Special considerations given to students injured in the workplace will be eliminated if a referendum to reform the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation passes on Tuesday, said a spokesman for the Committee to Stop Corporate Attacks on Injured Workers.A student injured during a summer job can have his or her wages adjusted to reflect the actual time worked, but that will change if Issue 2 passes, said Todd Paglia, press secretary for the committee, which opposes the issue.For example, under the current setup, a student who earns $3,000 during a 12-week period would have benefits calculated by dividing the $3,000 by 12 to determine a weekly benefit. Under Issue 2, however, the student who earns $3,000 during a 12-week period would have benefits determined by dividing the $3,000 by 52, the same as if the earnings were a yearly wage. Normally, an injured worker receives benefits from the bureau based on his or her average weekly wage, which is determined by dividing the yearly earnings of that worker by 52, said Nick Gattozzi, a spokesman for the Industrial Commission, which decides claims brought to the bureau.According to Ohio Senate Bill 45, the legislation that Issue 2 addresses, an injured worker may exclude from the 52 weeks any period of unemployment that results from strikes, sickness or lockout from the 52-week period. However, an injured student worker may not exclude time as a full- or part-time student from the 52-week period.A student should not be the exception to the rule, Gattozzi said.”What the legislation is saying is that enrollment in school is not an excuse to not work, because some people work and take a full course load,” he said.Neither the Industrial Commission nor the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has an official stance on Issue 2, Gattozzi said.Claims made by students working on a seasonal basis are decided on a case-by-case basis, Gattozzi said. The proposed changes in Issue 2 will create a standard by which all claims can be judged, he said.But workers’ compensation benefits are paid to injured workers who often cannot continue classes or continue working, Paglia said.Issue 2 will also eliminate injured students’ ability to claim wages based on their proposed future occupation, said Tom Norris, deputy administrator of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.According to Senate Bill 45, a workers’ compensation administrator can take into consideration likely salary increases that would have naturally occurred without the injury when determining the employee’s average weekly wage.A student studying to be a doctor can attempt to claim benefits based on a doctor’s salary, Norris said. These claims are handled on a case-by-case basis, he said.Students’ hypothetical future earnings are difficult to assume, because many students change majors and others fail to finish school, he said.”Someone studying pre-medicine has no guarantee of graduating, let alone going to medical school and becoming a doctor, so it’s unfair for businesses to pay them based on the possibility of the future salary as a doctor,” Norris said.Issue 2 would eliminate the practice of handling claims in a case-by-case manner and create a standard by which all claims can be judged, Gattozzi said.Issue 2 is a referendum of a law passed by the Ohio legislature and signed by Gov. George Voinovich.Organized labor initiated a referendum, asking voters to overturn Senate Bill 45, while businesses support the reform, said Herb Asher, OSU professor emeritus of political science.