HB 2229

Abstract

Amends provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act and the Workers' Occupational Diseases Act creating certain rebuttable presumptions regarding certain conditions of a firefighter, emergency medical technician (EMT), or paramedic by: deleting language including bloodborne pathogens and tuberculosis as conditions to which those provisions apply; adding language making those provisions applicable to an EMT or paramedic cross trained as a firefighter (rather than any EMT or paramedic); and making other changes in the wording of those provisions. Adds language providing that any condition or impairment of health of an employee employed as a firefighter, EMT, or paramedic resulting directly or indirectly from any bloodborne pathogen or tuberculosis resulting in any disability to the employee shall be rebuttably presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employee's firefighting, EMT, or paramedic employment and shall be rebuttably presumed to be causally connected to the hazards or exposures of the employment, subject to specified conditions.