal years preceding application under this section, the unreserved and undesignated year-end fund balance in the public employer's general fund is equal to at least five per cent of the public employer's general fund revenues for the fiscal year computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

(c) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer, to the extent applicable, has complied fully with the continuing disclosure requirements established in rules adopted by the United States securities and exchange commission under 17 C.F.R. 240.15c 2-12.

(d) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not had its local government fund distribution withheld on account of the public employer being indebted or otherwise obligated to the state.

(e) For the five-year period preceding application under this section, the public employer has not been under a fiscal watch or fiscal emergency pursuant to section 118.023, 118.04, or 3316.03 of the Revised Code.

(f) For the public employer's fiscal year preceding application under this section, the public employer has obtained an annual financial audit as required under section 117.10 of the Revised Code, which has been released by the auditor of state within seven months after the end of the public employer's fiscal year.

(g) On the date of application, the public employer holds a debt rating of Aa3 or higher according to Moody's investors service, inc., or a comparable rating by an independent rating agency similar to Moody's investors service, inc.

(h) The public employer agrees to generate an annual accumulating book reserve in its financial statements reflecting an actuarially generated reserve adequate to pay projected claims under this chapter for the applicable period of time, as determined by the administrator.

(i) For a public employer that is a hospital, the public employer shall submit audited financial statements showing the hospital's overall liquidity characteristics, and the administrator shall determine, on an individual basis, whether the public employer satisfies liquidity standards equivalent to the liquidity standards of other public employers.

(j) Any additional criteria that the administrator adopts by rule pursuant to division (E) of this section.

The administrator may adopt rules establishing the criteria that a public employer shall satisfy in order for the administrator to waive any of the requirements listed in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (j) of this section. The rules may require additional security from that employer pursuant to division (E) of section 4123.351 of the Revised Code. The administrator shall not waive any of the requirements listed in divisions (B)(2)(a) to (j) of this section for a public employer who does not satisfy the criteria established in the rules the administrator adopts.

(C) A board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code, as an employer, that will abide by the rules of the administrator and that may be of sufficient financial ability to render certain the payment of compensation to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, and the furnishing of medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital attention and services and medicines, and funeral expenses, equal to or greater than is provided for in sections 4123.52, 4123.55 to 4123.62, and 4123.64 to 4123.67 of the Revised Code, and that does not desire to insure the payment thereof or indemnify itself against loss sustained by the direct payment thereof, upon a finding of such facts by the administrator, may be granted the privilege to pay individually compensation, and furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees, thereby being granted status as a self-insuring employer. The administrator may charge a board of county commissioners described in division (G) of section 4123.01 of the Revised Code that applies for the status as a self-insuring employer a reasonable application fee to cover the bureau's costs in connection with processing and making a determination with respect to an application. All employers granted such status shall demonstrate sufficient financial and administrative ability to assure that all obligations under this section are promptly met. The administrator shall deny the privilege where the employer is unable to demonstrate the employer's ability to promptly meet all the obligations imposed on the employer by this section. The administrator shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors, where applicable, in determining the employer's ability to meet all of the obligations imposed on the board as an employer by this section:

(1) The board has operated in this state for a minimum of two years;

(2) Where the board previously contributed to the state insurance fund or is a successor employer as defined by bureau rules, the amount of the buyout, as defined by bureau rules;

(3) The sufficiency of the board's assets located in this state to insure the board's solvency in paying compensation directly;

(4) The financial records, documents, and data, certified by a certified public accountant, necessary to provide the board's full financial disclosure. The records, documents, and data include, but are not limited to, balance sheets and profit and loss history for the current year and previous four years.

(5) The board's organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(6) The board's proposed plan to inform employees of the proposed self-insurance, the procedures the board will follow as a self-insuring employer, and the employees' rights to compensation and benefits;

(7) The board has either an account in a financial institution in this state, or if the board maintains an account with a financial institution outside this state, ensures that workers' compensation checks are drawn from the same account as payroll checks or the board clearly indicates that payment will be honored by a financial institution in this state;

(8) The board shall provide the administrator a surety bond in an amount equal to one hundred twenty-five per cent of the projected losses as determined by the administrator.

(D) The administrator shall require a surety bond from all self-insuring employers, issued pursuant to section 4123.351 of the Revised Code, that is sufficient to compel, or secure to injured employees, or to the dependents of employees killed, the payment of compensation and expenses, which shall in no event be less than that paid or furnished out of the state insurance fund in similar cases to injured employees or to dependents of killed employees whose employers contribute to the fund, except when an employee of the employer, who has suffered the loss of a hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye prior to the injury for which compensation is to be paid, and thereafter suffers the loss of any other of the members as the result of any injury sustained in the course of and arising out of the employee's employment, the compensation to be paid by the self-insuring employer is limited to the disability suffered in the subsequent injury, additional compensation, if any, to be paid by the bureau out of the surplus created by section 4123.34 of the Revised Code.

(E) In addition to the requirements of this section, the administrator shall make and publish rules governing the manner of making application and the nature and extent of the proof required to justify a finding of fact by the administrator as to granting the status of a self-insuring employer, which rules shall be general in their application, one of which rules shall provide that all self-insuring employers shall pay into the state insurance fund such amounts as are required to be credited to the surplus fund in division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code. The administrator may adopt rules establishing requirements in addition to the requirements described in division (B)(2) of this section that a public employer shall meet in order to qualify for self-insuring status.

Employers shall secure directly from the bureau central offices application forms upon which the bureau shall stamp a designating number. Prior to submission of an application, an employer shall make available to the bureau, and the bureau shall review, the information described in division (B)(1) of this section, and public employers shall make available, and the bureau shall review, the information necessary to verify whether the public employer meets the requirements listed in division (B)(2) of this section. An employer shall file the completed application forms with an application fee, which shall cover the costs of processing the application, as established by the administrator, by rule, with the bureau at least ninety days prior to the effective date of the employer's new status as a self-insuring employer. The application form is not deemed complete until all the required information is attached thereto. The bureau shall only accept applications that contain the required information.

