For purposes of division (C)(3) of section
742.40
of the Revised Code, Ohio police and fire pension fund ("OP & F") shall
consider an OP & F member to be "employed as a police officer or
firefighter" if one of the following applies:
(A) The person is appointed, commissioned,
compensated, designated, employed, engaged, volunteering, or otherwise serving
as one of the following:
(1) A sheriff,
marshal, deputy marshal, member of the organized police department of a
township or municipal corporation, member of a township police district or
joint township police district police force, member of a metropolitan housing
authority police force established under division (D) of section
3735.31
of the Revised Code, or township constable or a similar job position outside
the state of Ohio;
(2) A railroad
company police officer governed by sections
4973.17
to
4973.22
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(3) A person engaged in the
enforcement of Chapter 5743. of the Revised Code on behalf of the department of
taxation and designated by the tax commissioner for peace officer training for
purposes of the delegation of investigation powers under section
5743.45
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(4) An undercover drug agent
or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(5) A department of public safety enforcement
agent governed by section
5502.14 of the
Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(6) A natural resources law enforcement staff
officer in the department of natural resources governed by section
1501.013
or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(7) A forest-fire investigator in the
department of natural resources governed by section
1503.09
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(8) A natural resources
officer on the department of natural resources governed by section 1501.64 of
the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(9) A wildlife officer in the department of
natural resources governed by section
1531.13 of the
Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(10) A park district law enforcement officer
governed by section
511.232
or
1545.13
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(11) A conservancy district
police officer governed by section
6101.75 of the
Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(12) A member of a hospital police or
security department governed by sections
4973.17
to
4973.22
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(13) A veterans home police
officer established by section
5907.02
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(14) A member of a qualified
nonprofit corporation police department established by section
1702.80
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(15) A state university law
enforcement officer governed by section
3345.04
of the Revised Code or a person serving as a state university law enforcement
officer on a permanent basis on June 19, 1978, who has been awarded a
certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training
commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved
state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer
basic training program or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(16) A special police officer
in the department of mental health governed by section
5119.08
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(17) A special police officer
in the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities governed
by section
5123.13
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(18) A member of a campus
police department established under section
1713.50
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(19) A regional transit
authority police officer governed by division (Y) of section
306.35
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(20) An investigator of the
auditor of state governed by section
117.091
of the Revised Code who is engaged in the enforcement of Chapter 117. of the
Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
(21) A special police officer serving on
state property pursuant to section
5503.09
of the Revised Code or a person who was serving as a special police officer
pursuant to that section on a permanent basis on October 21, 1997, and who has
been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer
training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an
approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace
officer basic training program or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(22) A port authority special
police officer governed by section
4582.04
or
4582.28
of the Revised Code or a person serving as a port authority special police
officer on a permanent basis on May 17, 2000, who has been awarded a
certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training
commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved
state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer
basic training program or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(23) A municipal corporation
special police officer who has been awarded a certificate by the executive
director of the Ohio peace officer training commission for satisfactory
completion of an approved peace officer basic training program and who is
serving at a municipal airport or other municipal air navigation facility that
is governed by aviation security rules of the transportation security
administration of the United States department of transportation and required
by federal laws and regulations to be under a security program or a similar job
position outside the state of Ohio;
(24) A PERS law enforcement officer, as
defined in section
145.01
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio;
or
(25) A bailiff or deputy bailiff
of a court of record in this state who has received a certificate attesting to
the person's satisfactory completion of the peace officer training school as
required by section
109.77
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(26) A parole, corrections,
or probation officer or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio;
(27) An employee of the
department of youth services who is designated by the director of youth
services pursuant to division (A)(1) of section
5139.53
of the Revised Code and who has received the training described in division
(B)(1) of that section;
(28) A
federal protective service officer or a federal marshal, including, but not
limited to, a court security officer hired by the U.S. marshals
service;
(29) A gaming agent
employed under section
3772.03
of the Revised Code or a similar job position outside the state of
Ohio.
(B) The person is
a "member of the police department," as such term is defined in division (A)(2)
of section
742.01
of the Revised Code or such corresponding statutory provision, whether in Ohio
or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio or is serving as a
volunteer to a "police department," as such term is defined in division (A)(1)
of section
742.01
of the Revised Code or such corresponding statutory provision; or
(C) The person is classified as a firefighter
who is a "member of a fire department," as such term is defined in division
(B)(2) of section
742.01
of the Revised Code or such corresponding statutory provision, whether in Ohio
or a similar job position outside the state of Ohio or is serving as a
volunteer to a "fire department," as such term is defined in division (B)(1) of
section
742.01
of the Revised Code or such corresponding statutory provision.
(D) For any new position added to paragraph
(A) of this rule, OP & F shall give ninety days written notice of the
change to all disability benefit recipients and allow those recipients to have
ninety days to terminate the position not previously covered under this rule or
be subject to the statutory requirement relating to the termination of
disability benefits, as set forth in division (C)(3) of section
742.40
of the Revised Code.
(E) Process
for termination of disability benefits.
