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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends provisions of the Volunteer Government Workers Act.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ defines terms;
13 ▸ amends the definition of a volunteer to describe the education expenses, stipends,
14 and items that may be provided to a volunteer; and
15 ▸ modifies a provision relating to the approval of a volunteer.
16 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
17 None
18 Other Special Clauses:
19 None
20 Utah Code Sections Affected:
21 AMENDS:
22 34A-3-113, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 433
23 63G-7-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 280
24 67-20-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 249
25 67-20-3, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 249
26 67-20-4, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 148
27
28 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29 Section 1. Section 34A-3-113 is amended to read:
30 34A-3-113. Presumption of workers' compensation benefits for firefighters.
31 (1) As used in this section:
32 (a) (i) "Firefighter" means a member, including a volunteer member, as described in
33 Subsection 67-20-2[
34 organization that provides fire suppression and other fire-related service who is responsible for
35 or is in a capacity that includes responsibility for the extinguishment of fires.
36 (ii) "Firefighter" does not include a person whose job description, duties, or
37 responsibilities do not include direct involvement in fire suppression.
38 (b) "Presumptive cancer" means one or more of the following cancers:
39 (i) pharynx;
40 (ii) esophagus;
41 (iii) lung; and
42 (iv) mesothelioma.
43 (2) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer meets the requirements of
44 Subsection (3), there is a rebuttable presumption that:
45 (a) the presumptive cancer was contracted arising out of and in the course of
46 employment; and
47 (b) the presumptive cancer was not contracted by a willful act of the firefighter.
48 (3) To be entitled to the rebuttable presumption described in Subsection (2):
49 (a) during the time of employment as a firefighter, the firefighter undergoes annual
50 physical examinations;
51 (b) the firefighter shall have been employed as a firefighter for eight years or more and
52 regularly responded to firefighting or emergency calls within the eight-year period; and
53 (c) if a firefighter has used tobacco, the firefighter provides documentation from a
54 physician that indicates that the firefighter has not used tobacco for the eight years preceding
55 reporting the presumptive cancer to the employer or division.
56 (4) A presumption established under this section may be rebutted by a preponderance
57 of the evidence.
58 (5) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer is employed as a firefighter by
59 more than one employer and qualifies for the presumption under Subsection (2), and that
60 presumption has not been rebutted, the employer and insurer at the time of the last substantial
61 exposure to risk of the presumptive cancer are liable under this chapter pursuant to Section
62 34A-3-105.
63 (6) A cause of action subject to the presumption under this section is considered to
64 arise on the date after May 12, 2015, that the employee:
65 (a) suffers disability from the occupational disease;
66 (b) knows, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the
67 occupational disease is caused by employment; and
68 (c) files a claim as provided in Section 34A-3-108.
69 Section 2. Section 63G-7-102 is amended to read:
70 63G-7-102. Definitions.
71 As used in this chapter:
72 (1) "Arises out of or in connection with, or results from," when used to describe the
73 relationship between conduct or a condition and an injury, means that:
74 (a) there is some causal relationship between the conduct or condition and the injury;
75 (b) the causal relationship is more than any causal connection but less than proximate
76 cause; and
77 (c) the causal relationship is sufficient to conclude that the injury originates with, flows
78 from, or is incident to the conduct or condition.
79 (2) "Claim" means any asserted demand for or cause of action for money or damages,
80 whether arising under the common law, under state constitutional provisions, or under state
81 statutes, against a governmental entity or against an employee in the employee's personal
82 capacity.
83 (3) (a) "Employee" includes:
84 (i) a governmental entity's officers, employees, servants, trustees, or commissioners;
85 (ii) [
86 (iii) [
87 (iv) [
88 (v) members of an advisory body, officers, and employees of a Children's Justice
89 Center created in accordance with Section 67-5b-102;
90 (vi) a student [
91 (vii) an educational [
92 (viii) [
93 53B-16-402 or 53G-7-902;
94 [
95 [
96 (ix) a volunteer, as defined in Section 67-20-2; and
97 (x) a tutor.