(F) The bureau shall review completed applications within a reasonable time. If the bureau determines to grant an employer the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall issue a statement, containing its findings of fact, that is prepared by the bureau and signed by the administrator. If the bureau determines not to grant the status as a self-insuring employer, the bureau shall notify the employer of the determination and require the employer to continue to pay its full premium into the state insurance fund. The administrator also shall adopt rules establishing a minimum level of performance as a criterion for granting and maintaining the status as a self-insuring employer and fixing time limits beyond which failure of the self-insuring employer to provide for the necessary medical examinations and evaluations may not delay a decision on a claim.

(G) The administrator shall adopt rules setting forth procedures for auditing the program of self-insuring employers. The bureau shall conduct the audit upon a random basis or whenever the bureau has grounds for believing that a self-insuring employer is not in full compliance with bureau rules or this chapter.

The administrator shall monitor the programs conducted by self-insuring employers, to ensure compliance with bureau requirements and for that purpose, shall develop and issue to self-insuring employers standardized forms for use by the self-insuring employer in all aspects of the self-insuring employers' direct compensation program and for reporting of information to the bureau.

The bureau shall receive and transmit to the self-insuring employer all complaints concerning any self-insuring employer. In the case of a complaint against a self-insuring employer, the administrator shall handle the complaint through the self-insurance division of the bureau. The bureau shall maintain a file by employer of all complaints received that relate to the employer. The bureau shall evaluate each complaint and take appropriate action.

The administrator shall adopt as a rule a prohibition against any self-insuring employer from harassing, dismissing, or otherwise disciplining any employee making a complaint, which rule shall provide for a financial penalty to be levied by the administrator payable by the offending self-insuring employer.

(H) For the purpose of making determinations as to whether to grant status as a self-insuring employer, the administrator may subscribe to and pay for a credit reporting service that offers financial and other business information about individual employers. The costs in connection with the bureau's subscription or individual reports from the service about an applicant may be included in the application fee charged employers under this section.

(I) A self-insuring employer that returns to the state insurance fund as a state fund employer shall provide the administrator with medical costs and indemnity costs by claim, and payroll by manual classification and year, and such other information the administrator may require. The self-insuring employer shall submit this information by dates and in a format determined by the administrator. The administrator shall develop a state fund experience modification factor for a self-insuring employer that returns to the state insurance fund based in whole or in part on the employer's self-insured experience and the information submitted.

(J) On the first day of July of each year, the administrator shall calculate separately each self-insuring employer's assessments for the safety and hygiene fund, administrative costs pursuant to section 4123.342 of the Revised Code, and for the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code, on the basis of the paid compensation attributable to the individual self-insuring employer according to the following calculation:

(1) The total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and for the administrative costs for the year that the assessment is being made, as determined by the administrator, divided by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year attributable to all amenable self-insuring employers;

(2) Multiply the quotient in division (J)(1) of this section by the total amount of paid compensation for the previous calendar year that is attributable to the individual self-insuring employer for whom the assessment is being determined. Each self-insuring employer shall pay the assessment that results from this calculation, unless the assessment resulting from this calculation falls below a minimum assessment, which minimum assessment the administrator shall determine on the first day of July of each year with the advice and consent of the bureau of workers' compensation board of directors, in which event, the self-insuring employer shall pay the minimum assessment.

In determining the total amount due for the total assessment against all self-insuring employers as a class for each fund and the administrative assessment, the administrator shall reduce proportionately the total for each fund and assessment by the amount of money in the self-insurance assessment fund as of the date of the computation of the assessment.

The administrator shall calculate the assessment for the portion of the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code that is used for reimbursement to a self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code in the same manner as set forth in divisions (J)(1) and (2) of this section except that the administrator shall calculate the total assessment for this portion of the surplus fund only on the basis of those self-insuring employers that retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code and the individual self-insuring employer's proportion of paid compensation shall be calculated only for those self-insuring employers who retain participation in reimbursement to the self-insuring employer under division (H) of section 4123.512 of the Revised Code.

An employer who no longer is a self-insuring employer in this state or who no longer is operating in this state, shall continue to pay assessments for administrative costs and for the surplus fund under division (B) of section 4123.34 of the Revised Code based upon paid compensation attributable to claims that occurred while the employer was a self-insuring employer within this state.

(K) There is hereby created in the state treasury the self-insurance assessment fund. All investment earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund. The administrator shall use the money in the self-insurance assessment fund only for administrative costs as specified in section 4123.341 of the Revised Code.

(L) Every self-insuring employer shall certify, in affidavit form subject to the penalty for perjury, to the bureau the amount of the self-insuring employer's paid compensation for the previous calendar year. In reporting paid compensation paid for the previous year, a self-insuring employer shall exclude from the total amount of paid compensation any reimbursement the self-insuring employer receives in the previous calendar year from the surplus fund pursuant to section 4123.512 of the Revised Code for any paid compensation. The self-insuring employer also shall exclude from the paid compensation reported any amount recovered under section 4123.931 of the Revised Code and any amount that is determined not to have been payable to or on behalf of a claimant in any final administrative or judicial proceeding. The self-insuring employer shall exclude such amounts from the paid compensation reported in the reporting period subsequent to the date the determination is made. The administrator shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that provide for all of the following:

(1) Establishing the date by which self-insuring employers must submit such information and the amount of the assessments provided for in division (J) of this section for employers who have been granted self-insuring status within the last calendar year;

(2) If an employer fails to pay the assessment when due, the administrator may add a late fee penalty of not more than five hundred dollars to the assessment plus an additional penalty amount as follows:

(a) For an assessment from sixty-one to ninety days past due, the prime interest rate, multiplied by the assessment due;

(b) For an assessment from ninety-one to one hundred twenty days past due, the prime interest rate plus two per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(c) For an assessment from one hundred twenty-one to one hundred fifty days past due, the prime interest rate plus four per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(d) For an assessment from one hundred fifty-one to one hundred eighty days past due, the prime interest rate plus six per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(e) For an assessment from one hundred eighty-one to two hundred ten days past due, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due;

(f) For each additional thirty-day period or portion thereof that an assessment remains past due after it has remained past due for more than two hundred ten days, the prime interest rate plus eight per cent, multiplied by the assessment due.

