CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2758
Chapter 234, Laws of 2020
66TH LEGISLATURE
2020 REGULAR SESSION
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE--911 EMERGENCY DISPATCH PERSONNEL--POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2020
Passed by the House February 18, 2020
  Yeas 97  Nays 0
LAURIE JINKINS

Speaker of the House of Representatives
Passed by the Senate March 6, 2020
  Yeas 48  Nays 0
CYRUS HABIB

President of the Senate
CERTIFICATE
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2758 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.
BERNARD DEAN

Chief Clerk
Chief Clerk
Approved March 31, 2020 10:56 AM
FILED
March 31, 2020
JAY INSLEE

Governor of the State of Washington
Secretary of State
State of Washington

SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2758

Passed Legislature - 2020 Regular Session
State of Washington
66th Legislature
2020 Regular Session
ByHouse Labor & Workplace Standards (originally sponsored by Representatives Corry, Pettigrew, Chandler, Davis, Eslick, McCaslin, Dent, Morgan, Gildon, Lekanoff, and Pollet)
READ FIRST TIME 02/07/20.
AN ACT Relating to recognizing posttraumatic stress disorders of 911 emergency dispatch personnel; and amending RCW 51.08.142.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 51.08.142 and 2018 c 264 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department shall adopt a rule pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW that claims based on mental conditions or mental disabilities caused by stress do not fall within the definition of occupational disease in RCW 51.08.140.
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, the rule adopted under subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to occupational disease claims resulting from posttraumatic stress disorders of firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030(((16)))(17) (a), (b), (c), and (h) 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, and law enforcement officers as defined in RCW 41.26.030(((18)))(19) (b), (c), and (e), and public safety telecommunicators who receive calls for assistance and dispatch emergency services.
(b) For firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030(((16)))(17) (a), (b), (c), and (h) 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, and law enforcement officers as defined in RCW 41.26.030(((18)))(19) (b), (c), and (e) hired after June 7, 2018, and public safety telecommunicators hired after the effective date of this section, (a) of this subsection only applies if the firefighter or law enforcement officer or public safety telecommunicators, as a condition of employment, has submitted to a psychological examination administered by a psychiatrist licensed in the state of Washington under chapter 18.71 RCW or a psychologist licensed in the state of Washington under chapter 18.83 RCW that ruled out the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder from preemployment exposures. If the employer does not provide the psychological examination, (a) of this subsection applies.
(c) Posttraumatic stress disorder for purposes of this subsection (2) is not considered an occupational disease if the disorder is directly attributed to disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, termination, or similar action taken in good faith by an employer.
(d) "Public safety telecommunicators" means individuals who receive and respond to telephone or other electronic requests for emergency assistance, such as law enforcement, fire, and medical services, and dispatch appropriate emergency responders.
Passed by the House February 18, 2020.
Passed by the Senate March 6, 2020.
Approved by the Governor March 31, 2020.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 31, 2020.
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