CHAPTER 4141: UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(A)(1) “Employer” means the state, its instrumentalities, its political subdivisions and their instrumentalities, Indian tribes, and any individual or type of organization including any partnership, limited liability company, association, trust, estate, joint-stock company, insurance company, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee, or the successor thereof, or the legal representative of a deceased person who subsequent to December 31, 1971, or in the case of political subdivisions or their instrumentalities, subsequent to December 31, 1973:

(a) Had in employment at least one individual, or in the case of a nonprofit organization, subsequent to December 31, 1973, had not less than four individuals in employment for some portion of a day in each of twenty different calendar weeks, in either the current or the preceding calendar year whether or not the same individual was in employment in each such day; or

(b) Except for a nonprofit organization, had paid for service in employment wages of fifteen hundred dollars or more in any calendar quarter in either the current or preceding calendar year; or

(c) Had paid, subsequent to December 31, 1977, for employment in domestic service in a local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority, cash remuneration of one thousand dollars or more in any calendar quarter in the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year, or had paid subsequent to December 31, 1977, for employment in domestic service in a private home cash remuneration of one thousand dollars in any calendar quarter in the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year:

(i) For the purposes of divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of this section, there shall not be taken into account any wages paid to, or employment of, an individual performing domestic service as described in this division.

(ii) An employer under this division shall not be an employer with respect to wages paid for any services other than domestic service unless the employer is also found to be an employer under division (A)(1)(a), (b), or (d) of this section.

(d) As a farm operator or a crew leader subsequent to December 31, 1977, had in employment individuals in agricultural labor; and

(i) During any calendar quarter in the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year, paid cash remuneration of twenty thousand dollars or more for the agricultural labor; or

(ii) Had at least ten individuals in employment in agricultural labor, not including agricultural workers who are aliens admitted to the United States to perform agricultural labor pursuant to sections 1184(c) and 1101(a)(15)(H) of the “Immigration and Nationality Act,” 66 Stat. 163, 189, 8 U.S.C.A. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 1184(c), for some portion of a day in each of the twenty different calendar weeks, in either the current or preceding calendar year whether or not the same individual was in employment in each day; or

(e) Is not otherwise an employer as defined under division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section; and

(i) For which, within either the current or preceding calendar year, service, except for domestic service in a private home not covered under division (A)(1)(c) of this section, is or was performed with respect to which such employer is liable for any federal tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment fund;

(ii) Which, as a condition for approval of this chapter for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 713, 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, is required, pursuant to such act to be an employer under this chapter; or

(iii) Who became an employer by election under division (A)(4) or (5) of this section and for the duration of such election; or

(f) In the case of the state, its instrumentalities, its political subdivisions, and their instrumentalities, and Indian tribes, had in employment, as defined in divisions (B)(2)(a) and (B)(2)(l) of this section, at least one individual;

(g) For the purposes of division (A)(1)(a) of this section, if any week includes both the thirty-first day of December and the first day of January, the days of that week before the first day of January shall be considered one calendar week and the days beginning the first day of January another week.

(2) Each individual employed to perform or to assist in performing the work of any agent or employee of an employer is employed by such employer for all the purposes of this chapter, whether such individual was hired or paid directly by such employer or by such agent or employee, provided the employer had actual or constructive knowledge of the work. All individuals performing services for an employer of any person in this state who maintains two or more establishments within this state are employed by a single employer for the purposes of this chapter.

(3) An employer subject to this chapter within any calendar year is subject to this chapter during the whole of such year and during the next succeeding calendar year.

(4) An employer not otherwise subject to this chapter who files with the director of job and family services a written election to become an employer subject to this chapter for not less than two calendar years shall, with the written approval of such election by the director, become an employer subject to this chapter to the same extent as all other employers as of the date stated in such approval, and shall cease to be subject to this chapter as of the first day of January of any calendar year subsequent to such two calendar years only if at least thirty days prior to such first day of January the employer has filed with the director a written notice to that effect.

(5) Any employer for whom services that do not constitute employment are performed may file with the director a written election that all such services performed by individuals in the employer’s employ in one or more distinct establishments or places of business shall be deemed to constitute employment for all the purposes of this chapter, for not less than two calendar years. Upon written approval of the election by the director, such services shall be deemed to constitute employment subject to this chapter from and after the date stated in such approval. Such services shall cease to be employment subject to this chapter as of the first day of January of any calendar year subsequent to such two calendar years only if at least thirty days prior to such first day of January such employer has filed with the director a written notice to that effect.

(B)(1) “Employment” means service performed by an individual for remuneration under any contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied, including service performed in interstate commerce and service performed by an officer of a corporation, without regard to whether such service is executive, managerial, or manual in nature, and without regard to whether such officer is a stockholder or a member of the board of directors of the corporation, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the director that such individual has been and will continue to be free from direction or control over the performance of such service, both under a contract of service and in fact. The director shall adopt rules to define “direction or control.”

(2) “Employment” includes:

(a) Service performed after December 31, 1977, by an individual in the employ of the state or any of its instrumentalities, or any political subdivision thereof or any of its instrumentalities or any instrumentality of more than one of the foregoing or any instrumentality of any of the foregoing and one or more other states or political subdivisions and without regard to divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of this section, provided that such service is excluded from employment as defined in the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183, 26 U.S.C.A. 3301, 3306(c)(7) and is not excluded under division (B)(3) of this section; or the services of employees covered by voluntary election, as provided under divisions (A)(4) and (5) of this section;

(b) Service performed after December 31, 1971, by an individual in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational, or other organization which is excluded from the term “employment” as defined in the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 713, 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, solely by reason of section 26 U.S.C.A. 3306(c)(8) of that act and is not excluded under division (B)(3) of this section;

(c) Domestic service performed after December 31, 1977, for an employer, as provided in division (A)(1)(c) of this section;

(d) Agricultural labor performed after December 31, 1977, for a farm operator or a crew leader, as provided in division (A)(1)(d) of this section;

(e) Service not covered under division (B)(1) of this section which is performed after December 31, 1971:

(i) As an agent-driver or commission-driver engaged in distributing meat products, vegetable products, fruit products, bakery products, beverages other than milk, laundry, or dry-cleaning services, for the individual’s employer or principal;

(ii) As a traveling or city salesperson, other than as an agent-driver or commission-driver, engaged on a full-time basis in the solicitation on behalf of and in the transmission to the salesperson’s employer or principal except for sideline sales activities on behalf of some other person of orders from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments for merchandise for resale, or supplies for use in their business operations, provided that for the purposes of division (B)(2)(e)(ii) of this section, the services shall be deemed employment if the contract of service contemplates that substantially all of the services are to be performed personally by the individual and that the individual does not have a substantial investment in facilities used in connection with the performance of the services other than in facilities for transportation, and the services are not in the nature of a single transaction that is not a part of a continuing relationship with the person for whom the services are performed.

(f) An individual’s entire service performed within or both within and without the state if:

(i) The service is localized in this state.

(ii) The service is not localized in any state, but some of the service is performed in this state and either the base of operations, or if there is no base of operations then the place from which such service is directed or controlled, is in this state or the base of operations or place from which such service is directed or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is performed but the individual’s residence is in this state.

(g) Service not covered under division (B)(2)(f)(ii) of this section and performed entirely without this state, with respect to no part of which contributions are required and paid under an unemployment compensation law of any other state, the Virgin Islands, Canada, or of the United States, if the individual performing such service is a resident of this state and the director approves the election of the employer for whom such services are performed; or, if the individual is not a resident of this state but the place from which the service is directed or controlled is in this state, the entire services of such individual shall be deemed to be employment subject to this chapter, provided service is deemed to be localized within this state if the service is performed entirely within this state or if the service is performed both within and without this state but the service performed without this state is incidental to the individual’s service within the state, for example, is temporary or transitory in nature or consists of isolated transactions;

(h) Service of an individual who is a citizen of the United States, performed outside the United States except in Canada after December 31, 1971, or the Virgin Islands, after December 31, 1971, and before the first day of January of the year following that in which the United States secretary of labor approves the Virgin Islands law for the first time, in the employ of an American employer, other than service which is “employment” under divisions (B)(2)(f) and (g) of this section or similar provisions of another state’s law, if:

(i) The employer’s principal place of business in the United States is located in this state;

(ii) The employer has no place of business in the United States, but the employer is an individual who is a resident of this state; or the employer is a corporation which is organized under the laws of this state, or the employer is a partnership or a trust and the number of partners or trustees who are residents of this state is greater than the number who are residents of any other state; or

(iii) None of the criteria of divisions (B)(2)(f)(i) and (ii) of this section is met but the employer has elected coverage in this state or the employer having failed to elect coverage in any state, the individual has filed a claim for benefits, based on such service, under this chapter.

(i) For the purposes of division (B)(2)(h) of this section, the term “American employer” means an employer who is an individual who is a resident of the United States; or a partnership, if two-thirds or more of the partners are residents of the United States; or a trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United States; or a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any state, provided the term “United States” includes the states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

(j) Notwithstanding any other provisions of divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, service, except for domestic service in a private home not covered under division (A)(1)(c) of this section, with respect to which a tax is required to be paid under any federal law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment fund, or service, except for domestic service in a private home not covered under division (A)(1)(c) of this section, which, as a condition for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 713, 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, is required to be covered under this chapter.

