SB 396: Establish family and medical leave insurance benefits

(A) "Armed forces" means the armed forces of the United States, including the army, navy, air force, marine corps, space force, coast guard, or any reserve components of those forces.

(B) "Application year" with respect to any individual, means the twelve-month period that begins on the Sunday of the calendar week in which the individual files an application for family and medical leave insurance benefits.

(C) "Average weekly wage" means the sum of an employee's wages for all qualifying weeks during the calendar quarter with the highest wages in the employee's base period, divided by thirteen.

(D) (1) "Base period" means the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's application year, except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section.

(2) If an individual does not have sufficient qualifying weeks and wages in the base period to be eligible for family and medical leave insurance benefits, the individual's base period shall be the four most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the first day of the individual's application year. Such base period shall be known as the "alternate base period." No calendar quarter in a base period or alternate base period shall be used to establish a subsequent benefit year.

(3) 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.

(E) "Child" means any of the following:

• (1) A biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, or a legal ward of an employee;
• (2) A child of an employee's domestic partner;
• (3) A minor child to whom an employee stands in loco parentis;
• (4) An individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was a minor child.

(F) "Covered active duty" means both of the following:

• (1) For a regular member of the armed forces, duty during deployment to a foreign country;
• (2) For a member of a reserve component of the armed forces, duty during deployment to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation during a war or national emergency declared by the president of the United States or congress of the United States.

(G) "Domestic partner" means an individual, regardless of sex, who is in a committed personal relationship, including a marriage, civil union, or other committed relationship that is granted legal recognition, with one other individual to whom the first individual can demonstrate financial interdependence and that both individuals share responsibility for a significant measure of the other individual's welfare.

(H) "Eligible individual" means an individual who satisfies the requirements of section 4143.03 of the Revised Code to receive family and medical leave insurance benefits.

(I) "Employee" means any person who performs a service for wages or other remuneration for an employer. "Employee" does not include a person performing services in or about the property of an employer on a casual basis or for a family business if the person is a family member of an owner of the business.

(J) "Employer" means any person who has one or more employees, and includes an agent of an employer, the state or any agency or instrumentality of the state, and any municipal corporation, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision or any agency or instrumentality thereof.

(K) "Family and medical leave insurance benefits" means money payments payable to an individual who has established benefit rights under this chapter.

(L) "Family member" means any of the following:

• (1) A child;
• (2) A parent;
• (3) A domestic partner;
• (4) A biological, foster, or adoptive grandparent or a step-grandparent of the employee or the employee's domestic partner;
• (5) A biological, foster, or adoptive grandchild or a step-grandchild of the employee or the employee's domestic partner;
• (6) A biological, foster, or adoptive sibling or a stepsibling of the employee or the employee's domestic partner;
• (7) Any other individual, regardless of blood or legal relationship, with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship.

(M) "Family and Medical Leave Act" means the "Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993," 29 U.S.C. 2601, et seq.

(N) "Health care professional" means any of the following:

• (1) A dentist or dental hygienist licensed under Chapter 4715. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (2) A registered nurse, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife, or licensed practical nurse licensed or certified under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (3) An individual licensed under Chapter 4729. of the Revised Code or in another state to practice as a pharmacist;
• (4) An individual authorized under Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code or in another state to practice as a physician assistant;
• (5) An individual authorized under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code or in another state to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or podiatry;
• (6) A psychologist licensed under Chapter 4732. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (7) A speech-language pathologist or audiologist licensed under Chapter 4753. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (8) An occupational therapist, physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, or athletic trainer licensed under Chapter 4755. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (9) A professional clinical counselor, professional counselor, independent social worker, or social worker licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code or in another state;
• (10) A dietitian licensed under Chapter 4759. of the Revised Code or in another state.

(O) "Internal Revenue Code" has the same meaning as in section 5747.01 of the Revised Code.

(P) "Military member" means an individual's family member who is on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty and for whom the individual may take leave to address a qualifying exigency.

(Q) "Parent" means both of the following:

• (1) A biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a stepparent, or a legal guardian of an employee or the employee's domestic partner;
• (2) A person who stood in loco parentis to an employee or the employee's domestic partner when the employee or domestic partner was a minor child.

(R) "Qualifying exigency" means a financial, legal, logistical, or other issue that arises when a military member is on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.

(S) "Qualifying week" means any calendar week in an individual's base period with respect to which the individual earns or is paid wages. A calendar week with respect to which an individual earns wages but for which payment was not made within the base period, when necessary to qualify for family and medical leave insurance benefits, may be considered to be a qualifying week. The number of qualifying weeks that may be established in a calendar quarter shall not exceed the number of calendar weeks in the quarter.

(T) "Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care professional.

(U) "Statewide average weekly wage" means the amount calculated by the director of job and family services in accordance with division (B) of section 4141.30 of the Revised Code.

(V) "Wages" means all remuneration payable to an employee for personal services performed for an employer, including commissions and bonuses, and the reasonable cash value of all remuneration payable to an employee in any medium other than cash.

(W) "Weekly benefit amount" means the amount provided in section 4143.06 of the Revised Code.

(X) "Yearly earnings" means the total wages an individual earns for the calendar year.

(1) Procedures for an individual to follow to allow the individual to file a claim for family and medical leave insurance benefits under section 4143.03 of the Revised Code;

(2) The form an individual shall use to apply for family and medical leave insurance benefits in English, Spanish, and any other language spoken by three per cent or more of the state's population;

(3) The manner and schedule by which an employer shall remit premiums to the director as prescribed by section 4143.14 of the Revised Code;

(4) Procedures for an individual to request a modification of an approved claim for family and medical leave insurance benefits;

(5) Procedures for an individual to follow to submit a weekly claim to demonstrate the individual's eligibility to continue receiving family and medical leave insurance benefits;

(6) Requirements for the coordination of an eligible individual's family and medical leave insurance benefits with any benefits the individual receives under section 4123.56 or 4123.58 of the Revised Code for the purpose of calculating the individual's weekly benefit amount under section 4143.06 of the Revised Code;