(3) An employer may appeal a late fee penalty and penalty assessment to the administrator.

For purposes of division (L)(2) of this section, "prime interest rate" means the average bank prime rate, and the administrator shall determine the prime interest rate in the same manner as a county auditor determines the average bank prime rate under section 929.02 of the Revised Code.

The administrator shall include any assessment and penalties that remain unpaid for previous assessment periods in the calculation and collection of any assessments due under this division or division (J) of this section.

(M) As used in this section, "paid compensation" means all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for living maintenance benefits, all amounts for compensation paid pursuant to sections 4121.63, 4121.67, 4123.56, 4123.57, 4123.58, 4123.59, 4123.60, and 4123.64 of the Revised Code, all amounts paid as wages in lieu of such compensation, all amounts paid in lieu of such compensation under a nonoccupational accident and sickness program fully funded by the self-insuring employer, and all amounts paid by a self-insuring employer for a violation of a specific safety standard pursuant to Section 35 of Article II, Ohio Constitution and section 4121.47 of the Revised Code.

(N) Should any section of this chapter or Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code providing for self-insuring employers' assessments based upon compensation paid be declared unconstitutional by a final decision of any court, then that section of the Revised Code declared unconstitutional shall revert back to the section in existence prior to November 3, 1989, providing for assessments based upon payroll.

(O) The administrator may grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project entered into by the self-insuring employer that is scheduled for completion within six years after the date the project begins, and the total cost of which is estimated to exceed one hundred million dollars or, for employers described in division (R) of this section, if the construction project is estimated to exceed twenty-five million dollars. The administrator may waive such cost and time criteria and grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project regardless of the time needed to complete the construction project and provided that the cost of the construction project is estimated to exceed fifty million dollars. A self-insuring employer who desires to self-insure a construction project shall submit to the administrator an application listing the dates the construction project is scheduled to begin and end, the estimated cost of the construction project, the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are to be self-insured by the self-insuring employer, the provisions of a safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project, and a statement as to whether a collective bargaining agreement governing the rights, duties, and obligations of each of the parties to the agreement with respect to the construction project exists between the self-insuring employer and a labor organization.

A self-insuring employer may apply to self-insure the employees of either of the following:

(1) All contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project;

(2) All contractors and, at the administrator's discretion, a substantial number of all the subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project.

Upon approval of the application, the administrator shall mail a certificate granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project to the self-insuring employer. The certificate shall contain the name of the self-insuring employer and the name, address, and telephone number of the self-insuring employer's representatives who are responsible for administering workers' compensation claims for the construction project. The self-insuring employer shall post the certificate in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

The administrator shall maintain a record of the contractors and subcontractors whose employees are covered under the certificate issued to the self-insured employer. A self-insuring employer immediately shall notify the administrator when any contractor or subcontractor is added or eliminated from inclusion under the certificate.

Upon approval of the application, the self-insuring employer is responsible for the administration and payment of all claims under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code for the employees of the contractor and subcontractors covered under the certificate who receive injuries or are killed in the course of and arising out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, a claim that is administered and paid in accordance with this division is considered a claim against the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate. A contractor or subcontractor included under the certificate shall report to the self-insuring employer listed in the certificate, all claims that arise under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code in connection with the construction project for which the certificate is issued.

A self-insuring employer who complies with this division is entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project, as if the employees were employees of the self-insuring employer, provided that the self-insuring employer also complies with this section. No employee of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division shall be considered the employee of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for any purposes other than this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division gives a self-insuring employer authority to control the means, manner, or method of employment of the employees of the contractors and subcontractors covered under a certificate issued under this division.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division are entitled to the protections provided under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code with respect to the contractor's or subcontractor's employees who are employed on the construction project which is the subject of the certificate, for death or injuries that arise out of, or death, injuries, or occupational diseases that arise in the course of, those employees' employment on that construction project.

The contractors and subcontractors included under a certificate issued under this division shall identify in their payroll records the employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate for purposes of this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, and the amount that those employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code, the administrator shall exclude the payroll that is reported for employees who are considered the employees of the self-insuring employer listed in that certificate, and that the employees earned for employment on the construction project that is the subject of that certificate, when determining those contractors' or subcontractors' premiums or assessments required under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code. A self-insuring employer issued a certificate under this division shall include in the amount of paid compensation it reports pursuant to division (L) of this section, the amount of paid compensation the self-insuring employer paid pursuant to this division for the previous calendar year.

Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights of employees under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996. Nothing in this division shall be construed as altering the rights devolved under sections 2305.31 and 4123.82 of the Revised Code as those rights existed prior to September 17, 1996.

As used in this division, "privilege to self-insure a construction project" means privilege to pay individually compensation, and to furnish medical, surgical, nursing, and hospital services and attention and funeral expenses directly to injured employees or the dependents of killed employees.

(P) A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall designate a safety professional to be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project that is the subject of the application.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall employ an ombudsperson for the construction project that is the subject of the application. The ombudsperson shall have experience in workers' compensation or the construction industry, or both. The ombudsperson shall perform all of the following duties:

(1) Communicate with and provide information to employees who are injured in the course of, or whose injury arises out of employment on the construction project, or who contract an occupational disease in the course of employment on the construction project;

(2) Investigate the status of a claim upon the request of an employee to do so;

(3) Provide information to claimants, third party administrators, employers, and other persons to assist those persons in protecting their rights under this chapter and Chapter 4121. of the Revised Code.