(k) Construction services performed by any individual under a construction contract, as defined in section 4141.39 of the Revised Code, if the director determines that the employer for whom services are performed has the right to direct or control the performance of the services and that the individuals who perform the services receive remuneration for the services performed. The director shall presume that the employer for whom services are performed has the right to direct or control the performance of the services if ten or more of the following criteria apply:

(i) The employer directs or controls the manner or method by which instructions are given to the individual performing services;

(ii) The employer requires particular training for the individual performing services;

(iii) Services performed by the individual are integrated into the regular functioning of the employer;

(iv) The employer requires that services be provided by a particular individual;

(v) The employer hires, supervises, or pays the wages of the individual performing services;

(vi) A continuing relationship between the employer and the individual performing services exists which contemplates continuing or recurring work, even if not full-time work;

(vii) The employer requires the individual to perform services during established hours;

(viii) The employer requires that the individual performing services be devoted on a full-time basis to the business of the employer;

(ix) The employer requires the individual to perform services on the employer’s premises;

(x) The employer requires the individual performing services to follow the order of work established by the employer;

(xi) The employer requires the individual performing services to make oral or written reports of progress;

(xii) The employer makes payment to the individual for services on a regular basis, such as hourly, weekly, or monthly;

(xiii) The employer pays expenses for the individual performing services;

(xiv) The employer furnishes the tools and materials for use by the individual to perform services;

(xv) The individual performing services has not invested in the facilities used to perform services;

(xvi) The individual performing services does not realize a profit or suffer a loss as a result of the performance of the services;

(xvii) The individual performing services is not performing services for more than two employers simultaneously;

(xviii) The individual performing services does not make the services available to the general public;

(xix) The employer has a right to discharge the individual performing services;

(xx) The individual performing services has the right to end the individual’s relationship with the employer without incurring liability pursuant to an employment contract or agreement.

(l) Service performed by an individual in the employ of an Indian tribe as defined by section 4(e) of the “Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act,” 88 Stat. 2204 (1975), 25 U.S.C.A. 450b(e), including any subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprise wholly owned by an Indian tribe provided that the service is excluded from employment as defined in the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183, (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 and 3306(c)(7) and is not excluded under division (B)(3) of this section.

(3) “Employment” does not include the following services if they are found not subject to the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 713 (1970), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, and if the services are not required to be included under division (B)(2)(j) of this section:

(a) Service performed after December 31, 1977, in agricultural labor, except as provided in division (A)(1)(d) of this section;

(b) Domestic service performed after December 31, 1977, in a private home, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority except as provided in division (A)(1)(c) of this section;

(c) Service performed after December 31, 1977, for this state or a political subdivision as described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section when performed:

(i) As a publicly elected official;

(ii) As a member of a legislative body, or a member of the judiciary;

(iii) As a military member of the Ohio national guard;

(iv) As an employee, not in the classified service as defined in section 124.11 of the Revised Code, serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergency;

(v) In a position which, under or pursuant to law, is designated as a major nontenured policymaking or advisory position, not in the classified service of the state, or a policymaking or advisory position the performance of the duties of which ordinarily does not require more than eight hours per week.

(d) In the employ of any governmental unit or instrumentality of the United States;

(e) Service performed after December 31, 1971:

(i) Service in the employ of an educational institution or institution of higher education, including those operated by the state or a political subdivision, if such service is performed by a student who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at the educational institution or institution of higher education; or

(ii) By an individual who is enrolled at a nonprofit or public educational institution which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are carried on as a student in a full-time program, taken for credit at the institution, which combines academic instruction with work experience, if the service is an integral part of the program, and the institution has so certified to the employer, provided that this subdivision shall not apply to service performed in a program established for or on behalf of an employer or group of employers;

(f) Service performed by an individual in the employ of the individual’s son, daughter, or spouse and service performed by a child under the age of eighteen in the employ of the child’s father or mother;

(g) Service performed for one or more principals by an individual who is compensated on a commission basis, who in the performance of the work is master of the individual’s own time and efforts, and whose remuneration is wholly dependent on the amount of effort the individual chooses to expend, and which service is not subject to the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311. Service performed after December 31, 1971:

(i) By an individual for an employer as an insurance agent or as an insurance solicitor, if all this service is performed for remuneration solely by way of commission;

(ii) As a home worker performing work, according to specifications furnished by the employer for whom the services are performed, on materials or goods furnished by such employer which are required to be returned to the employer or to a person designated for that purpose.

(h) Service performed after December 31, 1971:

(i) In the employ of a church or convention or association of churches, or in an organization which is operated primarily for religious purposes and which is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches;

(ii) By a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of the individual’s ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by such order; or

(iii) In a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age or physical or mental deficiency or injury, or providing remunerative work for individuals who because of their impaired physical or mental capacity cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market, by an individual receiving such rehabilitation or remunerative work;

(i) Service performed after June 30, 1939, with respect to which unemployment compensation is payable under the “Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act,” 52 Stat. 1094 (1938), 45 U.S.C. 351;

(j) Service performed by an individual in the employ of any organization exempt from income tax under section 501 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1954,” if the remuneration for such service does not exceed fifty dollars in any calendar quarter, or if such service is in connection with the collection of dues or premiums for a fraternal beneficial society, order, or association and is performed away from the home office or is ritualistic service in connection with any such society, order, or association;

(k) Casual labor not in the course of an employer’s trade or business; incidental service performed by an officer, appraiser, or member of a finance committee of a bank, building and loan association, savings and loan association, or savings association when the remuneration for such incidental service exclusive of the amount paid or allotted for directors’ fees does not exceed sixty dollars per calendar quarter is casual labor;

(l) Service performed in the employ of a voluntary employees’ beneficial association providing for the payment of life, sickness, accident, or other benefits to the members of such association or their dependents or their designated beneficiaries, if admission to a membership in such association is limited to individuals who are officers or employees of a municipal or public corporation, of a political subdivision of the state, or of the United States and no part of the net earnings of such association inures, other than through such payments, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual;

(m) Service performed by an individual in the employ of a foreign government, including service as a consular or other officer or employee or of a nondiplomatic representative;

(n) Service performed in the employ of an instrumentality wholly owned by a foreign government if the service is of a character similar to that performed in foreign countries by employees of the United States or of an instrumentality thereof and if the director finds that the secretary of state of the United States has certified to the secretary of the treasury of the United States that the foreign government, with respect to whose instrumentality exemption is claimed, grants an equivalent exemption with respect to similar service performed in the foreign country by employees of the United States and of instrumentalities thereof;

(o) Service with respect to which unemployment compensation is payable under an unemployment compensation system established by an act of congress;

(p) Service performed as a student nurse in the employ of a hospital or a nurses’ training school by an individual who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in a nurses’ training school chartered or approved pursuant to state law, and service performed as an intern in the employ of a hospital by an individual who has completed a four years’ course in a medical school chartered or approved pursuant to state law;

(q) Service performed by an individual under the age of eighteen in the delivery or distribution of newspapers or shopping news, not including delivery or distribution to any point for subsequent delivery or distribution;

(r) Service performed in the employ of the United States or an instrumentality of the United States immune under the Constitution of the United States from the contributions imposed by this chapter, except that to the extent that congress permits states to require any instrumentalities of the United States to make payments into an unemployment fund under a state unemployment compensation act, this chapter shall be applicable to such instrumentalities and to services performed for such instrumentalities in the same manner, to the same extent, and on the same terms as to all other employers, individuals, and services, provided that if this state is not certified for any year by the proper agency of the United States under section 3304 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1954,” the payments required of such instrumentalities with respect to such year shall be refunded by the director from the fund in the same manner and within the same period as is provided in division (E) of section 4141.09 of the Revised Code with respect to contributions erroneously collected;

(s) Service performed by an individual as a member of a band or orchestra, provided such service does not represent the principal occupation of such individual, and which service is not subject to or required to be covered for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311.

(t) Service performed in the employ of a day camp whose camping season does not exceed twelve weeks in any calendar year, and which service is not subject to the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311. Service performed after December 31, 1971:

(i) In the employ of a hospital, if the service is performed by a patient of the hospital, as defined in division (W) of this section;

(ii) For a prison or other correctional institution by an inmate of the prison or correctional institution;

(iii) Service performed after December 31, 1977, by an inmate of a custodial institution operated by the state, a political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization.

(u) Service that is performed by a nonresident alien individual for the period the individual temporarily is present in the United States as a nonimmigrant under division (F), (J), (M), or (Q) of section 101(a)(15) of the “Immigration and Nationality Act,” 66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C.A. 1101, as amended, that is excluded under section 3306(c)(19) of the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311.

(v) Notwithstanding any other provisions of division (B)(3) of this section, services that are excluded under divisions (B)(3)(g), (j), (k), and (l) of this section shall not be excluded from employment when performed for a nonprofit organization, as defined in division (X) of this section, or for this state or its instrumentalities, or for a political subdivision or its instrumentalities or for Indian tribes;

(w) Service that is performed by an individual working as an election official or election worker if the amount of remuneration received by the individual during the calendar year for services as an election official or election worker is less than one thousand dollars;

(x) Service performed for an elementary or secondary school that is operated primarily for religious purposes, that is described in subsection 501(c)(3) and exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C.A. 501;

(y) Service performed by a person committed to a penal institution.

