1     
WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR

2     
FIREFIGHTERS

3     
2015 GENERAL SESSION

4     
STATE OF UTAH

5     
Chief Sponsor: Karen Mayne

6     
House Sponsor: Paul Ray

7     

8     LONG TITLE
9     General Description:
10          This bill modifies the Utah Occupational Disease Act to address coverage for
11     firefighters.
12     Highlighted Provisions:
13          This bill:
14          ▸     defines terms;
15          ▸     creates a rebuttable presumption of coverage for certain presumptive cancers under
16     certain circumstances;
17          ▸     addresses when there are multiple employers; and
18          ▸     clarifies when a claim arises.
19     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20          None
21     Other Special Clauses:
22          None
23     Utah Code Sections Affected:
24     ENACTS:
25          34A-3-113, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26     

27     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
28          Section 1. Section 34A-3-113 is enacted to read:
29          34A-3-113. Presumption of workers' compensation benefits for firefighters.

30          (1) As used in this section:
31          (a) (i) "Firefighter" means a member, including a volunteer member, as described in
32     Subsection 67-20-2(5)(b)(ii), or a member paid on call, of a fire department or other
33     organization that provides fire suppression and other fire-related service who is responsible for
34     or is in a capacity that includes responsibility for the extinguishment of fires.
35          (ii) "Firefighter" does not include a person whose job description, duties, or
36     responsibilities do not include direct involvement in fire suppression.
37          (b) "Presumptive cancer" means one or more of the following cancers:
38          (i) pharynx;
39          (ii) esophagus;
40          (iii) lung; and
41          (iv) mesothelioma.
42          (2) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer meets the requirements of
43     Subsection (3), there is a rebuttable presumption that:
44          (a) the presumptive cancer was contracted arising out of and in the course of
45     employment; and
46          (b) the presumptive cancer was not contracted by a willful act of the firefighter.
47          (3) To be entitled to the rebuttable presumption described in Subsection (2):
48          (a) during the time of employment as a firefighter, the firefighter undergoes annual
49     physical examinations;
50          (b) the firefighter shall have been employed as a firefighter for eight years or more and
51     regularly responded to firefighting or emergency calls within the eight-year period; and
52          (c) if a firefighter has used tobacco, the firefighter provides documentation from a
53     physician that indicates that the firefighter has not used tobacco for the eight years preceding
54     reporting the presumptive cancer to the employer or division.
55          (4) A presumption established under this section may be rebutted by a preponderance
56     of the evidence.
57          (5) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer is employed as a firefighter by

58     more than one employer and qualifies for the presumption under Subsection (2), and that
59     presumption has not been rebutted, the employer and insurer at the time of the last substantial
60     exposure to risk of the presumptive cancer are liable under this chapter pursuant to Section
61     34A-3-105.
62          (6) A cause of action subject to the presumption under this section is considered to
63     arise on the date after May 12, 2015, that the employee:
64          (a) suffers disability from the occupational disease;
65          (b) knows, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the
66     occupational disease is caused by employment; and
67          (c) files a claim as provided in Section 34A-3-108.