State, ex rel. Paysource USA v. Industrial Commission of Ohio

Our firm represented the Employer in State, ex rel. Paysource USA v. Industrial Commission of Ohio, which was decided by the 10th District Court of Appeals on June 30, 2009. In its decision, the Court found in favor of our client, ruling that the Claimant was not entitled to temporary total compensation due to the fact that he had abandoned the workforce when he was terminated for having violated the Employer's Drug Free Workplace policy. Previously caselaw had held that an employee who was already disabled from a work-related injury did not have the ability to abandon the workforce, and would therefore be entitled to temporary total. In our case, it was argued that since the Claimant had been terminated based upon a positive post-accident drug screen, he was already disabled by the time of the termination, and the Industrial Commission had awarded the Claimant temporary total. On the Employer's appeal, however, the Court of Appeals reversed, agreeing with our contention that the Claimant had effectively abandoned the workforce at the time he used the illegal drugs, despite the fact that his usage was not discovered until after the injury.