(z) Service performed for an Indian tribe as described in division (B)(2)(l) of this section when performed in any of the following manners:

(i) As a publicly elected official;

(ii) As a member of an Indian tribal council;

(iii) As a member of a legislative or judiciary body;

(iv) In a position which, pursuant to Indian tribal law, is designated as a major nontenured policymaking or advisory position, or a policymaking or advisory position where the performance of the duties ordinarily does not require more than eight hours of time per week;

(v) As an employee serving on a temporary basis in the case of a fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergency.

(aa) Service performed after December 31, 1971, for a nonprofit organization, this state or its instrumentalities, a political subdivision or its instrumentalities, or an Indian tribe as part of an unemployment work-relief or work-training program assisted or financed in whole or in part by any federal agency or an agency of a state or political subdivision, thereof, by an individual receiving the work-relief or work-training.

(4) If the services performed during one half or more of any pay period by an employee for the person employing that employee constitute employment, all the services of such employee for such period shall be deemed to be employment; but if the services performed during more than one half of any such pay period by an employee for the person employing that employee do not constitute employment, then none of the services of such employee for such period shall be deemed to be employment. As used in division (B)(4) of this section, “pay period” means a period, of not more than thirty-one consecutive days, for which payment of remuneration is ordinarily made to the employee by the person employing that employee. Division (B)(4) of this section does not apply to services performed in a pay period by an employee for the person employing that employee, if any of such service is excepted by division (B)(3)(o) of this section.

(C) “Benefits” means money payments payable to an individual who has established benefit rights, as provided in this chapter, for loss of remuneration due to the individual’s unemployment.

(D) “Benefit rights” means the weekly benefit amount and the maximum benefit amount that may become payable to an individual within the individual’s benefit year as determined by the director.

(E) “Claim for benefits” means a claim for waiting period or benefits for a designated week.

(F) “Additional claim” means the first claim for benefits filed following any separation from employment during a benefit year; “continued claim” means any claim other than the first claim for benefits and other than an additional claim.

(G)(1) “Wages” means remuneration paid to an employee by each of the employee’s employers with respect to employment; except that wages shall not include that part of remuneration paid during any calendar year to an individual by an employer or such employer’s predecessor in interest in the same business or enterprise, which in any calendar year is in excess of eight thousand two hundred fifty dollars on and after January 1, 1992; eight thousand five hundred dollars on and after January 1, 1993; eight thousand seven hundred fifty dollars on and after January 1, 1994; and nine thousand dollars on and after January 1, 1995. Remuneration in excess of such amounts shall be deemed wages subject to contribution to the same extent that such remuneration is defined as wages under the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 714 (1970), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, as amended. The remuneration paid an employee by an employer with respect to employment in another state, upon which contributions were required and paid by such employer under the unemployment compensation act of such other state, shall be included as a part of remuneration in computing the amount specified in this division.

(2) Notwithstanding division (G)(1) of this section, if, as of the computation date for any calendar year, the director determines that the level of the unemployment compensation fund is sixty per cent or more below the minimum safe level as defined in section 4141.25 of the Revised Code, then, effective the first day of January of the following calendar year, wages subject to this chapter shall not include that part of remuneration paid during any calendar year to an individual by an employer or such employer’s predecessor in interest in the same business or enterprise which is in excess of nine thousand dollars. The increase in the dollar amount of wages subject to this chapter under this division shall remain in effect from the date of the director’s determination pursuant to division (G)(2) of this section and thereafter notwithstanding the fact that the level in the fund may subsequently become less than sixty per cent below the minimum safe level.

(H)(1) “Remuneration” means all compensation for personal services, including commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all compensation in any medium other than cash, except that in the case of agricultural or domestic service, “remuneration” includes only cash remuneration. Gratuities customarily received by an individual in the course of the individual’s employment from persons other than the individual’s employer and which are accounted for by such individual to the individual’s employer are taxable wages.

The reasonable cash value of compensation paid in any medium other than cash shall be estimated and determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the director, provided that “remuneration” does not include:

(a) Payments as provided in divisions (b)(2) to (b)(16) of section 3306 of the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 84 Stat. 713, 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, as amended;

(b) The payment by an employer, without deduction from the remuneration of the individual in the employer’s employ, of the tax imposed upon an individual in the employer’s employ under section 3101 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1954,” with respect to services performed after October 1, 1941.

(2) “Cash remuneration” means all remuneration paid in cash, including commissions and bonuses, but not including the cash value of all compensation in any medium other than cash.

(I) “Interested party” means the director and any party to whom notice of a determination of an application for benefit rights or a claim for benefits is required to be given under section 4141.28 of the Revised Code.

(J) “Annual payroll” means the total amount of wages subject to contributions during a twelve-month period ending with the last day of the second calendar quarter of any calendar year.

(K) “Average annual payroll” means the average of the last three annual payrolls of an employer, provided that if, as of any computation date, the employer has had less than three annual payrolls in such three-year period, such average shall be based on the annual payrolls which the employer has had as of such date.

(L)(1) “Contributions” means the money payments to the state unemployment compensation fund required of employers by section 4141.25 of the Revised Code and of the state and any of its political subdivisions electing to pay contributions under section 4141.242 of the Revised Code. Employers paying contributions shall be described as “contributory employers.”

(2) “Payments in lieu of contributions” means the money payments to the state unemployment compensation fund required of reimbursing employers under sections 4141.241 and 4141.242 of the Revised Code.

(M) An individual is “totally unemployed” in any week during which the individual performs no services and with respect to such week no remuneration is payable to the individual.

(N) An individual is “partially unemployed” in any week if, due to involuntary loss of work, the total remuneration payable to the individual for such week is less than the individual’s weekly benefit amount.

(O) “Week” means the calendar week ending at midnight Saturday unless an equivalent week of seven consecutive calendar days is prescribed by the director.

(1) “Qualifying week” means any calendar week in an individual’s base period with respect to which the individual earns or is paid remuneration in employment subject to this chapter. A calendar week with respect to which an individual earns remuneration but for which payment was not made within the base period, when necessary to qualify for benefit rights, may be considered to be a qualifying week. The number of qualifying weeks which may be established in a calendar quarter shall not exceed the number of calendar weeks in the quarter.

(2) “Average weekly wage” means the amount obtained by dividing an individual’s total remuneration for all qualifying weeks during the base period by the number of such qualifying weeks, provided that if the computation results in an amount that is not a multiple of one dollar, such amount shall be rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

(P) “Weekly benefit amount” means the amount of benefits an individual would be entitled to receive for one week of total unemployment.

(Q)(1) “Base period” means the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual’s benefit year, except as provided in division (Q)(2) of this section.

(2) If an individual does not have sufficient qualifying weeks and wages in the base period to qualify for benefit rights, the individual’s base period shall be the four most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the first day of the individual’s benefit year. Such base period shall be known as the “alternate base period.” If information as to weeks and wages for the most recent quarter of the alternate base period is not available to the director from the regular quarterly reports of wage information, which are systematically accessible, the director may, consistent with the provisions of section 4141.28 of the Revised Code, base the determination of eligibility for benefits on the affidavit of the claimant with respect to weeks and wages for that calendar quarter. The claimant shall furnish payroll documentation, where available, in support of the affidavit. The determination based upon the alternate base period as it relates to the claimant’s benefit rights, shall be amended when the quarterly report of wage information from the employer is timely received and that information causes a change in the determination. As provided in division (B) of section 4141.28 of the Revised Code, any benefits paid and charged to an employer’s account, based upon a claimant’s affidavit, shall be adjusted effective as of the beginning of the claimant’s benefit year. No calendar quarter in a base period or alternate base period shall be used to establish a subsequent benefit year.

(3) The “base period” of a combined wage claim, as described in division (H) of section 4141.43 of the Revised Code, shall be the base period prescribed by the law of the state in which the claim is allowed.

(4) For purposes of determining the weeks that comprise a completed calendar quarter under this division, only those weeks ending at midnight Saturday within the calendar quarter shall be utilized.

(R)(1) “Benefit year” with respect to an individual means the fifty-two week period beginning with the first day of that week with respect to which the individual first files a valid application for determination of benefit rights, and thereafter the fifty-two week period beginning with the first day of that week with respect to which the individual next files a valid application for determination of benefit rights after the termination of the individual’s last preceding benefit year, except that the application shall not be considered valid unless the individual has had employment in six weeks that is subject to this chapter or the unemployment compensation act of another state, or the United States, and has, since the beginning of the individual’s previous benefit year, in the employment earned three times the average weekly wage determined for the previous benefit year. The “benefit year” of a combined wage claim, as described in division (H) of section 4141.43 of the Revised Code, shall be the benefit year prescribed by the law of the state in which the claim is allowed. Any application for determination of benefit rights made in accordance with section 4141.28 of the Revised Code is valid if the individual filing such application is unemployed, has been employed by an employer or employers subject to this chapter in at least twenty qualifying weeks within the individual’s base period, and has earned or been paid remuneration at an average weekly wage of not less than twenty-seven and one-half per cent of the statewide average weekly wage for such weeks. For purposes of determining whether an individual has had sufficient employment since the beginning of the individual’s previous benefit year to file a valid application, “employment” means the performance of services for which remuneration is payable.

(2) Effective for benefit years beginning on and after December 26, 2004, any application for determination of benefit rights made in accordance with section 4141.28 of the Revised Code is valid if the individual satisfies the criteria described in division (R)(1) of this section, and if the reason for the individual’s separation from employment is not disqualifying pursuant to division (D)(2) of section 4141.29 or section 4141.291 of the Revised Code. A disqualification imposed pursuant to division (D)(2) of section 4141.29 or section 4141.291 of the Revised Code must be removed as provided in those sections as a requirement of establishing a valid application for benefit years beginning on and after December 26, 2004.

