State ex rel. Vonderheide v. Multi-Color Corp.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that the Industrial Commission’s denial of temporary-total-disability compensation was supported by some evidence showing that Sharon Vonderheide was not in the active workforce when she underwent knee surgery. The court reversed the Tenth District Court of Appeals’ judgment granting a writ of mandamus and denied Vonderheide’s request for oral argument.

Holdings

1. The commission did not abuse its discretion because its conclusion that Vonderheide was not in the active workforce and had no wages to replace was supported by some evidence in the record.
2. A claimant who reenters the workforce as a family-business worker, including a farmer, may qualify for temporary-total-disability compensation, but the claimant must be actively engaged in gainful employment that is regular rather than sporadic and must receive earnings that will be lost because of the industrial injury.
3. The motion for oral argument was denied because Vonderheide identified no circumstance warranting the discretionary grant of oral argument.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Industrial Commission abused its discretion in finding that Vonderheide was not part of the active workforce and had no wages to replace when she sought temporary-total-disability compensation.
2. Whether the Tenth District properly relied on the federal Current Population Survey's employment definition to determine eligibility for Ohio temporary-total-disability compensation.
3. Whether Vonderheide was entitled to oral argument in the direct appeal.

Disposition

reversed