A self-insuring employer whose application is granted under division (O) of this section shall post the name of the safety professional and the ombudsperson and instructions for contacting the safety professional and the ombudsperson in a conspicuous place at the site of the construction project.

(Q) The administrator may consider all of the following when deciding whether to grant a self-insuring employer the privilege to self-insure a construction project as provided under division (O) of this section:

(1) Whether the self-insuring employer has an organizational plan for the administration of the workers' compensation law;

(2) Whether the safety program that is specifically designed for the construction project provides for the safety of employees employed on the construction project, is applicable to all contractors and subcontractors who perform labor or work or provide materials for the construction project, and has as a component, a safety training program that complies with standards adopted pursuant to the "Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970," 84 Stat. 1590, 29 U.S.C.A. 651, and provides for continuing management and employee involvement;

(3) Whether granting the privilege to self-insure the construction project will reduce the costs of the construction project;

(4) Whether the self-insuring employer has employed an ombudsperson as required under division (P) of this section;

(5) Whether the self-insuring employer has sufficient surety to secure the payment of claims for which the self-insuring employer would be responsible pursuant to the granting of the privilege to self-insure a construction project under division (O) of this section.

(R) As used in divisions (O), (P), and (Q), "self-insuring employer" includes the following employers, whether or not they have been granted the status of being a self-insuring employer under division (B) of this section:

(1) A state institution of higher education;

(2) A school district;

(3) A county school financing district;

(4) An educational service center;

(5) A community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code;

(6) A municipal power agency as defined in section 3734.058 of the Revised Code.

(S) As used in this section:

(1) "Unvoted debt capacity" means the amount of money that a public employer may borrow without voter approval of a tax levy;

(2) "State institution of higher education" means the state universities listed in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code, community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3354. of the Revised Code, university branches created pursuant to Chapter 3355. of the Revised Code, technical colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3357. of the Revised Code, and state community colleges created pursuant to Chapter 3358. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4925.01. As used in this chapter~~, "transportation~~ :

(A) "Transportation network company," "transportation network company driver," "transportation company services," "digital network," and "transportation network company rider" have the same meanings as in section 3942.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Compensation" means payment owed to a transportation network company driver by reason of providing network services, including the minimum payment for passenger platform time described in section 4925.11 of the Revised Code and mileage, incentives, and tips.

(C) "Dispatch location" means the location of the driver at the time the driver accepts a trip request through the driver platform.

(D) "Dispatched trip" means the provision of transportation by a transportation network company driver for a passenger through the use of a transportation network company's application dispatch system.

(E) "Driver platform" means the driver-facing application dispatch system software or any online-enabled application service, web site, or system used by a transportation company driver, or which enables services to be delivered to a driver, that enables the prearrangement of passenger trips for compensation.

(F) "Driver resource center" means the nonprofit organization selected in accordance with section 4925.25 of the Revised Code that provides services to transportation network company drivers.

(G) "Network services" means services related to the transportation of passengers through the driver platform that are provided by a transportation network company driver while logged in to the driver platform, including services provided during available platform time, dispatch platform time, and passenger platform time.

(H) "Passenger drop-off location" means the location of a driver's vehicle when the passenger leaves the vehicle.

(I) "Passenger pick-up location" means the location of the driver's vehicle at the time the driver starts the trip in the driver platform.

(J) "Passenger platform miles" means all miles driven during passenger platform time as recorded in a transportation network company's driver platform.

(K) "Dispatch platform time" means the time a driver spends traveling from a dispatch location to a passenger pick-up location. Dispatch platform time ends when a passenger cancels a trip or the driver begins the trip through the driver platform. For shared rides, dispatch platform time means the time a driver spends traveling from the first dispatch location to the first passenger pick-up location.

(L) "Passenger platform time" means the period of time when the driver is transporting one or more passengers on a trip. For shared rides, passenger platform time means the period of time commencing when the first passenger enters the driver's vehicle until the time when the last passenger exits the driver's vehicle.

(M) "Shared ride" means a dispatched trip that, before its commencement, a passenger requests through the transportation network company's digital network to share the dispatched trip with one or more passengers and each passenger is charged a fare that is calculated, in whole or in part, based on the passenger's request to share all or a part of the dispatched trip with one or more passengers, regardless of whether the passenger actually shares all or a part of the dispatched trip.

Sec. 4925.10. (A) Chapters 4111.~~, 4121., 4123.,~~ and 4141., and sections 4113.15 and 4113.16 of the Revised Code do not apply to transportation network companies with regard to transportation network company drivers and transportation network company drivers are not employees for purposes of those chapters or sections, except where agreed to by written contract. If the parties agree to the application of one or more of these laws in a written contract, the transportation network company shall notify the appropriate agency of the election to cover the driver. If the parties subsequently change this election, the transportation network company shall notify the appropriate agency of the change.

(B) Except where agreed to by written contract, a transportation network company driver is not an agent of a transportation network company.

(C) A driver may bring an action and recover under section 4113.52 of the Revised Code if a transportation network company has discontinued or otherwise removed the driver's access to the transportation network company's digital network because of the driver making a report under that section. If a driver brings an action under that section, the driver shall comply with the procedures for employees established in that section to receive the relief and remedies listed in division (E) of that section.

A driver is not an employee for purposes of sections 4113.51 and 4113.52 of the Revised Code. Nothing in this division shall be construed to create an employer and employee relationship between a transportation network company driver and a transportation network company.

Sec. 4925.15. (A) Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall ensure that a transportation network company driver's total compensation is not less than one of the following:

(1) For all dispatched trips originating in a city with a population of more than six hundred thousand, on a per trip basis the greater of the following:

(a) Fifty nine cents per passenger platform minute for all passenger platform time for that trip, and one dollar and thirty-eight cents per passenger platform mile for all passenger platform miles driven on that trip;

(b) Five dollars and seventeen cents per dispatched trip.

(2) For all other dispatched trips, the greater of the following:

(a) Thirty-four cents per passenger platform minute and one dollar and seventeen cents per passenger platform mile;

(b) Three dollars per dispatched trip.

(3) For all trips originating elsewhere and terminating in a city with a population of more than six hundred thousand, both of the following apply:

(a) For all passenger platform time spent within the city on that trip and for all passenger platform miles driven in the city on that trip, the compensation standard under division (A)(1) of this section applies.

(b) For all passenger platform time spent outside the city on that trip and for all passenger platform miles driven outside the city on that trip, the compensation standard under division (A)(2) of this section applies.

(B) On September 30, 2027, and every thirtieth day of September thereafter, the director of commerce shall adjust the rates specified in division (A) of this section by increasing the current year's per mile and per minute amounts and per trip minimums by the rate of inflation according to the consumer price index or its successor index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers for all items as calculated by the federal government. The adjusted wage rate takes effect on the first day of January immediately following the date of the adjustment.

(C) For shared rides, the per trip minimums in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section shall apply only to the entirety of the shared ride, and not on the basis of the individual passenger's trip within the shared ride.

(D) For the purposes of this section, a dispatched trip includes all of the following:

(1) A dispatched trip in which the driver transports the passenger to the passenger drop-off location;

(2) A dispatched trip canceled after two minutes by a passenger or the transportation network company, unless cancellation is due to the driver's conduct, or no cancellation fee is charged to the passenger;

(3) A dispatched trip that is canceled by the driver for good cause consistent with company policy;

(4) A dispatched trip where the passenger does not appear at the passenger pick-up location within five minutes.

(E) A transportation network company may exclude time and miles if doing so is reasonably necessary to remedy or prevent fraudulent use of the transportation network company's online-enabled application or platform.

(F) A transportation network company shall remit to drivers all tips. Tips paid to a driver are in addition to, and may not count towards, the driver's minimum compensation under this section.

(G) Amounts charged to a passenger and remitted to the driver for tolls, fees, or surcharges incurred by a driver during a trip are not included in calculating compensation for purposes of this section.

(H) Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, a driver cannot simultaneously be engaged in dispatch platform time and passenger platform time for the same transportation network company.

Sec. 4925.16. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall only make deductions from a transportation network company driver's compensation when the driver expressly authorizes the deduction in writing and does so in advance for a lawful purpose. Any authorization by a driver must be voluntary and knowing.

(B) Nothing in this section prohibits a transportation network company from deducting compensation as required by state or federal law or as directed by a court order.

(C) No transportation network company or any person acting in the interest of the transportation network company shall derive any financial profit or benefit from any deduction permitted under this section. For purposes of this section, all the following apply:

(1) Reasonable interest charged by the transportation network company or any person acting in the interest of a transportation network company, for a loan or credit extended to the driver, is not considered to be of financial benefit to the transportation network company or person acting in the interest of a transportation network company;

(2) A deduction will be considered for financial profit or benefit only if it results in a gain over and above the fair market value of the goods or services for which the deduction was made.

Sec. 4925.17. (A) Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall provide each transportation network company driver with a written notice of rights that provides information on all of the following:

(1) The right to the applicable per minute rate and per mile rate or per trip rate required under section 4925.15 of the Revised Code;

(2) The right to be protected from retaliation for exercising rights protected by this chapter in good faith;

(3) The right to seek legal action or file a complaint with the director of commerce for a violation of the requirements of this chapter, including a transportation network company's failure to pay the minimum per minute rate or per mile rate or per trip rate, or a transportation network company's retaliation against a driver or other person for engaging in an activity protected by this chapter.

(B) A transportation network company shall provide the notice required by division (A) of this section in an electronic format that is readily accessible by the driver. The notice of rights shall be made available to the driver via smart phone application or online world wide web portal.

(C) Beginning January 1, 2027, not more than twenty-four hours after a driver completes a dispatched trip, a transportation network company shall transmit an electronic receipt to the driver that contains all the following information about the trip:

(1) The total amount of passenger platform time;

(2) The total mileage driven during passenger platform time;

(3) The rate of pay, including the rate per minute, rate per mile, percentage of passenger fare, and any applicable price multiplier or variable pricing policy in effect for the trip;

(4) Tip compensation;

(5) Gross payment;

(6) Net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges, lease fees, or other charges;

(7) Itemized deductions or fees, including any toll, surcharge, commission, lease fees, and other charges.

(D) Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall make the receipt described in division (C) of this section available in a downloadable format via a smart phone application or world wide web portal for a period of not less than two years from the date the transportation network company provided the receipt to the driver.

(E) Beginning January 1, 2027, on a weekly basis, the transportation network company shall provide written notice to a driver that contains all the following information for trips that occurred in the previous week:

(1) The driver's total passenger platform time;

(2) Total mileage driven by the driver during passenger platform time;

(3) The driver's total tip compensation;

(4) The driver's gross payment, itemized by all the following:

(a) Rate per minute;

(b) Rate per mile;

(c) Any other method used to calculate pay, including base pay, percentage of passenger fare, or any applicable price multiplier or variable pricing policy in effect for the trip.

(5) The driver's net payment after deductions, fees, tolls, surcharges, lease fees, or other charges;

(6) Itemized deductions or fees from the driver's payment, including all tolls, surcharges, commissions, lease fees, and other charges.

Sec. 4925.18. No transportation network company shall do any of the following:

(A) Use a transportation network company driver's exercise of any of the rights provided under this chapter as a factor in any action that adversely affects the driver's use of the transportation network;

(B) Take any adverse action against a driver because the driver files a complaint, or institutes or causes to be instituted any proceeding related to this chapter, or testifies or intends to testify in any such proceeding related to any rights provided under this chapter.