(3) The statewide average weekly wage shall be calculated by the director once a year based on the twelve-month period ending the thirtieth day of June, as set forth in division (B)(3) of section 4141.30 of the Revised Code, rounded down to the nearest dollar. Increases or decreases in the amount of remuneration required to have been earned or paid in order for individuals to have filed valid applications shall become effective on Sunday of the calendar week in which the first day of January occurs that follows the twelve-month period ending the thirtieth day of June upon which the calculation of the statewide average weekly wage was based.

(4) As used in this division, an individual is “unemployed” if, with respect to the calendar week in which such application is filed, the individual is “partially unemployed” or “totally unemployed” as defined in this section or if, prior to filing the application, the individual was separated from the individual’s most recent work for any reason which terminated the individual’s employee-employer relationship, or was laid off indefinitely or for a definite period of seven or more days.

(S) “Calendar quarter” means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June, the thirtieth day of September, and the thirty-first day of December, or the equivalent thereof as the director prescribes by rule.

(T) “Computation date” means the first day of the third calendar quarter of any calendar year.

(U) “Contribution period” means the calendar year beginning on the first day of January of any year.

(V) “Agricultural labor,” for the purpose of this division, means any service performed prior to January 1, 1972, which was agricultural labor as defined in this division prior to that date, and service performed after December 31, 1971:

(1) On a farm, in the employ of any person, in connection with cultivating the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and fur-bearing animals and wildlife;

(2) In the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm in connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment, or in salvaging timber or clearing land of brush and other debris left by hurricane, if the major part of such service is performed on a farm;

(3) In connection with the production or harvesting of any commodity defined as an agricultural commodity in section 15 (g) of the “Agricultural Marketing Act,” 46 Stat. 1550 (1931), 12 U.S.C. 1141j, as amended, or in connection with the ginning of cotton, or in connection with the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways, not owned or operated for profit, used exclusively for supplying and storing water for farming purposes;

(4) In the employ of the operator of a farm in handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any agricultural or horticultural commodity, but only if the operator produced more than one half of the commodity with respect to which such service is performed;

(5) In the employ of a group of operators of farms, or a cooperative organization of which the operators are members, in the performance of service described in division (V)(4) of this section, but only if the operators produced more than one-half of the commodity with respect to which the service is performed;

(6) Divisions (V)(4) and (5) of this section shall not be deemed to be applicable with respect to service performed:

(a) In connection with commercial canning or commercial freezing or in connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for consumption; or

(b) On a farm operated for profit if the service is not in the course of the employer’s trade or business.

As used in division (V) of this section, “farm” includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses, or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities and orchards.

(W) “Hospital” means an institution which has been registered or licensed by the Ohio department of health as a hospital.

(X) “Nonprofit organization” means an organization, or group of organizations, described in section 501(c)(3) of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1954,” and exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of that code.

(Y) “Institution of higher education” means a public or nonprofit educational institution, including an educational institution operated by an Indian tribe, which:

(1) Admits as regular students only individuals having a certificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized equivalent;

(2) Is legally authorized in this state or by the Indian tribe to provide a program of education beyond high school; and

(3) Provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor’s or higher degree, or provides a program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, a program of post-graduate or post-doctoral studies, or a program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

For the purposes of this division, all colleges and universities in this state are institutions of higher education.

(Z) For the purposes of this chapter, “states” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

(AA) “Alien” means, for the purposes of division (A)(1)(d) of this section, an individual who is an alien admitted to the United States to perform service in agricultural labor pursuant to sections 214 (c) and 101 (a)(15)(H) of the “Immigration and Nationality Act,” 66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C.A. 1101.

(BB)(1) “Crew leader” means an individual who furnishes individuals to perform agricultural labor for any other employer or farm operator, and:

(a) Pays, either on the individual’s own behalf or on behalf of the other employer or farm operator, the individuals so furnished by the individual for the service in agricultural labor performed by them;

(b) Has not entered into a written agreement with the other employer or farm operator under which the agricultural worker is designated as in the employ of the other employer or farm operator.

(2) For the purposes of this chapter, any individual who is a member of a crew furnished by a crew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other employer or farm operator shall be treated as an employee of the crew leader if:

(a) The crew leader holds a valid certificate of registration under the “Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act of 1963,” 90 Stat. 2668, 7 U.S.C. 2041; or

(b) Substantially all the members of the crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or crop-dusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment, which is provided by the crew leader; and

(c) If the individual is not in the employment of the other employer or farm operator within the meaning of division (B)(1) of this section.

(3) For the purposes of this division, any individual who is furnished by a crew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other employer or farm operator and who is not treated as in the employment of the crew leader under division (BB)(2) of this section shall be treated as the employee of the other employer or farm operator and not of the crew leader. The other employer or farm operator shall be treated as having paid cash remuneration to the individual in an amount equal to the amount of cash remuneration paid to the individual by the crew leader, either on the crew leader’s own behalf or on behalf of the other employer or farm operator, for the service in agricultural labor performed for the other employer or farm operator.

(CC) “Educational institution” means an institution other than an institution of higher education as defined in division (Y) of this section, including an educational institution operated by an Indian tribe, which:

(1) Offers participants, trainees, or students an organized course of study or training designed to transfer to them knowledge, skills, information, doctrines, attitudes, or abilities from, by, or under the guidance of an instructor or teacher; and

(2) Is approved, chartered, or issued a permit to operate as a school by the state board of education , other government agency, or Indian tribe that is authorized within the state to approve, charter, or issue a permit for the operation of a school.

For the purposes of this division, the courses of study or training which the institution offers may be academic, technical, trade, or preparation for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

Effective Date: 12-23-2003; 09-05-2005

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

The director of the department of job and family services shall appoint a migrant agricultural ombudsperson as provided in section 3733.49 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

The director of job and family services shall maintain or ensure the existence of public employment offices that are free to the general public. These offices shall exist in such number and in such places as are necessary for the proper administration of this chapter, to perform such duties as are within the purview of the act of congress entitled “an act to provide for the establishment of a national employment system and for cooperation with the states in the promotion of such system, and for other purposes,” approved June 6, 1933, as amended, which is known as the “Wagner-Peyser Act.” The director shall cooperate with any official or agency of the United States having powers or duties under that act of congress and shall do and perform all things necessary to secure to this state the benefits of that act of congress in the promotion and maintenance of a system of public employment offices. That act of congress is hereby accepted by this state, in conformity with that act of congress and Title III of the “Social Security Act,” and the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 26 U.S.C.A. 3301, as amended, and this state will observe and comply with the requirements thereof. The department of job and family services is hereby designated and constituted the agency of this state for the purposes of that act of congress.

The director may cooperate with or enter into agreements with the railroad retirement board with respect to the establishment, maintenance, and use of employment service facilities that are free to the general public.

All moneys received by this state under the act of congress known as the Wagner-Peyser Act shall be deposited into the state treasury to the credit of the special employment service account in the federal operating fund, which is hereby created. Those moneys are hereby made available to the director to be expended as provided by this section and by that act of congress. For the purpose of establishing and maintaining public employment offices that are free to the general public, the director may enter into agreements with the railroad retirement board or any other agency of the United States charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law, with any political subdivision of this state, or with any private, nonprofit organization and as a part of any such agreement the director may accept moneys, services, or quarters as a contribution to the employment service account.

The director shall maintain labor market information and employment statistics as necessary for the administration of this chapter.

The director shall appoint an employee of the department to serve as an ex officio member of the governor’s council to maintain a liaison between the department and the governor’s council on people with disabilities.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

Effective Date: 10-05-1987

The director of job and family services shall take affirmative steps to promote the employment competencies and upward mobility of women. The director shall place particular emphasis on education, child care, labor conditions, equality of entrance requirements, and eligibility for promotion. In pursuance thereof, the director shall:

(A) Serve as a clearinghouse for information;

(B) Assist state and local government workforce development providers in improving the employment competencies of and opportunities for women;

(C) Evaluate and make recommendations to the director regarding legislation affecting the employment competencies of and opportunities for women.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

Effective Date: 11-26-1987

Effective Date: 06-26-2003

Effective Date: 09-26-2003

No compensation or fee, either directly or indirectly, shall be charged or received from any person seeking employment through a public employment office described in section 4141.04 of the Revised Code. No person shall violate this section.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

Effective Date: 07-01-1993

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

There is hereby created an unemployment compensation review commission consisting of three full-time members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate. Terms of office shall be staggered and shall be for six years, commencing on the twenty-eighth day of February and ending on the twenty-seventh day of February. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of such term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration date of the member’s term until the member’s successor takes office, or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. The chairperson of the commission and each member shall be paid a salary fixed pursuant to section 124.14 of the Revised Code. The governor, at any time, may remove any member for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.

Not more than one of the appointees to the commission shall be a person who, on account of the appointee’s previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as a representative of employers, and not more than one of the appointees shall be a person who, on account of the appointee’s previous vocation, employment, or affiliations, can be classed as a representative of employees. Not more than two of the members of the commission shall belong to the same political party. No member of the commission shall hold any position of trust or profit or engage in any occupation or business interfering or inconsistent with the member’s duties as a member and no member shall serve on any committee of any political party. The commission shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. The vice-chairperson shall exercise the powers of the chairperson in the chairperson’s absence.

