Chapter 742-1 Membership

Anyone who was a member of a police or firemen’s relief and pension fund, contributing thereto prior to October 1, 1965, on the basis of part-time or volunteer service, will be received into membership in the police and firemen’s disability and pension fund in 1967, provided such person is still a member of the local fund on December 31, 1966.

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 09/19/2008 and 09/19/2013

Promulgated Under: 111.15

Statutory Authority: 742.10

Rule Amplifies: 742.10, 742.01

Prior Effective Dates: 1/1/77

(A) Requirements.

Pursuant to section 742.38 of the Revised Code, all employers of prospective members of the Ohio police and fire pension fund (OP&F) are required to do the following:

(1) Physical examination for prospective OP&F members.

The employer shall cause the prospective members of OP&F to submit to a physical examination which includes the minimum medical testing and diagnostic procedures set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule.

(2) Tests done before employee’s membership in OP&F.

The physical examination which includes the minimum medical testing and diagnostic procedures prescribed by this rule must be done no later than eleven fifty-nine p.m. on the date the employee becomes an OP&F member, but in no event can the tests and procedures be done earlier than nine months before that membership date, subject to the notice of deficiency and right to cure referenced in paragraph (D) of this rule.

(3) Physician’s report filed with OP&F.

The employer must file a physician’s report with OP&F that meets the following criteria:

(a) The physician certification must be in the form prescribed by OP&F or a form substantially similar, as determined by OP&F in its sole and absolute discretion, which must include the physician’s diagnosis and evaluation of the existence of any heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory disease identified in the medical testing and diagnostic procedures established under this rule. The physician certification must be fully completed and signed by a licensed physician who is licensed to practice medicine in the state in which the examination was conducted, and the physician certification must state the date of the examination and the report cannot be signed more than nine months before the potential employee’s membership with OP and F;

(b) The member’s medical questionnaire completed by the member must be in the form prescribed by OP&F or a form substantially similar, as determined by OP&F in its sole and absolute discretion, but this questionnaire cannot be signed more than nine months before the potential employee’s membership with OP and F; and

(c) From and after the effective date of this rule, copies of the medical tests and procedures and medical questionnaire outlined in this rule must be included as part of the physician’s report.

(4) The physician’s report must be timely filed with OP&F.

In order to be timely filed, a properly completed physician certification, medical questionnaire meeting the criteria of this rule, and copies of the required medical testing and diagnostic procedures outlined by this rule, must be received by OP&F no later than sixty days after the employee becomes an OP&F member, as required by division (A)(2) of section 742.38 of the Revised Code.

(B) Minimum medical testing/diagnostic procedures.

The minimum medical testing and diagnostic procedures to be incorporated into a member’s physical examination administered by physicians to prospective members of the fund shall include the following:

(1) Spirometry that represents at least a valid and reproducible forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume at one second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) that meets the criteria of the American thoracic society;

(2) A chest x-ray that is at least a P.A. 72” (i.e. front to back);

(3) Lipid profile that includes total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol ; and

(4) A cardiac stress test performed consistent with standard Bruce protocol that includes an electrocardiogram (EKG).

(C) Determination of OP&F membership.

For purposes of administering section 742.38 of the Revised Code and this rule, OP&F will use the occurrence of the following events for purposes of determining when a prospective employee becomes an OP&F member:

(1) The member’s appointment as a “member of the police department” or “member of the fire department,” as such terms are defined in divisions (A)(2) and (B)(2) of section 742.01 of the Revised Code respectively; and

(2) The date on which the prospective member became a “member of the fund,” as defined in division (E) of section 742.01 of the Revised Code; and

(3) The first date on which the employee is contributing or should have been contributing a percentage of his/her salary to OP&F.

For purposes of this paragraph, OP&F shall consider the first date the employee is contributing a percentage of his/her salary to OP&F to be based on payroll submitted for a pay period six weeks prior to the filing of such payroll, until the actual date is determined by OP&F and at that time, an adjustment of the penalties shall thereafter be made based on the actual dates provided to OP&F by the employer on the OP&F personal history record form.

(D) For purposes of imposing fines and penalties, OP&F shall use the following criteria:

(1) If the employer timely filed with OP&F a properly completed certification and copies of at least two of the required tests and diagnostic procedures outlined in this rule, but which cannot include the member’s medical questionnaire, then OP&F will provide the employer with notice of any deficiency in its filing along with an opportunity to cure these items within one hundred eighty daysfrom the date of OP&F’s notice (referred to in this paragraph as the cure period).

(a) If OP&F receives copies of all of the items referenced in OP&F’s notice of deficiency on or before the expiration of the cure period, then no fines will be imposed; or

(b) If OP&F does not receive from the employer all of the items referenced in OP&F’s notice of deficiency within one hundred eighy daysfrom OP&F’s notice, then OP&F will assess the statutory fine from the date that the report was originally due OP&F, as required by the terms of section 742.38 of the Revised Code, until the employer files the required documentation with OP&F, subject to the caps provided for in division (A) of section 742.353 of the Revised Code and rule 742-8-08 of the Administrative Code.

