(A) Requirements.
Pursuant to section
742.38 of the Revised Code, all
employers of prospective members of the Ohio police and fire pension fund
(OP& F) are required to do the following:
(1) Physical examination for prospective
OP& F members.
The employer shall cause the prospective members of OP& F
to submit to a physical examination which includes the minimum medical testing
and diagnostic procedures set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule.
(2) Tests done before employee's
membership in OP& F.
The physical examination which includes the minimum medical
testing and diagnostic procedures prescribed by this rule must be done no later
than eleven fifty-nine p.m. on the date the employee becomes an OP& F
member, but in no event can the tests and procedures be done earlier than nine
months before that membership date.
(3) Physician's report filed with OP& F.
The employer must file a physician's report with OP& F that
meets the following criteria:
(a) The
physician certification must be in the form prescribed by OP& F or a form
substantially similar, as determined by OP& F in its sole and absolute
discretion, which must include the physician's diagnosis and evaluation of the
existence of any cancer, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or respiratory
disease identified in the medical testing and diagnostic procedures established
under this rule. The physician certification must be fully completed and signed
by a licensed physician who is licensed to practice medicine in the state in
which the examination was conducted, and the physician certification must state
the date of the examination and the report cannot be signed more than nine
months before the potential employee's membership with OP& F;
(b) The member's medical questionnaire
completed by the member must be in the form prescribed by OP& F and cannot
be signed more than nine months before the potential employee's membership with
OP& F; and
(c) From and after
the effective date of this rule, copies of the medical tests and procedures and
medical questionnaire outlined in this rule must be included as part of the
physician's report.
(4)
The physician's report must be timely filed with OP& F.
In order to be timely filed, a properly completed physician
certification, medical questionnaire meeting the criteria of this rule, and
copies of the required medical testing and diagnostic procedures outlined by
this rule, must be received by OP& F no later than sixty days after the
employee becomes an OP& F member, as required by division (A)(2) of section
742.38 of the Revised
Code.
(B)
Minimum medical testing/diagnostic procedures.
The minimum medical testing and diagnostic procedures to be
incorporated into a member's physical examination administered by physicians to
prospective members of the fund shall include the following:
(1) Spirometry that represents at least a
valid and reproducible forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1), forced
vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory volume at one second/forced vital
capacity (FEV1/FVC) that meets the criteria of the American thoracic
society;
(2) A chest x-ray that is
at least a P.A. 72" (i.e. front to back);
(3) Lipid profile that includes total
cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol; and
(4) A cardiac stress test performed
consistent with standard Bruce protocol that includes an electrocardiogram
(EKG).
(C) Determination
of OP& F membership.
For purposes of administering section
742.38 of the Revised Code and
this rule, OP& F will use the occurrence of the following events for
purposes of determining when a prospective employee becomes an OP& F
member:
(1) The member's appointment
as a "member of the police department" or "member of the fire department," as
such terms are defined in divisions (A)(2) and (B) (2) of section
742.01 of the Revised Code
respectively; and
(2) The date on
which the prospective member became a "member of the fund," as defined in
division (E) of section
742.01 of the Revised Code;
and
(3) The first date on which the
employee is contributing or should have been contributing a percentage of
his/her salary to OP& F.
For purposes of this paragraph, OP& F shall consider the
first date the employee is contributing a percentage of his/her salary to
OP& F to be based on payroll submitted for a pay period six weeks prior to
the filing of such payroll, until the actual date is determined by OP& F
and at that time, an adjustment of the penalties shall thereafter be made based
on the actual dates provided
submitted to OP& F by the employer on
the
a form provided
by OP& F personal history record
form.
(D) For members who are reinstated to OP&
F membership by agreement or by order of a court or arbitrator, no new
pre-employment physical will be required. In order to make this determination,
the employer shall provide OP& F with a copy of the agreement or court
order.
(E) In cases where the
person was laid off from an OP& F covered employer and the person already
has a proper pre-employment physical on file with OP& F and returns to an
OP& F covered position within two years of the effective date of his/her
lay-off and accumulated member contributions remain on deposit with OP& F,
no additional preemployment physical will be required.
(F) For members who transfer from one
employer to another without a loss in membership with OP& F, as outlined
above, the new employer will not be required to cause such person to undergo
the medical testing and diagnostic procedures referenced in this rule, unless
the person became an OP& F member on or after September 16, 1998 and
OP& F does not have a pre-employment physical on file that meets the
definition set forth in section
742.38 of the Revised Code. In
order to reach this determination, however, the new employer will need to
obtain this information from OP& F. In the event the original employer did
not cause an employee who became an OP& F member on or after September 16,
1998 to undergo all of the tests and procedures outlined in this rule, then
OP& F will give notice to the new employer of any tests and procedures that
need to be completed and this documentation must be received by OP& F no
later than sixty days after the new hire date.
(G) In no event shall the provisions of this
rule be intended to supercede or eliminate any other legal requirement imposed
on the employer under Ohio law, including, but not limited to, sections
124.41 and
124.42 of the Revised
Code.
(H) If the employer is unable
to obtain a test due to the member's medical condition, the member's religious
beliefs or the member's refusal to undergo a specific test, the employer shall
provide supporting documentation to OP& F in support of such fact and may
request a waiver of such test or report for such reason. If the waiver request
is for medical reasons, the supporting documentation shall be in the form of a
medical report signed by a licensed physician in the state in which the medical
examination was conducted, if the waiver request is for religious reasons, the
supporting documentation shall be in the form of an affidavit signed by the
member before a notary public that certifies such fact, and if the waiver
request is the result of the member's refusal, the supporting documentation
shall be in the form of a written document signed by the member before a notary
public that certifies that fact and acknowledges that the member understands
that his/her refusal shall result in his/her inability to use the presumptive
disability provision outlined in section
742.38 of the Revised Code.
Within thirty days after OP& F's receipt of such request,
OP& F shall notify the employer if such waiver is granted. If OP& F
grants a waiver, the employer shall not be obligated to cause such person to
undergo the specific tests specified in such waiver.
Any waiver granted under the terms of this section shall result
in the member's inability to use the presumptive disability provisions outlined
in section 742.38 of the Revised
Code.
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code 742-1-02
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
4/18/2022 and
04/18/2027
Promulgated
Under: 111.15
Statutory
Authority: 742.10
Rule
Amplifies: 742.38
Prior
Effective Dates: 09/06/1998 (Emer.), 12/10/1998, 05/27/1999, 02/11/2002
(Emer.), 05/30/2002 (Emer.), 08/22/2002, 01/22/2004, 11/29/2004, 10/13/2005,
01/17/2011, 02/09/2014, 04/06/2017 (Emer.), 06/22/2017,
07/04/2021
Effective: 7/4/2021
Five Year Review
(FYR) Dates: 4/6/2022
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority:
742.10
Rule Amplifies: 742.38
Prior Effective Dates:
09/06/1998 (Emer.), 12/10/1998, 05/27/1999, 02/11/2002 (Emer.), 05/30/2002
(Emer.), 08/22/2002, 01/22/2004, 11/29/2004, 10/13/2005, 01/17/2011,
02/09/2014, 04/06/2017 (Emer.),
06/22/2017