No commission member shall participate in the disposition of any appeal in which the member has an interest in the controversy. Challenges to the interest of any commission member may be made by any interested party defined in division (I) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code and shall be in writing. All challenges shall be decided by the chairperson of the advisory council, who, if the challenge is found to be well taken, shall advise the governor, who shall appoint a member of the advisory council representing the same affiliations to act and receive the same compensation for serving in place of such member.

The commission may appoint a secretary to hold office at its pleasure. The secretary shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as the commission prescribes and shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission and of its determinations. The secretary shall receive a salary fixed pursuant to section 124.14 of the Revised Code. Notwithstanding division (A)(8) of section 124.11 of the Revised Code, each member of the commission may appoint a private secretary who shall be in the classified service of the state and hold office at the pleasure of such member.

Two members of the commission constitute a quorum and no action of the commission is valid unless it has the concurrence of at least two members. A vacancy on the commission does not impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the commission.

The commission and its hearing officers shall hear appeals arising from determinations of the director of job and family services involving claims for compensation and other unemployment compensation issues. The commission shall adopt, amend, or rescind rules of procedure, and undertake such investigations, and take such action required for the hearing and disposition of appeals as it deems necessary and consistent with this chapter. The rules adopted by the commission shall be effective to the extent that the rules are consistent with this chapter.

The commission, subject to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code, and with the approval of the governor, shall appoint such hearing officers as are necessary. The hearing officers shall be classified by the department of administrative services. Any promotions or increases in compensation of the hearing officers may be recommended by the commission subject to classifications which are made by the department of administrative services. The members of the commission and hearing officers may conduct hearings for unemployment compensation appeals coming before the commission. The members and hearing officers may exercise all powers provided by section 4141.17 of the Revised Code.

The commission, subject to Chapter 124. of the Revised Code, may employ such support personnel as are needed to carry out the duties of the commission. The salaries of such employees are fixed pursuant to section 124.14 of the Revised Code. The commission shall further provide itself and its employees with such offices, equipment, and supplies as are necessary, using those already provided for the department of job and family services wherever possible.

The commission shall have access to only the records of the department of job and family services that are necessary for the administration of this chapter and needed in the performance of its official duties. The commission shall have the right to request of the director necessary information from any work unit of the department having that information.

The commission shall prepare and submit to the director an annual budget financing the costs necessary to administer its duties under this chapter. The fund request shall relate to, but not be limited to, the United States department of labor’s allocations for the commission’s functions. The director shall approve the commission’s request unless funds are insufficient to finance the request. The director shall notify the commission of the amount of funds available for its operation, as soon as possible, but not later than thirty days after receiving the allocation from the United States department of labor.

In the event that the director determines that sufficient funds are not available to approve the request as submitted and a revised budget is not agreed to within thirty days of the director’s notification to the commission, the director of budget and management shall review and determine the funding levels for the commission and notify the commission and the director of the determination by the director of budget and management.

Effective Date: 10-31-2001

(A) The unemployment compensation review commission, by rule, may authorize persons other than ones who are admitted to the practice of law also to appear before the commission in any kind of proceeding as representatives of employers or claimants. The commission may prescribe in any rule so adopted the minimum qualifications for such agents and such minimum standards of practice as are appropriate.

Notwithstanding section 119.13 of the Revised Code, the representation of parties before the commission by a person not admitted to the practice of law does not impair or invalidate a proceeding for the purpose of a subsequent appeal to a court or for any other purpose where a party knowingly selects representation by a person not admitted to the practice of law.

(B) No individual claiming benefits shall be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under sections 4141.01 to 4141.46 of the Revised Code, by the commission or its representatives. Any individual claiming benefits or any employer may represent themselves personally or be represented by a person admitted to the practice of law or by a person not admitted to the practice of law in any proceeding under this chapter before the director of job and family services, or, before the commission or a hearing officer; but no such counsel or agent representing an individual claiming benefits shall either charge or receive for such services more than an amount approved by the commission.

No person shall charge or receive anything of value in violation of this section.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

(A) There is hereby created an unemployment compensation advisory council appointed as follows:

(1) Three members who on account of their vocation, employment, or affiliations can be classed as representative of employers and three members who on account of their vocation, employment, or affiliation can be classed as representatives of employees appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. All appointees shall be persons whose training and experience qualify them to deal with the difficult problems of unemployment compensation, particularly with respect to the legal, accounting, actuarial, economic, and social aspects of unemployment compensation;

(2) The chairpersons of the standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives to which legislation pertaining to Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code is customarily referred;

(3) Two members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate; and

(4) Two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

The speaker and the president shall arrange that of the six legislative members appointed to the council, not more than three are members of the same political party.

(B) Members appointed by the governor shall serve for a term of four years, each term ending on the same day as the date of their original appointment. Legislative members shall serve during the session of the general assembly to which they are elected and for as long as they are members of the general assembly. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but only for the unexpired part of a term.

(C) Members of the council shall serve without salary but, notwithstanding section 101.26 of the Revised Code, shall be paid fifty dollars per day each and their actual and necessary expenses while engaged in the performance of their duties as members of the council which shall be paid from funds allocated to pay the expenses of the council pursuant to this section.

(D) The council shall organize itself and select a chairperson or co-chairpersons and other officers and committees as it considers necessary. Seven members constitute a quorum and the council may act only upon the affirmative vote of seven members. The council shall meet at least once each calendar quarter but it may meet more often as the council considers necessary or at the request of the chairperson.

(E) The council may employ professional and clerical assistance as it considers necessary and may request of the director of job and family services assistance as it considers necessary. The director shall furnish the council with office and meeting space as requested by the council.

(F) The director shall pay the operating expenses of the council as determined by the council from moneys in the unemployment compensation special administrative fund established in section 4141.11 of the Revised Code.

(G) The council shall have access to only the records of the department of job and family services that are necessary for the administration of this chapter and to the reasonable services of the employees of the department. It may request the director, or any of the employees appointed by the director, or any employer or employee subject to this chapter, to appear before it and to testify relative to the functioning of this chapter and to other relevant matters. The council may conduct research of its own, make and publish reports, and recommend to the director, the unemployment compensation review commission, the governor, or the general assembly needed changes in this chapter, or in the rules of the department as it considers necessary.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

(A) There is hereby created an unemployment compensation fund to be administered by the state without liability on the part of the state beyond the amounts paid into the fund and earned by the fund. The unemployment compensation fund shall consist of all contributions, payments in lieu of contributions described in sections 4141.241 and 4141.242 of the Revised Code, reimbursements of the federal share of extended benefits described in section 4141.301 of the Revised Code, collected under sections 4141.01 to 4141.46 of the Revised Code, together with all interest earned upon any moneys deposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund established and maintained pursuant to section 904 of the “Social Security Act,” any property or securities acquired through the use of moneys belonging to the fund, and all earnings of such property or securities. The unemployment compensation fund shall be used to pay benefits and refunds as provided by such sections and for no other purpose.

(B) The treasurer of state shall be the custodian of the unemployment compensation fund and shall administer such fund in accordance with the directions of the director of job and family services. All disbursements therefrom shall be paid by the treasurer of state on warrants drawn by the director. Such warrants may bear the facsimile signature of the director printed thereon and that of a deputy or other employee of the director charged with the duty of keeping the account of the unemployment compensation fund and with the preparation of warrants for the payment of benefits to the persons entitled thereto. Moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts shall not be commingled with other state funds, except as provided in division (C) of this section, but shall be maintained in separate accounts on the books of the depositary bank. Such money shall be secured by the depositary bank to the same extent and in the same manner as required by sections 135.01 to 135.21 of the Revised Code; and collateral pledged for this purpose shall be kept separate and distinct from any collateral pledged to secure other funds of this state. All sums recovered for losses sustained by the unemployment compensation fund shall be deposited therein. The treasurer of state shall be liable on the treasurer’s official bond for the faithful performance of the treasurer’s duties in connection with the unemployment compensation fund, such liability to exist in addition to any liability upon any separate bond.

(C) The treasurer of state shall maintain within the unemployment compensation fund three separate accounts which shall be a clearing account, a trust fund account, and a benefit account. All moneys payable to the unemployment compensation fund, upon receipt by the director, shall be forwarded to the treasurer of state, who shall immediately deposit them in the clearing account. Refunds of contributions, or payments in lieu of contributions, payable pursuant to division (E) of this section may be paid from the clearing account upon warrants signed by a deputy or other employee of the director charged with the duty of keeping the record of the clearing account and with the preparation of warrants for the payment of refunds to persons entitled thereto. After clearance thereof, all moneys in the clearing account shall be deposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund established and maintained pursuant to section 904 of the “Social Security Act,” in accordance with requirements of the “Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301, 3304(a)(3), any law in this state relating to the deposit, administration, release, or disbursement of moneys in the possession or custody of this state to the contrary notwithstanding. The benefit account shall consist of all moneys requisitioned from this state’s account in the unemployment trust fund. Federal funds may be deposited, at the director’s discretion, into the benefit account. Any funds deposited into the benefit account shall be disbursed solely for payment of benefits under a federal program administered by this state and for no other purpose. Moneys in the clearing and benefit accounts may be deposited by the treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, in any bank or public depositary in which general funds of the state may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance charge or premium shall be paid out of the fund.