(2) If the employer is not eligible to correct deficiencies through a cure period as referenced in paragraph (D)(1) of this rule, then OP&F will assess the statutory fine from the date that the report was originally due OP&F, as required by section 742.38 of the Revised Code until OP&F’s receipt of a properly completed physician’s report which includes a properly completed physician certification, medical questionnaire meeting the criteria of this rule, and copies of the required medical tests and procedures outlined in this rule, subject to the caps provided for in rule 742-8-08 of the Administrative Code.

(E) For purposes of this rule, if the physician certification is in proper format, as outlined in paragraph (A) of this rule, the medical questionnaire is complete, and copies of all of the tests and procedures outlined in paragraph (B) of this rule are filed with OP&F, but are not filed within sixty days from the date on which the employee became an OP&F member, as outlined in this rule, then OP&F must assess the fine prescribed by section 742.38 of the Revised Code.

(F) For purposes of this rule, OP&F will provide the employer with only one one hundred eighty day cure period during which the employer must file a properly completed physician’s report, which means the physician certification in the form approved by OP&F and copies of all tests and diagnostic procedures outlined in paragraph (B) of this rule, that must be filed with OP&F prior to the expiration of such cure period.

(G) If the employer cannot cure the deficiency due to the member terminating employment with the employer or transferring to another department, OP&F will assess the fine through the earlier of the date of termination or transfer or the date on which the employer complied with the terms of section 742.38 of the Revised Code, as more fully described in this rule, subject to the caps provided for in division (A) of section 742.353 of the Revised Code and rule 742-8-08 of the Administrative Code. In order to make this determination, the employer shall provide OP&F with certification of the date of the termination or transfer.

(H) For members who are reinstated to OP&F membership by agreement or by order of a court or arbitrator, no new pre-employment physical will be required. In order to make this determination, the employer shall provide OP&F with a copy of the agreement or court order.

(I) In cases where the person was laid off from an OP&F covered employer and the person already has a proper pre-employment physical on file with OP&F and returns to an OP&F covered position within two years of the effective date of his/her lay-off and accumulated member contributions remain on deposit with OP&F, no additional pre-employment physical will be required.

(J) For members who transfer from one employer to another without a loss in membership with OP&F, as outlined above, the new employer will not be required to cause such person to undergo the medical testing and diagnostic procedures referenced in this rule, unless the person became an OP&F member on or after September 16, 1998 and OP&F does not have a pre-employment physical on file that meets the definition set forth in section 742.38 of the Revised Code. In order to reach this determination, however, the new employer will need to obtain this information from OP&F. In the event the original employer did not cause an employee who became an OP&F member on or after September 16, 1998 to undergo all of the tests and procedures outlined in this rule, then OP&F will give notice to the new employer of any tests and procedures that need to be completed and this documentation must be received by OP&F no later than sixty days after the new hire date, subject to the right to cure, as provided for in this rule.

(K) In no event shall the provisions of this rule be intended to supercede or eliminate any other legal requirement imposed on the employer under Ohio law, including, but not limited to, sections 124.41 and 124.42 of the Revised Code.

(L) If the employer is unable to obtain a test due to the member’s medical condition, the member’s religious beliefs or the member’s refusal to undergo a specific test, the employer shall provide supporting documentation to OP&F in support of such fact and may request a waiver of such test or report for such reason. If the waiver request is for medical reasons, the supporting documentation shall be in the form of a medical report signed by a licensed physician in the state in which the medical examination was conducted, if the waiver request is for religious reasons, the supporting documentation shall be in the form of an affidavit signed by the member before a notary public that certifies such fact, and if the waiver request is the result of the member’s refusal, the supporting documentation shall be in the form of a written document signed by the member before a notary public that certifies that fact and acknowledges that the member understands that his/her refusal shall result in his/her inability to use the presumptive disability provision outlined in section 742.38 of the Revised Code.

Within thirty days after OP&F’s receipt of such request, OP&F shall notify the employer if such waiver is granted. If OP&F grants a waiver, the employer shall not be obligated to cause such person to undergo the specific tests specified in such waiver.

Any waiver granted under the terms of this section shall result in the member’s inability to use the presumptive disability provisions outlined in section 742.38 of the Revised Code and shall not change the number of tests that are required to be filed with OP&F in order for such employer to be granted an opportunity to cure any other deficiencies in such filing or any penalty for late filings of the other reports related to such member.

Effective: 01/17/2011

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 11/02/2010 and 01/17/2016

Promulgated Under: 111.15

Statutory Authority: 742.10

Rule Amplifies: 742.38

Prior Effective Dates: 9/6/1998 (Emer.), 12/10/98, 5/27/99, 2/11/02 (Emer.), 5/30/02 (Emer.), 8/22/02, 1/22/04, 11/29/2004, 10/13/2005