In a Supreme Court of Ohio case decided January 10, 2012, the judgement denying Frank Bilaver temporary total disability compensation was upheld. In September of 2007, Bilaver left his job with Fluid Line Products, Inc. after he was denied permission for an extended leave of absence. "When Bilaver later applied for TTD compensation, the commission found that his decision to leave Fluid Line constituted a voluntary abandonment of employment that barred compensation."

Bilaver then filed a complaint in the court of appeals, stating that his removal from Fluid Line was not of his own accord and that he was in fact fired. He claimed that the trial court had "abused its discretion in finding that he had voluntarily abandoned his job at Fluid Line." The court disagreed, finding that Bilaver was not fired, but quit, giving two weeks notice to Fluid Line after the company denied his request for extended leave of absence. Bilaver claims to have rescinded his voluntarily departure in a letter dated September 27, 2007, but the court found that the letter did not clearly indicate his wish to remain under Fluid Line's employ. The court also found that a letter from Fluid Line to Bilaver was simply a statement of Bilaver's departure, not proof that he was fired.

The first crucial decision point in this case is that "a claimant who voluntarily leaves his or her former position of employment cannot receive TTD compensation unless the claimant has secured other employment and is prevented from doing that job by a flare-up of the original industrial injury." State ex rel. Baker v. Indus. Comm. (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 376, 732 N.E.2d 355, syllabus. The second point stemming from this is Bilaver's allegation that his departure from Fluid Line was involuntary, which the court found flimsy at best. Without "evidence that Bilaver secured another job and was prevented from doing it by his industrial injury, the commission did not abuse its discretion in denying TTD compensation." 

Recent News You Might Have Missed

"Corporate America to Small Biz: Sell to Us"

By John Tozzi

March 22, 2012

           Criticism of America's corporations has been intensifying in the past few years as our economy continues to struggle and our largest companies continue to ship work overseas and outsource production. Corporate America is now displaying some domestic responsibility, however, as a group of multinational companies led by tech-giant IBM has created Supplier Connection.

           Supplier Connection is a website where companies with fewer than 500 employees or below $50 million in revenue can display their products or services along with company finances and certifications. Through a single application, small businesses can apply for vendor consideration from participating companies that typically spend $300 billion overseas annually. Although small businesses are not currently permitted to browse jobs, participating companies can use the database as a referral source when looking for vendors.

           IBM International Foundation came $10 milion out-of-pocket to "grow the U.S. economy in an effective way," by breathing life into small companies and giving big companies the advantage of attentive customer service. Kevin Lyons of Rutgers Business School says, "With a small business, the hunger to do more business, to actually interact with such a large firm allows them to adapt and change."

           Since Supplier Connection's birth 18 months ago, supplier spending going to small businesses has increased to $1.4 billion from $1 billion. There are still those who don't see the advantages for big business in this venture, however. Joel Sutherland, managing director of the Supply Chain Management Institute at the University of San Diego says "It's building complexity in, not simplifying it. I don't think there's a strong business case for turning to small business suppliers."

           Perhaps the advantage is not overwhelmingly on the side of big business... this time. But that should not stop any small business owner who sees a potential for growth or increase in revenue from participating in this project.

Visit Supplier Connection by clicking here.

To read the full article, click here.