BILL REQ. #: S-0628.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/18/11. Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection.
AN ACT Relating to presumptions of occupational disease for law enforcement officers and firefighters; amending RCW 51.32.185; adding a new section to chapter 51.32 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 51.32 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) For purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" means
either a law enforcement officer as defined in RCW 41.26.030 or a
member of the Washington state patrol retirement system under chapter
43.43 RCW.
(2) If a law enforcement officer, who is covered under Title 51
RCW, dies as the direct and proximate result of a heart attack or
stroke, that law enforcement officer shall be presumed to have died as
the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the
course of employment, if:
(a) That law enforcement officer, while on duty:
(i) Engaged in a situation, and such engagement involved nonroutine
stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression,
rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical services, prison
security, disaster relief, or other emergency response activity;
(ii) Participated in a training exercise, and such participation
involved nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity; or
(iii) Responded to, or was in the course of responding to, a fire,
rescue, or police emergency; and
(b) That officer died as a result of a heart attack or stroke
suffered:
(i) While engaging or participating or responding as described
under (a) of this subsection;
(ii) While still on duty after so engaging or participating or
responding; or
(iii) Not later than twenty-four hours after so engaging or
participating or responding; and
(c) This presumption is not overcome by competent medical evidence
to the contrary.
(3) Nonroutine stressful physical activity means line of duty
activity that:
(a) Is not performed as a matter of routine. Routine means that
the level of stress is routine and not simply that the activity itself
is performed with some regularity;
(b) Entails nonnegligible physical exertion; and
(c) Occurs with respect to a situation in which a law enforcement
officer is engaged, under circumstances that objectively and
reasonably:
(i) Pose, or appear to pose, significant dangers, threats, or
hazards, or reasonably foreseeable risks thereof, not faced by
similarly situated members of the public in the ordinary course; and
provoke, cause, or occasion an unusually high level of alarm, fear, or
anxiety; or
(ii) With respect to a training exercise in which a law enforcement
officer participates, under circumstances that objectively and
reasonably simulate in realistic fashion situations that pose
significant dangers, threats, or hazards; and provoke, cause, or
occasion an unusually high level of alarm, fear, or anxiety.
(4)(a) Nonroutine strenuous physical activity means line of duty
activity that:
(i) Is not performed as a matter of routine. Routine means that
the level of physical exertion is routine and not simply that the
activity itself is performed with some regularity; and
(ii) Entails an unusually high level of physical exertion.
(b) Nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity excludes
actions of a clerical, administrative, or nonmanual nature.
Sec. 2 RCW 51.32.185 and 2007 c 490 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) In the case of firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030(((4)))
(16) (a), (b), and (c) who are covered under Title 51 RCW and
firefighters, including supervisors, employed on a full-time, fully
compensated basis as a firefighter of a private sector employer's fire
department that includes over fifty such firefighters, there shall
exist a prima facie presumption that: (a) Respiratory disease; (b) any
heart problems or strokes, experienced within seventy-two hours of
exposure to smoke, fumes, or toxic substances, or experienced within
twenty-four hours of strenuous physical exertion due to firefighting
activities; (c) cancer; and (d) infectious diseases are occupational
diseases under RCW 51.08.140. This presumption of occupational disease
may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. Such evidence may
include, but is not limited to, use of tobacco products, physical
fitness and weight, lifestyle, hereditary factors, and exposure from
other employment or nonemployment activities.
(2) The presumptions established in subsection (1) of this section
shall be extended to an applicable member following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each year of
requisite service, but may not extend more than sixty months following
the last date of employment.
(3) The presumption established in subsection (1)(c) of this
section shall only apply to any active or former firefighter who has
cancer that develops or manifests itself after the firefighter has
served at least ten years and who was given a qualifying medical
examination upon becoming a firefighter that showed no evidence of
cancer. The presumption within subsection (1)(c) of this section shall
only apply to prostate cancer diagnosed prior to the age of fifty,
primary brain cancer, malignant melanoma, leukemia, non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, bladder cancer, ureter cancer, colorectal cancer, multiple
myeloma, testicular cancer, and kidney cancer.
(4) The presumption established in subsection (1)(d) of this
section shall be extended to any firefighter who has contracted any of
the following infectious diseases: Human immunodeficiency
virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, all strains of hepatitis,
meningococcal meningitis, or mycobacterium tuberculosis.
(5) Beginning July 1, 2003, this section does not apply to a
firefighter who develops a heart or lung condition and who is a regular
user of tobacco products or who has a history of tobacco use. The
department, using existing medical research, shall define in rule the
extent of tobacco use that shall exclude a firefighter from the
provisions of this section.
(6) For purposes of this section, "firefighting activities" means
fire suppression, fire prevention, emergency medical services, rescue
operations, hazardous materials response, aircraft rescue, and training
and other assigned duties related to emergency response.
(7)(a) When a determination involving the presumption established
in this section is appealed to the board of industrial insurance
appeals and the final decision allows the claim for benefits, the board
of industrial insurance appeals shall order that all reasonable costs
of the appeal, including attorney fees and witness fees, be paid to the
firefighter or his or her beneficiary by the opposing party.
(b) When a determination involving the presumption established in
this section is appealed to any court and the final decision allows the
claim for benefits, the court shall order that all reasonable costs of
the appeal, including attorney fees and witness fees, be paid to the
firefighter or his or her beneficiary by the opposing party.
(c) When reasonable costs of the appeal must be paid by the
department under this section in a state fund case, the costs shall be
paid from the accident fund and charged to the costs of the claim.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 This act applies retroactively to January 1,
2010.