Sec. 4925.19. (A) As used in this section, "repeat willful violator" means any transportation network company that has been the subject of a final and binding citation and penalty assessment for a willful violation of section 4925.15, 4925.16, 4925.17, or 4925.18 of the Revised Code within three years of the date of issuance of the most recent citation and penalty assessment for a willful violation of any of those sections.

(B) The director of commerce shall prescribe a complaint form for a transportation network company driver to allege that a transportation network company did any of the following:

(1) Failed to pay any compensation amounts due to the driver under section 4125.15 of the Revised Code;

(2) Made deductions from a driver's compensation prohibited under section 4125.16 of the Revised Code;

(3) Failed to comply with any of the requirements of section 4125.17 of the Revised Code;

(4) Engaged in any of the unlawful practices described in section 4125.18 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, if a driver files a complaint with the director, the director shall investigate the complaint and issue either a citation and penalty assessment or a determination of compliance not later than sixty days after the date on which the director received the complaint. The director may extend the time period by providing written notice to the driver and the transportation network company setting forth the reason for the extension of the time period and specifying the duration of the extension.

(2)(a) The director shall not investigate any alleged violation of section 4125.15, 4125.16, or 4125.17 of the Revised Code that occurred more than three years before the date that the driver files a complaint under this section.

(b) Except as provided in this division, the director shall not investigate any allegation that a transportation network company engaged in an unlawful practice described in section 4125.18 of the Revised Code if the alleged practice occurred more than one hundred eighty days before the date that the driver files a complaint under this section. The director may, at the director's discretion, extend the one-hundred-eighty-day period on recognized equitable principles or because of extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the driver. The director shall extend the period when a preponderance of evidence exists that the transportation network company has concealed or misled the driver regarding the alleged unlawful practice.

(D) The director shall serve a citation and penalty assessment or a determination of compliance issued under this section to both the transportation network company and the driver by personal service or traceable delivery service to their last known addresses. A transportation network company may designate a mailing address of record for service and additionally may provide an electronic mail address to which the director shall direct electronic courtesy copies of mailed correspondence, if such electronic mail address is provided.

(E)(1) If the director determines that a transportation network company has failed to pay any compensation amounts due to the driver under section 4125.15 of the Revised Code, or made deductions prohibited under section 4125.16 of the Revised Code, the director, in the citation and penalty assessment, shall order the transportation network company to pay to the driver all compensation owed to the driver. The director may order the transportation network company to pay to the driver interest of one per cent per month on all compensation owed. Compensation and interest shall be calculated from the first date compensation was owed to the driver, except that the director may not order the transportation network company to pay any compensation and interest that were owed more than three years before the date the complaint was filed with the director.

(2) If the director determines that a transportation network company willfully violated section 4125.15 or 4125.16 of the Revised Code, the director also may order the transportation network company to pay a civil penalty to the director of not less than one thousand dollars or an amount equal to ten per cent of the total amount of unpaid compensation owed to the driver, whichever is greater. The maximum civil penalty assessed under this division shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars per driver. The director shall waive any civil penalty assessed against a transportation network company under this division if the director finds that the transportation network company is not a repeat willful violator, and the director determines that the transportation network company has provided payment to the driver of all compensation that the director determined that the transportation network company owed to the driver, including interest, within thirty days of the transportation network company's receipt of the citation and penalty assessment. The director may waive or reduce at any time a civil penalty assessed under this division if the director determines that the transportation network company paid all compensation and interest owed to a driver.

(F) If the director determines that a transportation network company willfully violated section 4925.17 of the Revised Code, and the transportation network company fails to take corrective action, the director may order the transportation network company to pay the director a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for each willful violation. For a repeat willful violator, the director may order the transportation network company to pay a civil penalty of not less than two thousand dollars for each repeat willful violation per driver. The maximum civil penalty assessed under this division shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars per driver.

(G) If the director determines that a transportation network company engaged in any of the unlawful practices described in section 4925.18 of the Revised Code, and the complaint is not otherwise resolved, the director may notify the transportation network company that the director intends to issue a citation and penalty assessment and may provide up to thirty days after the date of such notification for the transportation network company to take corrective action to remedy the unlawful practice. If the complaint is not otherwise resolved, then the director shall issue a citation and penalty assessment. In the citation and penalty assessment, the director may do any of the following:

(1) Order the transportation network company to make payable to the driver earnings that the driver did not receive due to the transportation network company's action, including interest of one per cent per month on all earnings owed calculated from the first date earnings were owed to the driver;

(2) Order the transportation network company to restore the driver's use of the driver platform, unless otherwise prohibited by law;

(3) For the first violation, order the transportation network company to pay a civil penalty to the director of not less than one thousand dollars or an amount equal to ten per cent of the total amount of unpaid compensation attributable to the retaliatory action, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of twenty thousand dollars;

(4) For a repeat violation, order the transportation network company to pay a civil penalty calculated in accordance with division (G)(3) of this section up to a maximum of forty thousand dollars.

(H) During an investigation of a complaint filed under this section, if the director discovers information suggesting additional violations by the transportation network company against the driver who filed the complaint, the director may investigate and take appropriate enforcement action without requiring the driver to file a new or separate complaint. In the event the director expands an investigation, the director shall provide reasonable notice to the driver and transportation network company of the expansion. If the director discovers information that the transportation network company retaliated against or otherwise violated rights of other drivers under this chapter, the director may launch further investigations under this chapter without requiring additional complaints to be filed. If the director determines that a transportation network company engaged in additional violations, the transportation network company may be subject to additional enforcement actions for the violations.

(I) The director may prioritize investigations of alleged unlawful practices described in section 4925.18 of the Revised Code as needed to allow for timely resolution of complaints.

(J) The director shall include in a citation and penalty assessment issued under this section a summary of the specific violations. When a transportation network company pays, and a driver accepts, all compensation and interest assessed as being owed to the driver, both of the following apply:

(1) The specific violations applicable to the driver and addressed in the citation and penalty assessment are satisfied;

(2) The driver is barred from initiating or pursuing any court action or other judicial or administrative proceeding, including arbitration, based on the specific facts addressed in the citation and penalty assessment.