(D) Moneys shall be requisitioned from this state’s account in the unemployment trust fund solely for the payment of benefits and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the director. The director shall requisition from the unemployment trust fund such amounts, not exceeding the amount standing to this state’s account therein, as are deemed necessary for the payment of benefits for a reasonable future period. Upon receipt thereof, the treasurer of state shall deposit such moneys in the benefit account. Expenditures of such money in the benefit account and refunds from the clearing account shall not require specific appropriations or other formal release by state officers of money in their custody. Any balance of moneys requisitioned from the unemployment trust fund which remains unclaimed or unpaid in the benefit account after the expiration of the period for which such sums were requisitioned shall either be deducted from estimates for and may be utilized for the payment of benefits during succeeding periods, or, in the discretion of the director, shall be redeposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the credit of this state’s account in the unemployment trust fund, as provided in division (C) of this section. Unclaimed or unpaid federal funds redeposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States shall be credited to the appropriate federal account.

(E) No claim for an adjustment or a refund on contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture alleged to have been erroneously or illegally assessed or collected, or alleged to have been collected without authority, and no claim for an adjustment or a refund of any sum alleged to have been excessive or in any manner wrongfully collected shall be allowed unless an application, in writing, therefor is made within four years from the date on which such payment was made. If the director determines that such contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture, or any portion thereof, was erroneously collected, the director shall allow such employer to make an adjustment thereof without interest in connection with subsequent contribution payments, or payments in lieu of contributions, by the employer, or the director may refund said amount, without interest, from the clearing account of the unemployment compensation fund, except as provided in division (B) of section 4141.11 of the Revised Code. For like cause and within the same period, adjustment or refund may be so made on the director’s own initiative. An overpayment of contribution, payment in lieu of contributions, interest, or forfeiture for which an employer has not made application for refund prior to the date of sale of the employer’s business shall accrue to the employer’s successor in interest.

An application for an adjustment or a refund, or any portion thereof, that is rejected is binding upon the employer unless, within thirty days after the mailing of a written notice of rejection to the employer’s last known address, or, in the absence of mailing of such notice, within thirty days after the delivery of such notice, the employer files an application for a review and redetermination setting forth the reasons therefor. The director shall promptly examine the application for review and redetermination, and if a review is granted, the employer shall be promptly notified thereof, and shall be granted an opportunity for a prompt hearing.

(F) If the director finds that contributions have been paid to the director in error, and that such contributions should have been paid to a department of another state or of the United States charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law, the director may upon request by such department or upon the director’s own initiative transfer to such department the amount of such contributions, less any benefits paid to claimants whose wages were the basis for such contributions. The director may request and receive from such department any contributions or adjusted contributions paid in error to such department which should have been paid to the director.

(G) In accordance with section 303(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, and section 3304(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 for continuing certification of Ohio unemployment compensation laws for administrative grants and for tax credits, any interest required to be paid on advances under Title XII of the Social Security Act shall be paid in a timely manner and shall not be paid, directly or indirectly, by an equivalent reduction in the Ohio unemployment taxes or otherwise, by the state from amounts in the unemployment compensation fund.

(H) The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director and in accordance with the “Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990,” 104 Stat. 1061, 31 U.S.C.A. 335, 6503, shall deposit amounts of interest earned by the state on funds in the benefit account established pursuant to division (C) of this section into the department of job and family services banking fees fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury for the purpose of paying related banking costs incurred by the state for the period for which the interest is calculated, except that if the deposited interest exceeds the banking costs incurred by the state for the period for which the interest is calculated, the treasurer of state shall deposit the excess interest into the unemployment trust fund.

(I) The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, shall deposit federal funds received by the director for training and administration and for payment of benefits, job search, relocation, transportation, and subsistence allowances pursuant to the “Trade Act of 1974,” 88 Stat. 1978, 19 U.S.C.A. 2101, as amended; the “North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act,” 107 Stat. 2057 (1993), 19 U.S.C.A. 3301, as amended; and the “Trade Act of 2002,” 116 Stat. 993, 19 U.S.C.A. 3801, as amended, into the Trade Act training and administration account, which is hereby created for the purpose of making payments specified under those acts. The treasurer of state, under the direction of the director, may transfer funds from the Trade Act training and administration account to the benefit account for the purpose of making any payments directly to claimants for benefits, job search, relocation, transportation, and subsistence allowances, as specified by those acts.

Effective Date: 06-26-2003; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007

Effective Date: 07-10-1998

(A) There is hereby created the unemployment compensation administration fund as a special fund in the state treasury. All moneys that are deposited or paid into this fund are available to the director of job and family services only for the administration of this chapter. All moneys in this fund that are received from the United States or any agency thereof or that are appropriated by this state for the purposes described in section 4141.04 of the Revised Code, shall be expended solely for the purposes and in the amounts found necessary by the proper agency of the United States for the proper and efficient administration of this chapter. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated by this state, and all moneys received from the United States or any agency thereof, including the proper agency of the United States, the railroad retirement board, and the United States department of labor, or from any other source, for such purpose, except that moneys received from the railroad retirement board as compensation for services or facilities supplied to that board shall be paid into this fund on the same basis as expenditures are made for such services or facilities from such fund and account. All moneys in this fund shall be deposited, administered, and disbursed in the same manner and under the same conditions and requirements as are other special funds in the state treasury. The treasurer of state is liable on the treasurer of state’s official bond for the faithful performance of the treasurer of state’s duties in connection with this fund. Any balances in this fund shall not lapse at any time, but shall be continuously available to the director for expenditure.

(B) If any moneys received from the proper agency of the United States under Title III of the “Social Security Act,” or any unencumbered balances in the fund as of that date, or any moneys granted to this state pursuant to the Wagner-Peyser acts, or any moneys made available by this state or its political subdivisions and matched by such moneys granted to this state pursuant to the Wagner-Peyser acts are found by the proper agency of the United States because of any action or contingency, to have been lost or expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in excess of, those found necessary by the proper agency of the United States for the proper administration of this chapter, such moneys shall be replaced by moneys appropriated for such purpose from the general funds of this state to the unemployment compensation administration fund for expenditure as provided in division (A) of this section. Upon receipt of notice of such a finding by the proper agency of the United States, the director shall promptly report the amount required for such replacement to the governor and the governor shall at the earliest opportunity submit to the general assembly a request for the appropriation of such amount.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

There is hereby created in the state treasury the unemployment compensation special administrative fund. The fund shall consist of all interest collected on delinquent contributions pursuant to this chapter, all fines and forfeitures collected under this chapter, and all court costs and interest paid or collected in connection with the repayment of fraudulently obtained benefits pursuant to section 4141.35 of the Revised Code. All interest earned on the money in the fund shall be retained in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to any other fund or account, except as provided in division (B) of this section. All moneys which are deposited or paid into this fund may be used by:

(A) The director of job and family services with the approval of the unemployment compensation advisory council whenever it appears that such use is necessary for:

(1) The proper administration of this chapter and no federal funds are available for the specific purpose for which the expenditure is to be made, provided the moneys are not substituted for appropriations from federal funds, which in the absence of such moneys would be available;

(2) The proper administration of this chapter for which purpose appropriations from federal funds have been requested and approved but not received, provided the fund would be reimbursed upon receipt of the federal appropriation;

(3) To the extent possible, the repayment to the unemployment compensation administration fund of moneys found by the proper agency of the United States to have been lost or expended for purposes other than, or an amount in excess of, those found necessary by the proper agency of the United States for the administration of this chapter.

(B) The director or the director’s deputy whenever it appears that such use is necessary for the payment of refunds or adjustments of interest, fines, forfeitures, or court costs erroneously collected and paid into this fund pursuant to this chapter.

(C) The director, to pay state disaster unemployment benefits pursuant to section 4141.292 of the Revised Code. The director need not have prior approval from the council to make these payments.

(D) The director, to pay any costs attributable to the director that are associated with the sale of real property under section 4141.131 of the Revised Code. The director need not have prior approval from the council to make these payments.

Whenever the balance in the unemployment compensation special administrative fund is considered to be excessive by the council, the director shall request the director of budget and management to transfer to the unemployment compensation fund the amount considered to be excessive. Any balance in the unemployment compensation special administrative fund shall not lapse at any time, but shall be continuously available to the director of jobs and family services or to the council for expenditures consistent with this chapter.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000; 09-05-2005

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

In addition to all other duties imposed on the director of job and family services and powers granted by this chapter, the director may:

(A) Adopt and enforce reasonable rules relative to the exercise of the director’s powers and authority, and proper rules to govern the director’s proceedings and to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations and hearings;

(B) Prescribe the time, place, and manner of making claims for benefits under such sections, the kind and character of notices required thereunder, the procedure for investigating, hearing, and deciding claims, the nature and extent of the proofs and evidence and the method of furnishing and taking such proofs and evidence to establish the right to benefits, and the method and time within which adjudication and awards shall be made;

(C) Adopt rules with respect to the collection, maintenance, and disbursement of the unemployment and administrative funds;

(D) Amend and modify any of the director’s rules from time to time in such respects as the director finds necessary or desirable;

(E) Authorize a designee to hold or undertake an investigation, inquiry, or hearing that the director is authorized to hold or undertake. An order of a designee authorized pursuant to this section is the order of the director.

