ABSTRACT

Employment law involves not only statutes affecting fair labor and standards, family medical leave, employees with disabilities, occupational safety and health, and other employment laws, but other actions against employers and employees by the other. For example, in an employment injuries case Plaintiff Blankenship and other employees brought suit against their employer, Defendant Milacron, for intentionally failing to warn them of the harmful effects of their exposure to certain chemicals while on the job. The trial court dismissed the suit on the basis that the workers’ compensation system provided the only remedy for such work-related injuries. Blankenship appealed, arguing that the system did not bar suit for intentional conduct. The Ohio Supreme Court granted a hearing, finding that the workers’ compensation system does not bar direct employee suits against employers for intentional torts (Blankenship v. Cincinnati Milacron Chemicals, Inc., Ohio Sup. Ct., 69 Ohio St. 2d 608, 433 N.E.2d 572 (1982)).