H.B. 150

1

WORKERS' COMPENSATION - FIRE
2 DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
3 2004 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Joseph G. Murray
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies the Utah Labor Code to address presumptions related to fire
10 department employees and workers' compensation.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 . provides for a presumption for purposes of workers' compensation that certain
14 occupational diseases are employment related for fire department employees.
15 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
16 None
17 Other Special Clauses:
18 None
19 Utah Code Sections Affected:
20 ENACTS:
21 34A-3-113, Utah Code Annotated 1953
22
23 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
24 Section 1. Section 34A-3-113 is enacted to read:
25 34A-3-113. Presumption for fire department employees.
26 (1) As used in this section:
27 (a) (i) "Fire department employee" means an individual that:

28 (A) is a member of a fire department or other organization that:
29 (I) provides fire suppression and other fire-related services; and
30 (II) is an agency of a political subdivision of the state; and
31 (B) (I) is in a capacity that includes responsibility for the extinguishment of fire; or
32 (II) is emergency medical service personnel, as defined in Section 26-8a-102 , who is a
33 member of a fire department or other organization described in Subsection (1)(a)(i) when
34 providing services as an emergency medical service personnel.
35 (ii) "Fire department employee" includes a volunteer member of a fire department or
36 other organization described in Subsection (1)(a)(i).
37 (b) "Line-of-duty employment" means an activity of a fire department employee for
38 which the fire department employee is obligated or authorized to perform as a fire department
39 employee by:
40 (i) rule;
41 (ii) condition of employment or service; or
42 (iii) statute.
43 (c) "Presumptive occupational disease" means one of the following cancers:
44 (i) brain cancer;
45 (ii) cancer of the digestive system;
46 (iii) genitourinary tract cancer;
47 (iv) leukemia;
48 (v) lymphoma, except for Hodgkin's disease;
49 (vi) melanoma;
50 (vii) multiple myeloma; or
51 (viii) respiratory cancer.
52 (2) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter or Chapter 2, Workers'
53 Compensation Act, for a claim for compensation under this chapter that meets the requirements
54 of Subsection (3), there is a rebuttable presumption that a presumptive occupational disease:
55 (a) arose out of and in the course of line-of-duty employment; and
56 (b) is medically caused or aggravated by the line-of-duty employment described in
57 Subsection (2)(a).
58 (3) The presumption described in Subsection (2) is created if:

59 (a) the claim for compensation under this chapter is filed within the time periods
60 provided in Sections 34A-3-108 and 34A-3-109 ;
61 (b) the fire department employee for which the claim is filed is employed in the
62 line-of-duty employment:
63 (i) for at least 36 months; and
64 (ii) (A) on the day on which the claim for compensation is filed; or
65 (B) within no more than three years before the day on which the claim for
66 compensation is filed;
67 (c) (i) as a condition of being employed in line-of-duty employment, the fire
68 department employee passed a physical examination before the day on which the fire
69 department employee made a claim under this chapter for a presumptive occupational disease;
70 and
71 (ii) the examination described in Subsection (3)(c)(i) did not indicate evidence of a
72 presumptive occupational disease; and
73 (d) the claim for compensation under this chapter is for a presumptive occupational
74 disease.
75 (4) If the conditions of Subsection (3) are met, a fire department employee may rely on
76 the presumption described in Subsection (2) to meet a burden of proof to establish entitlement
77 to compensation under this chapter and Chapter 2, Workers' Compensation Act.
78 (5) The presumption described in Subsection (2) may be rebutted if the employer or the
79 employer's insurer establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the presumptive
80 occupational disease:
81 (a) did not arise out of and in the course of the line-of-duty employment; and
82 (b) was not medically caused or aggravated by the line-of-duty employment described
83 in Subsection (5)(a).
84 (6) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, an employer is not liable for a
85 presumptive occupational disease if after a fire department employee is no longer employed in
86 the line-of-duty employment, the fire department employee is injuriously exposed to the
87 hazards of the presumptive occupational disease as provided in Section 34A-3-105 .
88 (7) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, Title 26, Chapter 6a, Disease
89 Testing and Workers' Compensation Presumption for Benefit of Emergency Medical Services

90 Providers, governs whether there is or is not a presumption that a disease, as defined in Section
91 26-6a-1 , is compensable under this chapter or Chapter 2, Workers' Compensation Act.
92 (8) This section may not be construed as preventing a fire department employee from
93 receiving workers' compensation benefits under this chapter or Chapter 2, Workers'
94 Compensation Act, because the fire department employee fails to meet the requirements under
95 this section to establish the rebuttable presumption described in Subsection (2).




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-3-04 9:52 AM

This bill creates a class consisting of certain firefighters and medical providers of fire departments. For this class the bill provides a rebuttable presumption that certain diseases
presumptively arose as a result of working for the fire department and therefore are
compensable under workers' compensation statutes. Under equal protection principles of the
Constitution of the United States and the uniform operation of the laws provisions of the Utah
Constitution, there are limits on a legislature's ability to establish classifications and then treat
members of the classes differently. If the classification does not involve certain protected
classes, courts generally apply a rational basis test when reviewing legislative classifications.
In addition, because of the exclusive remedy element of workers' compensation, the open
courts provision of the Utah Constitution may be implicated if the remedies provided under
workers' compensation are found inadequate. In examining the permissibility of classes, courts
look to factors such as the relationship between the class and the legislative objective being
pursued. For example, a court may look at the relationship between the creation of the
presumption and the level of exposure fire department employees may experience because of
the nature of their employment.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel