Substitute Senate Bill 139 Summary

• Establishes financial capacity requirements for professional employer organizations (PEOs), including mandatory positive working capital maintenance and audited financial statement submissions to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

• Clarifies that shared employees are considered employees solely of client employers for purposes of state tax credits, economic incentives, and per capita taxes, while PEOs remain responsible for workers' compensation coverage and payroll taxes.

• Defines liability allocation between PEOs and client employers: PEOs are not liable for acts under client employer direction and control, and clients are not liable for acts under PEO direction and control, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

• Requires PEOs to provide client employers with workers' compensation claims, premiums, payroll, and related information within 45 days of written request, and permits limited registration for out-of-state PEOs with 50 or fewer shared employees in Ohio.

• Adds reporting requirements for PEOs and professional employer organization reporting entities to unemployment compensation and income tax administrators, including quarterly wage reporting under separate subaccounts and client employer information disclosures.