The Senate has passed a $645 million budget for the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, after stripping out sections added by the House on first responders and immigration.
The Senate cut a House provision that would allow first responders to file claims for post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD without having to show physical injuries.
Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) said with both the bureau's budget and the two-year operating budget needing to be signed by Sunday, senators went back to Gov. Mike DeWine’s original worker's compensation proposal.
“With as many different moving parts on policy as there were on this bill, we decided as a chamber that it just made more sense to take that out and do the budget portion of it," Obhof said.
The Senate also eliminated a House provision requiring injured employees to declare their immigration and citizenship status – though its sponsor had said undocumented workers could still qualify for benefits.
