Sec. 4123.88. (A) No person shall orally or in writing, | 11 |
directly or indirectly, or through any agent or other person | 12 |
fraudulently hold the person's self out or represent the person's | 13 |
self or any of the person's partners or associates as authorized | 14 |
by a
claimant or employer to
take charge of, or represent the | 15 |
claimant or employer in respect
of, any claim or matter in | 16 |
connection therewith before the bureau
of workers' compensation or | 17 |
the industrial commission or its
district or staff hearing | 18 |
officers. No person shall directly or indirectly
solicit | 19 |
authority, or pay or give anything of value to another person to | 20 |
solicit authority, or accept or receive pay or anything of value | 21 |
from another person for soliciting authority, from a claimant or | 22 |
employer to take charge of, or represent the claimant or employer | 23 |
in respect of, any claim or appeal which is or may be filed with | 24 |
the bureau or commission. No person shall, without prior
authority | 25 |
from the bureau, a member of the commission, the
claimant, or the | 26 |
employer, examine or directly or indirectly
cause or employ | 27 |
another person to examine any claim file or any
other file | 28 |
pertaining thereto. No person shall forge an
authorization for the | 29 |
purpose of examining or cause another
person to examine any such | 30 |
file. No district or staff hearing
officer or other employee of | 31 |
the bureau or commission,
notwithstanding the provisions of | 32 |
section 4123.27 of the Revised
Code, shall divulge any information | 33 |
in respect of any claim or
appeal which is or may be filed with a | 34 |
district or staff hearing
officer, the bureau, or commission to | 35 |
any person other than
members of the commission or to the superior | 36 |
of the employee
except upon authorization of the administrator of | 37 |
workers'
compensation or a member of the commission or upon | 38 |
authorization
of the claimant or employer. | 39 |
(B) The records described or referred to in division (A) of | 40 |
this section are not public records as defined in division (A)(1) | 41 |
of section 149.43 of the Revised Code. Any information directly or | 42 |
indirectly identifying the address or telephone number of a | 43 |
claimant, regardless of whether the claimant's claim is active or | 44 |
closed, is not a public record. No person shall solicit or obtain | 45 |
any such information from any such employee without first having | 46 |
obtained an authorization therefor as provided in this section. | 47 |
(C) Except as otherwise specified in division (D) of this | 48 |
section, information kept by the commission or the bureau pursuant | 49 |
to this section is for the exclusive use and information of the | 50 |
commission and the bureau in the discharge of their official | 51 |
duties, and shall not be open to the public nor be used in any | 52 |
court in any action or proceeding pending therein, unless the | 53 |
commission or the bureau is a party to the action or proceeding. | 54 |
The information, however, may be tabulated and published by the | 55 |
commission or the bureau in statistical form for the use and | 56 |
information of other state agencies and the public. | 57 |
(D)(1) Upon receiving a written request made and signed by an | 58 |
individual whose primary occupation is as a journalist, the | 59 |
commission or the bureau shall disclose to the
individual the | 60 |
address or addresses and telephone number or
numbers of | 61 |
claimants, regardless of whether their claims are
active or | 62 |
closed, and the dependents of those claimants. Consistent with | 63 |
division (B)(9) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code, a | 64 |
"journalist" means a person engaged in, connected with, or | 65 |
employed by any news medium including a newspaper, magazine, press | 66 |
association, trade and business association newsletters, news | 67 |
agency or wire service, a radio or television station, or a | 68 |
similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, | 69 |
transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for | 70 |
the general public. | 71 |