For any termination of disability benefits under section
742.40
of the Revised Code, staff shall present the termination for review and
consideration by the disability committee, who shall make a written
recommendation to the board of trustees based upon the applicable criteria. The
applicable disability benefit recipient shall be notified of the board's
decision within thirty days after the board's action and such notice shall be
sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. The disability benefit
recipient shall also be notified of the right to appeal the termination of
disability benefits and the right to convert the disability benefits to a
service retirement pension if the age and service eligibility requirements
under division (C)(1), (C)(2), (C)(3), or (C)(4) of section
742.37
of the Revised Code are met and an application for service retirement is filed
with OP & F.
(F) Appeal
of termination of disability benefits.
(1) Any
disability benefit recipient aggrieved by an action of the board with respect
to the termination of the disability benefits in accordance with division
(C)(3) of section
742.40
of the Revised Code must file a written notice of appeal with OP & F in the
form provided by OP & F within ninety days of the notice of the board's
decision to terminate the disability benefits. The notice of appeal must
contain the member's name, social security number, and a brief description of
the decision upon which the appeal is based.
(2) Within sixty days of the notice of the
board's decision to terminate the disability benefits, the aggrieved disability
benefit recipient ("appellant") shall file with OP & F all materials which
he or she desires to submit in support of the appeal. Failure to submit
supporting materials or to request an extension of time within which to submit
the supporting materials will be sufficient cause for
the director of member services
OP & F to dismiss the appeal, provided OP
& F gives the appellant prior written notice of such dismissal and a
deadline date by which all materials must be filed with OP & F and the
appellant fails to file the required documentation with OP & F before the
designated deadline. Upon application to OP & F before the expiration of
the original sixty day period referred to in this paragraph,
the director of member services
OP & F may, for good cause shown, grant the
appellant an extension of sixty days within which to file supporting
materials.
(3) Upon receipt of the
supporting materials, OP & F shall schedule a hearing on the appeal and
shall give the appellant reasonable notice of the date, time, and place thereof
in writing. Such hearings shall be held within sixty days of the receipt of the
supporting documentation by OP & F ; provided, however, that any hearing
may be postponed or continued by the board, either upon application of the
appellant or on its own motion. In no event shall a hearing be postponed more
than three times, and in no event shall the postponements, in the aggregate,
exceed one year. The appellant shall be given the opportunity to be present,
with counsel or other representation if he or she chooses, at the hearing. A
tape recording of the hearing will be made to provide the board with a record
for further review. Such tape recording of the hearing shall be available to
the appellant and to those individuals who are authorized by the appellant to
receive such information, with such authorization in the form required by OP
& F.
(4) Following the hearing
on appeal, the board may choose to:
(a)
Affirm the decision to terminate disability benefits;
(b) Reverse the decision to terminate
disability benefits;
(c) Postpone a
decision pending additional documentation.
The board's decision on appeal shall be the final determination
on the statutory termination of disability benefits.
(5) The applicant shall be advised
of the board's action under paragraph (F)(4) of this rule within thirty days
after the board's decision and such notice shall be sent by certified mail,
return receipt requested.
(G) For purposes of recovering overpaid
disability benefits, OP & F shall collect those benefits from the later of
April 1, 2004 or the date of the person's acceptance of employment that results
in the statutory termination of disability benefits, which will apply to any
termination of disability benefits under section
742.40
of the Revised Code and this rule prior to the effective date of this
rule.
(H) For disability benefit
recipients who are terminated in accordance with division (C)(3) of section
742.40
of the Revised Code and this rule, who cannot convert the benefits to a service
retirement pension, and who have not recovered all contributions received by OP
& F that are paid by or on behalf of such person, OP & F shall offset
the remaining contributions against any overpayment due OP & F in
accordance with the provisions of this rule.
(I) For any overpayments due OP & F as a
result of the termination of benefits in accordance with division (C)(3) of
section
742.40
of the Revised Code and this rule, OP & F shall require the member to sign
a promissory note, which provides for equal monthly payments to be paid to OP
& F over a period not to exceed five years, with interest paid at the
current actuarial rate of interest. For any person who refuses to sign such
promissory note, OP & F will seek to recover the amounts due by exercising
all rights available by law.
(J) In
the event the payments required under paragraphs (H) and (I) of this rule
exceed the limits provided for in the consumer credit protection act, the
payments will be modified in order to comply with such limits. Payments may
also be modified upon a showing of a financial hardship and in such amount as
determined by the executive director.
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code
742-3-20
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
2/3/2023 and
02/03/2028
Promulgated
Under: 111.15
Statutory
Authority: 742.10
Rule
Amplifies: 742.40
Prior
Effective Dates: 04/10/2002 (Emer.), 06/30/2002, 03/22/2004, 04/05/2005
(Emer.), 06/20/2005, 09/21/2007, 05/22/2008, 08/02/2010 (Emer.), 10/17/2010,
02/04/2013, 03/22/2018, 09/22/2022
Effective: 9/22/2022
Five Year Review
(FYR) Dates: 1/5/2023
Promulgated Under:
111.15
Statutory Authority:
742.10
Rule Amplifies:
742.40
Prior Effective Dates: 04/10/2002 (Emer.), 06/30/2002, 03/22/2004,
04/05/2005 (Emer.), 06/20/2005, 09/21/2007, 05/22/2008, 08/02/2010 (Emer.),
10/17/2010, 02/04/2013, 03/22/2018