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Ohio Industrial Commission seeks funding to modernize hearings, address looming retirements
Summary
The Ohio Industrial Commission presented House Bill 80 as its biennial budget request, asking for funding to support payroll, update legacy IT systems and expand remote hearings while preparing for an anticipated wave of retirements.
The Ohio Industrial Commission urged the House Public Insurance and Pensions Committee to approve its 2026–27 budget request, saying the funds would support payroll, IT modernization and expanded remote hearing options. "The OIC is responsible for providing a forum for fair and impartial resolutions of disputed workers' compensation claims," Jim Hughes, chairman and chief executive officer of the Ohio Industrial Commission, told the committee during the bill's first hearing.
Hughes said the commission plans to research and expand remote hearings and continue investing in an electronic hearing process to improve user experience and reduce travel time and expense for claimants and stakeholders. He warned the Commission faces two principal challenges: updating aging legacy applications that support hearings and managing a near-term retirement wave among experienced staff. "By January 2026, nearly 40% of the OIC's current workforce will be eligible for retirement," Hughes said.
The request includes funding for payroll to fill posted positions and ongoing hiring to prepare for anticipated retirements; Hughes said payroll accounts for the agency's largest expenditure and cited a payroll share of 77.3 percent of agency expenses. He described other line items presented in the request, including rent for space in the William Green Building and payments to the Attorney General's office for legal services shared with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation.
Committee members asked whether a smaller overall budget request would still allow the OIC to implement a robust video-hearing program. Hughes said the agency is using a mix of cost-saving measures—reducing offsite rents, extending life of office furniture and delaying some hires—to free funds for modernization while maintaining customer service. He also said the OIC's rules advisory committee has begun stakeholder meetings and will continue work on hearing rules.
The testimony was informational; no committee action or vote was recorded in the transcript. Hughes concluded by offering to return with updates and to answer follow-up questions from committee members.