(F) Appoint advisors or advisory employment committees, by local districts or by industries, who shall, without compensation but with reimbursements for necessary expenses, assist the director in the execution of the director’s duties;

(G) Require all employers, including employers not otherwise subject to this chapter, to furnish to the director information concerning the amount of wages paid, the number of employees employed and the regularity of their employment, the number of employees hired, laid off, and discharged from time to time and the reasons therefor and the numbers that quit voluntarily, and other and further information respecting any other facts required for the proper administration of this chapter;

(H) Classify generally industries, businesses, occupations, and employments, and employers individually, as to the hazard of unemployment in each business, industry, occupation, or employment, and as to the particular hazard of each employer, having special reference to the conditions of regularity and irregularity of the employment provided by such employer and of the fluctuations in payrolls of such employer;

(I) Determine the contribution rates upon employers subject to this chapter, and provide for the levy and collection of the contributions from such employers;

(J) Receive, hear, and decide claims for unemployment benefits, and provide for the payment of such claims as are allowed;

(K) Promote the regularization of employment and the prevention of unemployment;

(L) Encourage and assist in the adoption of practical methods of vocational training, retraining, and vocational guidance;

(M) Investigate, recommend, and advise and assist in the establishment and operation by municipal corporations, counties, school districts, and the state of prosperity reserves of public work to be prosecuted in times of business depression and unemployment;

(N) Promote the re-employment of unemployed workers throughout the state in any other way that may be feasible, and take all appropriate steps within the director’s means to reduce and prevent unemployment;

(O) Carry on and publish the results of any investigations and research that the director deems relevant;

(P) Make such reports to the proper agency of the United States created by the “Social Security Act” as that agency requires, and comply with such provisions as the agency finds necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;

(Q) Make available upon request to any agency of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment the name, address, ordinary occupation, and employment status of each recipient of unemployment benefits under this chapter, and a statement of such recipient’s rights to further benefits under this chapter;

(R) Make such investigations, secure and transmit such information, make available such services and facilities, and exercise such of the other powers provided by this section with respect to the administration of this chapter, as the director deems necessary or appropriate to facilitate the administration of the unemployment compensation law or public employment service laws of this state and of other states and the United States, and in like manner accept and utilize information, services, and facilities made available to this state by the agency charged with the administration of any such other unemployment compensation or public employment service laws;

(S) Enter into or cooperate in arrangements whereby facilities and services provided under the unemployment compensation law of Canada may be utilized for the taking of claims and the payment of benefits under the unemployment compensation law of this state or under a similar law of Canada;

(T) Transfer surplus computers and computer equipment directly to a chartered public school within the state, notwithstanding sections 125.12 to 125.14 of the Revised Code. The computers and computer equipment may be repaired or refurbished prior to the transfer, and the public school may be charged a service fee not to exceed the direct cost of repair or refurbishing.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

(A) The director of job and family services may enter into contracts for the sale of real property no longer needed by the director for the operations of the director under this title. Any costs attributable to the director that are associated with the sale of real property under this section shall be paid out of the unemployment compensation special administrative fund established pursuant to section 4141.11 of the Revised Code. The director shall submit a report summarizing the use of that fund for the purpose of this section at least annually to the unemployment compensation advisory council as prescribed by the council.

(B)(1) Earnest moneys from the sale of real property pursuant to division (A) of this section shall be deposited into the department of job and family services building consolidation fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The balance of the purchase price shall be deposited into the department of job and family services building enhancement fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. The building enhancement fund shall retain its own interest. Upon completion of the sale and the request of the director, the treasurer of state shall transfer the earnest moneys in the building consolidation fund into the building enhancement fund. The director shall use the interest earned on the moneys in the building enhancement fund only in accordance with division (C) of this section.

(2) The director shall deposit sufficient moneys from the sale of real property pursuant to division (A) of this section into the unemployment compensation special administrative fund to reimburse the fund for all costs associated with the sale of that real property.

(C) The director shall use the moneys in the building enhancement fund from the sale of real property pursuant to division (A) of this section, less the costs of the sale as specified in division (B)(2) of this section, in accordance with the provisions and requirements of the “Social Security Act,” 49 Stat. 626 (1935), 52 U.S.C. 502(a) and 1103(c)(2), and the instructions of the United States department of labor, to improve buildings owned by or under the control of the director. If the director determines that there are no buildings for which money in the building enhancement fund may be used, the money shall be returned to the United States department of labor.

(D) The auditor of state, with the assistance of the attorney general, shall prepare a deed to the real property being sold upon notice from the director that a contract for the sale of that property has been executed in accordance with this section. The deed shall state the consideration and any conditions placed upon the sale. The deed shall be executed by the governor in the name of the state, countersigned by the secretary of state, sealed with the great seal of the state, presented in the office of the auditor of state for recording, and delivered to the buyer upon payment of the balance of the purchase price.

The buyer shall present the deed for recording in the county recorder’s office of the county in which the real property is located.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000; 09-05-2005

(A) All rules of the director of the department of job and family services adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be approved by the unemployment compensation review commission before the rules become effective. All such rules shall specify on their face their effective date and the date on which they will expire, if known. Approval by the unemployment compensation review commission shall also be required before amendments to, or rescission of, any rules of the director adopted pursuant to this chapter become effective. If the commission disapproves a rule of the director, it shall determine and promulgate a rule that it considers appropriate after affording a hearing to the director.

(B)(1) Any rule promulgated pursuant to this section shall be effective on the tenth day after the day on which the rule in final form and in compliance with division (B)(2) of this section is filed as follows:

(a) The rule shall be filed in electronic form with both the secretary of state and the director of the legislative service commission;

(b) The rule shall be filed in electronic form with the joint committee on agency rule review. Division (B)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to any rule to which division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code does not apply.

If all filings are not completed on the same day, the rule shall be effective on the tenth day after the day on which the latest filing is completed. If the department of job and family services or the unemployment compensation review commission in adopting a rule pursuant to this chapter designates an effective date that is later than the effective date provided for by this division, the rule if filed as required by this division shall become effective on the later date designated by the department or commission.

If the commission or department adopts or amends a rule that is subject to division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code, the commission or department shall assign a review date to the rule that is not later than five years after its effective date. If no review date is assigned to a rule, or if a review date assigned to a rule exceeds the five-year maximum, the review date for the rule is five years after its effective date. A rule with a review date is subject to review under section 119.032 of the Revised Code.

(2) The department and commission shall file the rule in compliance with the following standards and procedures:

(a) The rule shall be numbered in accordance with the numbering system devised by the director for the Ohio administrative code.

(b) The rule shall be prepared and submitted in compliance with the rules of the legislative service commission.

(c) The rule shall clearly state the date on which it is to be effective and the date on which it will expire, if known.

(d) Each rule that amends or rescinds another rule shall clearly refer to the rule that is amended or rescinded. Each amendment shall fully restate the rule as amended.

If the director of the legislative service commission or the director’s designee gives the department of job and family services or the unemployment compensation review commission notice pursuant to section 103.05 of the Revised Code that a rule filed by the department or review commission is not in compliance with the rules of the legislative service commission, the department or review commission shall within thirty days after receipt of the notice conform the rule to the rules of the commission as directed in the notice.

The secretary of state and the director of the legislative service commission shall preserve the rules filed under division (B)(1)(a) of this section in an accessible manner. Each such rule shall be a public record open to public inspection and may be transmitted to any law publishing company that wishes to reproduce it.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) “Rule” includes an amendment or rescission of a rule.

(2) “Substantive revision” has the same meaning as in division (J) of section 119.01 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 04-01-2002

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

(A) The director of job and family services shall establish an income and eligibility verification system that complies with section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.” The programs included in the system are all of the following:

(1) Unemployment compensation pursuant to section 3304 of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”;

(2) The state programs funded in part under part A of Title IV of the “Social Security Act” and administered under Chapters 5107. and 5108. of the Revised Code;

(3) Medicaid pursuant to Title XIX of the “Social Security Act”;

(4) Food stamps pursuant to the “Food Stamp Act of 1977,” 91 Stat. 958, 7 U.S.C.A. 2011, as amended;

(5) Any Ohio program under a plan approved under Title I, X, XIV, or XVI of the “Social Security Act.”

Wage information provided by employers to the director shall be furnished to the income and eligibility verification system. Such information shall be used by the director to determine eligibility of individuals for unemployment compensation benefits and the amount of those benefits and used by the agencies that administer the programs identified in divisions (A)(2) to (5) of this section to determine or verify eligibility for or the amount of benefits under those programs.

The director shall fully implement the use of wage information to determine eligibility for and the amount of unemployment compensation benefits by September 30, 1988.

Information furnished under the system shall also be made available to the appropriate state or local child support enforcement agency for the purposes of an approved plan under Title IV-D of the “Social Security Act” and to the appropriate federal agency for the purposes of Titles II and XVI of the “Social Security Act.”