(K)(1) Except as provided in division (K)(2) of this section, nothing in this section affects the right of a driver or the director to pursue a different judicial, administrative, or other remedy arising from the same facts and circumstances for which a complaint can be filed under this section, provided the remedy is otherwise permitted by law.

(2) The applicable statute of limitations for a judicial action is tolled during the director's investigation of a complaint filed under this section. For the purposes of this division, the director's investigation begins on the date the complaint is filed and ends when one of the following occurs:

(a) The complaint is finally determined through a final and binding citation and penalty assessment or a determination of compliance;

(b) The director notifies the transportation network company and the driver in writing that the complaint has been otherwise resolved.

(L) Notwithstanding the requirement in section 119.06 of the Revised Code that an adjudication order not be made before giving an opportunity for a hearing, a citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance is effective without a hearing unless it is appealed in accordance with section 4925.20 of the Revised Code.

(M) The transportation network enforcement fund is created in the state treasury. Any civil penalty collected from a transportation network company for a violation of sections 4925.15 to 4925.18 of the Revised Code shall be deposited in the fund. The fund shall be used to administer and enforce sections 4925.15 to 4925.20 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4925.20. Any person aggrieved by a citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance issued by the director of commerce under section 4925.19 of the Revised Code may appeal the citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance by filing a notice of appeal with the director within thirty days after service of the citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance. A notice of appeal filed with the director under this section stays the effectiveness of the citation and penalty assessment or determination of compliance pending final review of the appeal by the director.

On receiving of an appeal, the director shall, with reasonable promptness, order a hearing of the appeal and consider and determine the matters in question. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with section 119.09 of the Revised Code.

The final order of the director is subject to judicial review in accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code. Orders that are not appealed within the time periods specified in this section and section 119.12 of the Revised Code are final and binding and not subject to further appeal.

Absent good cause, a transportation network company that fails to allow adequate inspection of records in an investigation by the director under section 4925.19 of the Revised Code within a reasonable time period may not use such records in any appeal under this section to challenge the correctness of any finding by the director of compensation owed or penalties assessed.

Sec. 4925.25. (A) Not more than four months after the effective date of this section, the director of commerce or the director's designee shall, through a competitive process, select and contract with a nonprofit organization that meets the requirements of division (B) of this section to be the driver resource center.

(B) The nonprofit organization selected as the driver resource center under this section shall satisfy all of the following:

(1) The organization shall be qualified to operate in this state and meet any requirements under Chapter 1702. of the Revised Code.

(2) The organization shall have bylaws giving drivers a right to membership in the organization.

(3) The organization shall have demonstrated experience providing services to gig economy workers and representation services, outreach, and education.

(4) The administration and formation of the organization shall not be funded, excessively influenced, or controlled by a transportation network company.

Sec. 4925.26. (A)(1) Beginning January 1, 2027, a transportation network company shall collect and remit a fifteen cent per trip fee to the driver resource center fund created by division (D) of this section. The remittance under this section is a pass through of passenger fares and is not a contribution to the fund from a transportation network company. The remittance to the fund shall be made on a quarterly basis.

(2) On September 30, 2027, and every thirtieth day of September thereafter, the director of commerce shall adjust the fee specified in division (A)(1) of this section by increasing the current year's fee by the rate of inflation according to the consumer price index or its successor index for all urban wage earners and clerical workers for all items as calculated by the federal government. The fee amount takes effect on the first day of January immediately following the date of the adjustment.

(B) A transportation network company shall submit to the director, with its remittance under division (A) of this section, a report detailing the number of trips in the previous quarter and the total amount of the surcharge charged to customers. The remittance and report is due on the thirtieth day of the quarter following the imposition of the remittance.

(C)(1) Not more than one year after the effective date of this section, a transportation network company shall provide a transportation network company driver with an opportunity to make a voluntary per trip earnings deduction contribution to the driver resource center. If one hundred or more drivers working for a transportation network company covered under this chapter authorize such a deduction, the transportation network company shall make the deduction and remit it to the driver resource center in accordance with division (C)(2) of this section.

(2) All of the following apply to the authorization and deduction described in division (C)(1) of this section:

(a) A driver shall expressly authorize the deduction in writing. The written authorization shall include, at a minimum, sufficient information to identify the driver and the driver's desired per trip deduction amount. A deduction may reduce the driver's per trip earnings below the minimums set forth in section 4925.15 of the Revised Code.

(b) The transportation network company may require a written authorization to be submitted in electronic format from the driver resource center.

(c) The transportation network company shall make the deductions within thirty days after receiving a written authorization and remit the deductions to the driver resource center on a monthly basis with remittance due not more than twenty-eight days following the end of the month.

(d) The driver's authorization remains in effect until the driver resource center provides an express revocation to the transportation network company.

(e) A transportation network company shall rely on information provided by the driver resource center regarding the authorization and revocation of deductions.

(f) On request by a transportation network company, the driver resource center shall reimburse the transportation network company for the costs associated with deduction and remittance. The director of commerce shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to calculate reimbursable costs.

(D) The driver resource center fund is created in the state treasury. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. The director of commerce shall use the fund for both of the following purposes:

(1) Paying for services provided by the driver resource center to drivers and the administrative costs of providing such support on a quarterly basis;

(2) Paying the costs of administering the fund.

Sec. 4925.27. (A)(1) As used in this section and section 4925.28 of the Revised Code, "eligible account deactivation" means any of the following actions taken by a transportation network company with respect to a transportation network company driver:

(a) Blocking or restricting access to the transportation network company driver platform for three or more consecutive days;

(b) Changing a driver's account status from eligible to provide transportation network company services to ineligible for three or more consecutive days.

