SB 924

Abstract

Workers' compensation; post-traumatic stress disorder;law-enforcement officers and firefighters. Provides that post-traumaticstress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter iscompensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act if a mental healthprofessional examines a law-enforcement officer or firefighter and diagnosesthe individual as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result ofthe individual's undergoing a qualifying event, which includes an eventoccurring in the line of duty on or after July 1, 2020, in which alaw-enforcement officer or firefighter views a deceased minor, witnesses thedeath of a person or an incident involving the death of a person, witnesses aninjury to a person who subsequently dies, has physical contact with and treatsan injured person who subsequently dies, transports an injured person whosubsequently dies, or witnesses a traumatic physical injury that results in theloss of a vital body part or a vital body function that results in permanentdisfigurement of the victim. Other conditions for compensability include (i) ifthe post-traumatic stress disorder resulted from the law-enforcement officer orfirefighter acting in the line of duty and, in the case of a firefighter, suchfirefighter complied with certain federal Occupational Safety and Health Actstandards; (ii) if the law-enforcement officer's or firefighter's undergoing aqualifying event was a substantial factor in causing his post-traumatic stress disorder;(iii) if such qualifying event, and not another event or source of stress, wasthe primary cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder; and (iv) if thepost-traumatic stress disorder did not result from any disciplinary action,work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination,retirement, or similar action of the officer or firefighter. The measureestablishes procedural requirements on employers that contest a claim for suchbenefits. The measure also establishes requirements for resilience andself-care technique training.