Ohio may add a citizenship status question on workers’ comp claims that are submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The House passed a two-year workers’ comp budget but also amended it to add a citizenship status clause. Under House Bill 80 claimants would be required to disclose whether they are a citizen, a noncitizen with permission to work in the country, or an “illegal alien or unauthorized alien”.

The sponsor of the amendment, Representative Bill Seitz, says that the legislature currently has no way to know how many immigrants are receiving benefits. This bill, unlike a bill that was introduced last year and ultimately failed, does not deny benefits to undocumented workers. It does allow for claimants who lie about their status to face prosecution for fraud. Right now, Seitz says the bill will collect data that lawmakers may use in future years to make other decisions surrounding undocumented workers and workers’ comp.

Several groups including the Catholic Conference, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, the ACLU of Ohio, Policy Matters Ohio and others, wrote a letter to members of the House Finance Committee speaking out against the bill. They say that the amendment would incentivize businesses to hire undocumented workers, since they may not have to pay workers’ comp on a part of their workforce. Representative Mike Skindell said the bill could scare undocumented workers from filing claims, and then they may seek treatment in emergency rooms who do not turn away patients. The bill would then be passed on to those with insurance coverage and not employers. He does not feel that a measure enforcing federal immigration should be involved in the Ohio workers’ comp budget.

The amendment passed in the house 56 to 38 and heads to the Senate who will decide on it by June 30^th. Other changes to the workers’ comp budget include a provision allowing first responders diagnosed with PTSD to be eligible for workers’ comp. Right now, PTSD benefits are only eligible if the person suffered a physical injury as well.

The budget also includes $11 million to aid 25 Southeastern OH counties that received disaster declarations after floods ravaged the area and there is a provision requiring the state’s superintendent of industrial compliance to establish a test to determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor under workers’ comp law.

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