98 (b) "Employee" includes all of the positions identified in Subsection (3)(a), whether or
99 not the individual holding that position receives compensation.
100 (c) "Employee" does not include an independent contractor.
101 (4) "Governmental entity" means:
102 (a) the state and its political subdivisions; and
103 (b) a law enforcement agency, as defined in Section 53-1-102, that employs one or
104 more law enforcement officers, as defined in Section 53-13-103.
105 (5) (a) "Governmental function" means each activity, undertaking, or operation of a
106 governmental entity.
107 (b) "Governmental function" includes each activity, undertaking, or operation
108 performed by a department, agency, employee, agent, or officer of a governmental entity.
109 (c) "Governmental function" includes a governmental entity's failure to act.
110 (6) "Injury" means death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property, or any other
111 injury that a person may suffer to the person or estate, that would be actionable if inflicted by a
112 private person or the private person's agent.
113 (7) "Personal injury" means an injury of any kind other than property damage.
114 (8) "Political subdivision" means any county, city, town, school district, community
115 reinvestment agency, special improvement or taxing district, local district, special service
116 district, an entity created by an interlocal agreement adopted under Title 11, Chapter 13,
117 Interlocal Cooperation Act, or other governmental subdivision or public corporation.
118 (9) "Property damage" means injury to, or loss of, any right, title, estate, or interest in
119 real or personal property.
120 (10) "State" means the state of Utah, and includes each office, department, division,
121 agency, authority, commission, board, institution, hospital, college, university, Children's
122 Justice Center, or other instrumentality of the state.
123 (11) "Willful misconduct" means the intentional doing of a wrongful act, or the
124 wrongful failure to act, without just cause or excuse, where the actor is aware that the actor's
125 conduct will probably result in injury.
126 Section 3. Section 67-20-2 is amended to read:
127 67-20-2. Definitions.
128 As used in this chapter:
129 (1) "Agency" means:
130 (a) a department, institution, office, college, university, authority, division, board,
131 bureau, commission, council, or other agency of the state;
132 (b) a county, city, town, school district, or special improvement or taxing district; or
133 (c) any other political subdivision.
134 (2) "Compensatory service worker" means a person who performs a public service with
135 or without compensation for an agency as a condition or part of the person's:
136 (a) incarceration;
137 (b) plea;
138 (c) sentence;
139 (d) diversion;
140 (e) probation; or
141 (f) parole.
142 (3) "Emergency medical service volunteer" means an individual who:
143 (a) provides services as a volunteer under the supervision of a supervising agency or
144 government officer; and
145 (b) at the time the individual provides the services described in Subsection (3)(a), is:
146 (i) an emergency medical technician volunteer, a paramedic volunteer, an ambulance
147 volunteer, a volunteer firefighter, or another volunteer provider of emergency medical services;
148 and
149 (ii) acting in the capacity of a volunteer described in Subsection (3)(b)(i).
150 (4) "IRS aggregate amount" means the fixed or determinable income aggregate amount
151 described in 26 C.F.R. Sec. 1.6041-1(a)(1)(i)(A).
152 [
153 compensation except [
154 by the supervising agency[
155 (i) expenses actually and reasonably incurred;
156 (ii) a stipend for future higher education expenses, awarded from the National Service
157 Trust under 45 C.F.R. Secs. 2526.10 and 2527.10;
158 (iii) a stipend, below the IRS aggregate amount, for:
159 (A) emergency volunteers, including emergency medical service volunteers, volunteer
160 safety officers, and volunteer search and rescue team members; or
161 (B) non-emergency volunteers, including senior program volunteers and community
162 event volunteers;
163 (iv) health benefits provided through the supervising agency;
164 (v) passthrough stipends or other compensation provided to volunteers through a
165 federal or state program, including Americorp Seniors volunteers, consistent with 42 U.S.C.
166 Sec. 5058;
167 (vi) stipends or other compensation, below the IRS aggregate amount, provided to
168 volunteers from any person;
169 (vii) uniforms, identification, personal protective equipment, or safety equipment used
170 by a volunteer only while volunteering for the supervising entity;
171 (viii) a nonpecuniary item not exceeding $50 in value;
172 (ix) nonpecuniary items, below the IRS aggregate amount, donated to the supervising
173 agency with the express intent of benefitting a volunteer; or
174 (x) meals or gifts, not exceeding $50 in value, provided as part of a volunteers
175 appreciation event by the volunteering agency.