(2) "Eligible account deactivation" does not include any change in a driver's access or account status that is any of the following:

(a) Related to an allegation of discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment or harassment due to someone's membership in a protected class, or physical or sexual assault, or willful or knowing commitment of fraud;

(b) Related to an allegation that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while a related active investigation that takes not longer than ten business days is under way;

(c) Any other categories the transportation network company and the driver resource center may agree to as part of the agreement entered into under this section.

(B) A transportation network company shall enter into an agreement with the driver resource center governing the deactivation appeals process for eligible account deactivations. Any agreement must be approved by the director of commerce. The director may approve an agreement only if the agreement complies with division (C) of this section.

(C) The agreement required by division (B) of this section shall provide an appeals process for drivers whose account has been subject to an eligible account deactivation. The appeals process must include all the following protections:

(1) An opportunity for a driver representative to support a driver, at the driver's request, throughout the account deactivation appeals process for eligible account deactivations;

(2) A provision requiring a notification be provided to a driver at the time of the eligible account deactivation of the driver's right to representation by the driver resource center;

(3) A requirement that, not more than thirty calendar days after a request, a transportation network company shall furnish to the driver resource center an explanation and information the transportation network company may have relied upon in making the deactivation decision, excluding confidential, proprietary, or otherwise privileged communications, provided that personal identifying information and confidential information is redacted to address reasonable privacy and confidentiality concerns;

(4) A good faith, informal resolution process committed to efficient resolution of conflicts regarding eligible account deactivations not more than thirty days after the transportation network company is notified that the driver contests the explanation offered by the company;

(5) A formal process that includes a just cause standard, with deadlines for adjudication of an appeal of an eligible account deactivation by a panel that includes a mutually agreed-upon neutral third party with experience in dispute resolution;

(6) A requirement that the panel described in division (C)(5) of this section has authority to make binding decisions within the confines of the law and monetary awards, including back pay, based on an agreed-upon formula for cases not resolved during the informal process;

(7) An agreement by the transportation network company to use the process set forth in this section to resolve disputes over eligible account deactivation appeals as an alternative to private arbitration with regard to such a dispute, should the driver and transportation network company so choose;

(8) An agreement by the transportation network company that, for eligible account deactivations in which the driver or transportation network company elect private arbitration in lieu of the formal process outlined in division (C)(5) of this section, the transportation network company shall offer the driver the opportunity to have the eligible deactivation adjudicated under the just cause standard described in division (C)(5) of this section.

(D) A transportation network company that enters into an agreement described in division (B) of this section shall reach agreement through the following steps:

(1) For a transportation network company operating a digital network in this state on the effective date of this section, the driver resource center and transportation network company shall make good faith efforts to reach an agreement within one hundred twenty days of an organization being selected as the driver resource center under section 4925.25 of the Revised Code.

(2) For a transportation network company that begins operating a digital network in this state after an organization has been selected as the driver resource center under section 4925.25 of the Revised Code, the driver resource center and transportation network company shall make a good faith effort to reach an agreement within one hundred twenty days of the transportation network company beginning operation of a digital network in this state.

(E) If the driver resource center and transportation network company cannot reach an agreement, then they shall submit issues of dispute to a jointly agreed-upon mediator.

(F) After mediation lasting not more than two months has been exhausted and no resolution has been reached, the parties will proceed to binding arbitration before a panel of arbitrators consisting of one arbitrator selected by the driver resource center, one arbitrator selected by the transportation network company, and a third arbitrator selected by the other two. If the two selected arbitrators cannot agree to the third arbitrator within ten days, then the third arbitrator shall be determined from a list of seven arbitrators with experience in labor disputes or interest arbitration designated by the American arbitration association. A coin toss shall determine which side strikes the first name. Thereafter, the other side shall strike a name. The process shall continue until only one name remains, who shall be the third arbitrator. Alternatively, the driver resource center and the transportation network company may agree to a single arbitrator.

(G) Arbitrators must submit their decision, based on majority rule, within sixty days of the panel or arbitrators being chosen.

(H)(1) The decision of the majority of arbitrators is final and binding and shall be submitted to the director of commerce for final approval. In reviewing any agreement between a transportation network company and the driver resource center, the director shall review the agreement to ensure that its content is consistent with this section and the public policy goals set forth in this section and section 4925.28 of the Revised Code. The director shall consider in the review both qualitative and quantitative effects of the agreement and how the agreement comports with the state policy. In conducting a review, the record shall not be limited to the submissions of the parties or to the terms of the proposed agreement and the director shall have the right to conduct public hearings and request additional information from the parties, provided that such information satisfies both of the following:

(a) The information is relevant for determining whether the agreement complies with this section;

(b) The information does not contain either parties' confidential, proprietary, or privileged information, or any individual's personal identifying information from the parties.

(2) The director may approve or reject a proposed agreement and may require the parties to submit a revised proposal on all or particular parts of the proposed agreement. If the director rejects an agreement, the director shall set forth the reasoning in writing and shall suggest ways the parties may remedy the failure. Absent good cause, the director shall issue a written determination regarding the director's approval or rejection not more than sixty days after submission of the agreement.

(I) A transportation network company shall provide a driver whose account is subject to an account deactivation between the effective date of this section and the effective date of the agreement required by this section the contact information of the driver resource center and notification that the driver may have the right to appeal the account deactivation with representation by the driver resource center.

(J) The director may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section.

Sec. 4925.28. In enacting sections 4925.25 to 4925.27 of the Revised Code, the state expressly intends to displace competition with regulation allowing a transportation network company, at its own volition, to enter into an agreement with the driver resource center regarding a driver account deactivation appeals process for eligible account deactivations. It is the policy of the state to promote a fair appeals process related to eligible account deactivations that supports the rights of drivers and transportation network companies and provides fair processes related to eligible account deactivations.

Section 2. That existing sections 4121.01, 4123.01, 4123.26, 4123.29, 4123.35, 4925.01, and 4925.10 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.