I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2499 

To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption 

that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance 

of such employees duty, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 14, 2021 

Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself, Mr. BACON, Mr. TAKANO, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to 

create a presumption that a disability or death of a 

Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by 

any of certain diseases is the result of the performance 

of such employees duty, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firefighters 

5 Fairness Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RE2 LATED CAUSE OF DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR 

3 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE PROTECTION 

4 ACTIVITIES. 

5 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 8101 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (19); 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (20) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(21) ‘employee in fire protection activi13 ties’ means a firefighter, paramedic, emergency 

14 medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance 

15 personnel, or hazardous material worker, who— 

16 ‘‘(A) is trained in fire suppression; 

17 ‘‘(B) has the legal authority and re18 sponsibility to engage in fire suppression; 

19 ‘‘(C) is engaged in the prevention, 

20 control, and extinguishment of fires or re21 sponse to emergency situations where life, 

22 property, or the environment is at risk; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(D) performs such activities as a pri25 mary responsibility of his or her job.’’. 


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1 (b) PRESUMPTION RELATING TO EMPLOYEES IN

2 FIRE PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.—Section 8102 of title 5, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(c)(1) With regard to an employee in fire protection 

6 activities, a disease specified in paragraph (3) shall be pre7 sumed to be proximately caused by the employment of 

8 such employee, subject to the length of service require9 ments specified. The disability or death of an employee 

10 in fire protection activities due to such a disease shall be 

11 presumed to result from personal injury sustained while 

12 in the performance of such employee’s duty. Such pre13 sumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evi14 dence from the employing agency. 

15 ‘‘(2) Such presumptions apply only if the employee 

16 in fire protection activities is diagnosed with the disease 

17 for which presumption is sought within 10 years of the 

18 last active date of employment as an employee in fire pro19 tection activities. 

20 ‘‘(3) The following diseases shall be presumed to be 

21 proximately caused by the employment of the employee in 

22 fire protection activities: 

23 ‘‘(A) If the employee has been employed for a 

24 minimum of 5 years in aggregate as an employee in 

25 fire protection activities: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Heart disease. 

2 ‘‘(ii) Lung disease. 

3 ‘‘(iii) The following cancers: 

4 ‘‘(I) Brain cancer. 

5 ‘‘(II) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic 

6 systems. 

7 ‘‘(III) Bladder cancer. 

8 ‘‘(IV) Kidney cancer. 

9 ‘‘(V) Testicular cancer. 

10 ‘‘(VI) Cancer of the digestive system. 

11 ‘‘(VII) Skin cancer. 

12 ‘‘(VIII) Cancer of the respiratory sys13 tem. 

14 ‘‘(IX) Breast cancer. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Any other cancer the contraction of 

16 which the Secretary of Labor through regula17 tions determines to be related to the hazards to 

18 which an employee in fire protection activities 

19 may be subject. 

20 ‘‘(B) Regardless of the length of time an em21 ployee in fire protection activities has been em22 ployed, any communicable disease that has been de23 termined to be a pandemic by the World Health Or24 ganization or the United States Centers for Disease 

25 Control and Prevention, or any chronic infectious 


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1 disease, the contraction of which the Secretary of 

2 Labor through regulations determines to be related 

3 to the hazards to which an employee in fire protec4 tion activities may be subject.’’. 

5 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 

6 section shall apply to a covered disability or death that 

7 occurs on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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