176 (b) "Volunteer" does not include:
177 (i) a person participating in human subjects research to the extent that the participation
178 is governed by federal law or regulation inconsistent with this chapter; or
179 (ii) a compensatory service worker.
180 (c) "Volunteer" includes a juror or potential juror appearing in response to a summons
181 for a trial jury or grand jury.
182 [
183 individuals who have a relationship with the business or nonprofit organization, such as
184 membership or employment, provides volunteers to an agency or facilitates volunteers
185 volunteering with an agency.
186 [
187 (a) provides services as a volunteer under the supervision of an agency; and
188 (b) at the time the individual provides the services to the supervising agency described
189 in Subsection [
190 (i) exercising peace officer authority as provided in Section 53-13-102; or
191 (ii) if the supervising agency described in Subsection [
192 (A) on the rolls of the supervising agency as a firefighter;
193 (B) not regularly employed as a firefighter by the supervising agency; and
194 (C) acting in a capacity that includes the responsibility for the extinguishment of fire.
195 [
196 (a) provides services as a volunteer under the supervision of a county sheriff; and
197 (b) at the time the individual provides the services to the county sheriff described in
198 Subsection [
199 (i) certified as a member of the county sheriff's search and rescue team; and
200 (ii) acting in the capacity of a member of the search and rescue team of the supervising
201 county sheriff.
202 Section 4. Section 67-20-3 is amended to read:
203 67-20-3. Purposes for which a volunteer is considered a government employee --
204 Limitations of liability for volunteer facilitators.
205 (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2) or (3), a volunteer is considered a government
206 employee for purposes of:
207 (a) receiving workers' compensation medical benefits, which shall be the exclusive
208 remedy for all injuries and occupational diseases as provided under Title 34A, Chapter 2,
209 Workers' Compensation Act, and Chapter 3, Utah Occupational Disease Act;
210 (b) the operation of a motor vehicle or equipment if the volunteer is properly licensed
211 and authorized to do so; and
212 (c) liability protection and indemnification normally afforded a paid [
213 employee.
214 (2) (a) A supervising agency shall provide workers' compensation benefits for a
215 volunteer safety officer as provided in Section 67-20-7.
216 (b) A volunteer safety officer is considered an employee of the supervising agency of
217 the volunteer safety officer for purposes of Subsections (1)(b) and (c).
218 (3) (a) The county of a county sheriff that certifies and supervises a volunteer search
219 and rescue team member shall provide workers' compensation benefits for the volunteer search
220 and rescue team member as provided in Section 67-20-7.5.
221 (b) For purposes of Subsections (1)(b) and (c), a volunteer search and rescue team
222 member is considered an employee of the county of the county sheriff that certifies and
223 supervises the volunteer search and rescue team member.
224 (4) A volunteer facilitator is immune from liability for damages or injuries arising out
225 of or related to the volunteer service of a volunteer provided by the volunteer facilitator to an
226 agency, unless:
227 (a) an action or omission of the volunteer facilitator is grossly negligent, not made in
228 good faith, or made maliciously, and causes harm to a person or property; or
229 (b) the volunteer facilitator fails to exercise due diligence in determining the fitness of
230 a volunteer to provide voluntary service to the agency under circumstances that make the
231 volunteer facilitator's failure to exercise due diligence grossly negligent, not in good faith, or
232 malicious.
233 Section 5. Section 67-20-4 is amended to read:
234 67-20-4. Approval of volunteer.
235 (1) Except as approval is provided under Subsection (2), a volunteer may not donate
236 any service to an agency unless the volunteer's services are approved by[
237 executive of that agency or [
238 [
239 (2) When the county sheriff determines that a search and rescue emergency situation
240 exists that requires law enforcement action, the county sheriff may approve a volunteer who
241 offers to donate a service for any law enforcement related activity conducted in response to the
242 emergency situation.