As passed and signed, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) budget bill (House Bill 75) and the Industrial Commission funding measure (House Bill 76) include slight increases in appropriations. The BWC budget makes a few agreeable changes:

• Reducing the statute of limitations for occupational disease claims from two years to one year;
• Preventing claimants who were previously denied a permanent disability benefit from reapplying unless there is a change in circumstances; and
• Aligning the timeline for filing a permanent partial disability (PPD) claim after receiving wages paid in lieu of temporary total disability (TTD) compensation, with the timeline for filing a PPD claim after receiving TTD compensation.

Here’s a summary of HB 75 as provided by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. 6/29/2021