(B) The director shall adopt rules as necessary under which the department of job and family services and other state agencies that the director determines must participate in order to ensure compliance with section 1137 of the “Social Security Act” exchange information with each other or authorized federal agencies about individuals who are applicants for or recipients of benefits under any of the programs enumerated in division (A) of this section. The rules shall extend to all of the following:

(1) A requirement for standardized formats and procedures for a participating agency to request and receive information about an individual, which information shall include the individual’s social security number;

(2) A requirement that all applicants for and recipients of benefits under any program enumerated in division (A) of this section be notified at the time of application, and periodically thereafter, that information available through the system may be shared with agencies that administer other benefit programs and utilized in establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit amounts under the other programs enumerated in division (A) of this section;

(3) A requirement that information is made available only to the extent necessary to assist in the valid administrative needs of the program receiving the information and is targeted for use in ways which are most likely to be productive in identifying and preventing ineligibility and incorrect payments;

(4) A requirement that information is adequately protected against unauthorized disclosures for purposes other than to establish or verify eligibility or benefit amounts under the programs enumerated in division (A) of this section;

(5) A requirement that a program providing information is reimbursed by the program using the information for the actual costs of furnishing the information and that the director be reimbursed by the participating programs for any actual costs incurred in operating the system;

(6) Requirements for any other matters necessary to ensure the effective, efficient, and timely exchange of necessary information or that the director determines must be addressed in order to ensure compliance with the requirements of section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

(C) Each participating agency shall furnish to the income and eligibility verification system established in division (A) of this section that information, which the director, by rule, determines is necessary in order to comply with section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

(D) Notwithstanding the information disclosure requirements of this section and section 4141.21 and division (A) of section 4141.284 of the Revised Code, the director shall administer those provisions of law so as to comply with section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

(E) Requirements in section 4141.21 of the Revised Code with respect to confidentiality of information obtained in the administration of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code and any sanctions imposed for improper disclosure of such information shall apply to the redisclosure of information disclosed under this section.

Effective Date: 10-31-2001

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

Effective Date: 10-01-1994

The director of job and family services and the unemployment compensation review commission may administer oaths, certify to official acts, take depositions, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books, accounts, papers, records, documents, and testimony in connection with the administration of this chapter.

In case of the refusal of a witness to attend or testify, or to produce books or papers, as to any matter regarding which the witness might be lawfully interrogated in the administration of this chapter, the court of common pleas of the county in which the person resides or is found, the court of appeals that has jurisdiction over the county in which the person resides or is found, or a judge thereof, upon application of the director or commission, shall compel obedience by proceedings as for contempt as in case of like refusal to obey a similar order of the court.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

Every employer, whether or not otherwise subject to this chapter, shall keep a true and accurate employment record of all the employer’s employees, whether qualified and eligible to benefits or not, and of the hours worked by each employee and of the wages paid to the employee, and shall furnish to the director of job and family services upon demand a sworn statement of the same. Such record shall be open to inspection by the director or the director’s authorized representatives at any reasonable time.

Effective Date: 07-01-2000

Effective Date: 03-18-1969

(A) Every employer, including those not otherwise subject to this chapter, shall furnish the director of job and family services upon request all information required by the director to carry out the requirements of this chapter. Every employer receiving from the director any blank with direction to fill it out shall cause it to be properly filled out, in the manner prescribed by the director, so as to answer fully and correctly all questions therein propounded, and shall furnish all the information therein sought, or, if unable to do so, that employer shall give the director in writing good and sufficient reason for such failure.

The director may require that such information be verified under oath and returned to the director within the period fixed by the director or by law. The director or any person employed by the director for that purpose may examine under oath any such employer, or the officer, agent, or employee of that employer, for the purpose of ascertaining any information that the employer is required by this chapter to furnish to the director. Any employer who fails to furnish information as is required by the director under authority of this section shall forfeit five hundred dollars to be collected in a civil action brought against the employer in the name of the state.

(B) Effective with the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 1987, every contributory employer shall file a quarterly contribution report and a quarterly report of wages. The quarterly reports shall be filed no later than the last day of the first month following the close of the calendar quarter for which the quarterly reports are being filed. The employer shall enter on the quarterly contribution report the total and taxable remuneration paid to all employees during the quarter. The employer shall enter on the quarterly report of wages the name and social security number of each individual employed during the calendar quarter, the total remuneration paid the individual, the number of weeks during the quarter for which the individual was paid remuneration, and any other information as required by section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

Effective until the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly contribution report or the report of wages containing all the required contribution and wage information within the time prescribed by this section, there shall be assessed a forfeiture amounting to ten per cent of the contributions due; provided such forfeiture shall not be less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred fifty dollars. The director may waive the forfeiture only with respect to the report of wages, and the waiver may be approved only if the employer shows good cause for failure to file the required information.

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly contribution report containing all the required information within the time prescribed by this section, there shall be assessed a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration paid by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall not be less than thirty nor more than five hundred dollars per quarterly contribution report. The director may waive the forfeiture only if the employer provides to the director a written statement showing good cause for failure to file the required quarterly contribution report.

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly report of wages containing all the required information within the time prescribed by this section, there shall be assessed a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration paid by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall be not less than thirty nor more than five hundred dollars per quarterly report of wages. The director may waive the forfeiture only if the employer provides to the director a written statement showing good cause for failure to file the required quarterly report of wages.

(C) Effective with the calendar quarter beginning April 1, 1987, every employer liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall file a quarterly payroll report and a quarterly report of wages. The employer shall file the quarterly reports no later than the last day of the first month following the close of the calendar quarter for which the quarterly reports are being filed. The employer shall enter on the quarterly payroll report the total remuneration paid to all employees during the quarter and the total wages that would have been taxable had the employer been subject to contributions. The employer shall enter on the quarterly report of wages the name and social security number of each individual employed during the calendar quarter, the total remuneration paid the individual, the number of weeks during the quarter for which the individual was paid remuneration, and any other information as required by section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

Effective until the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly payroll report or the report of wages containing all of the required payroll or wage information within the time prescribed by this section, the employer shall be assessed a forfeiture of twenty-five dollars per report. The director may waive the forfeiture only with respect to the report of wages, and such waiver may be approved only if the employer shows good cause for failure to file the required information.

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly payroll report containing all the required wage information within the time prescribed by this section, the employer shall be assessed a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration paid by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall not be less than thirty nor more than five hundred dollars per quarterly payroll report. The director may waive the forfeiture only if the employer provides to the director a written statement showing good cause for failure to file the required quarterly payroll report.

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 1993, in case of failure to file the quarterly report of wages containing all the required information within the time prescribed by this section, there shall be assessed a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration paid by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall be not less than thirty nor more than five hundred dollars per quarterly report of wages. The director may waive the forfeiture only if the employer provides to the director a written statement showing good cause for failure to file the required quarterly report of wages.

(D) Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2002, every contributory employer shall file a quarterly contribution and wage report. The quarterly report shall be filed not later than the last day of the first month following the close of the calendar quarter for which the quarterly report is being filed. The employer shall enter on the quarterly report the total and taxable remuneration paid to all employees during the quarter, the name and social security number of each individual employed during the calendar quarter, the total remuneration paid the individual, the number of weeks during the quarter for which the individual was paid remuneration, and any other information as required by section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2002, in case of failure to properly file the quarterly contribution and wage report containing all the required contribution and wage information within the time prescribed by this section, the director shall assess a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration reported by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall not be less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars.

(E) Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2002, every employer liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall file a quarterly payroll and wage report. The quarterly report shall be filed not later than the last day of the first month following the close of the calendar quarter for which the quarterly report is being filed. The employer shall enter on the quarterly report the total remuneration paid to all employees during the quarter, the total wages that would have been taxable had the employer been subject to contributions, the name and social security number of each individual employed during the calendar quarter, the total remuneration paid the individual, the number of weeks during the quarter for which the individual was paid remuneration, and any other information as required by section 1137 of the “Social Security Act.”

Effective with the calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2002, in case of failure to properly file the quarterly payroll and wage report containing all the required payroll and wage information within the time prescribed by this section, the director shall assess a forfeiture amounting to twenty-five one-hundredths of one per cent of the total remuneration reported by the employer, provided such forfeiture shall not be less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars.

(F) The director may waive a forfeiture assessed under division (D) or (E) of this section if the employer provides to the director, within four years after the date the forfeiture was assessed, a written statement showing good cause for failure to properly file the required information.

(G) The director shall furnish the form or forms on which quarterly reports required under this section are to be submitted, or the employer may use other methods of reporting, including electronic information transmission methods, as approved by the director.

(H) All forfeitures required by this section shall be paid into the unemployment compensation special administrative fund as provided in section 4141.11 of the Revised Code.

Effective Date: 10-31-2001

Except as provided in section 4141.162 of the Revised Code, and subject to section 4141.43 of the Revised Code, the information maintained by the director of job and family services or furnished to the director by employers or employees pursuant to this chapter is for the exclusive use and information of the department of job and family services in the discharge of its duties and shall not be open to the public or be used in any court in any action or proceeding pending therein, or be admissible in evidence in any action, other than one arising under this chapter or section 5733.42 of the Revised Code. All of the information and records necessary or useful in the determination of any particular claim for benefits or necessary in verifying any charge to an employer’s account under sections 4141.23 to 4141.26 of the Revised Code shall be available for examination and use by the employer and the employee involved or their authorized representatives in the hearing of such cases, and that information may be tabulated and published in statistical form for the use and information of the state departments and the public.

Effective Date: 12-21-2000

(A) No person shall disclose any information that was maintained by the director of job and family services or furnished to the director by employers or employees pursuant to this chapter, unless such disclosure is permitted under section 4141.21 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person in the employ of the director of job and family services or a county family services agency or a workforce development agency, or who has been in the employ of the director or those agencies, at any time, shall divulge any information maintained by or furnished to the director under this chapter and secured by the person while so employed, in respect to the transactions, property, business, or mechanical, chemical, or other industrial process of any person, firm, corporation, association, or partnership to any person other than the director or other employees of the department of job and family services or a county fami