Title: Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2019
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2019
This bill provides federal worker's compensation to firefighters who contract certain illnesses as a result of their service.
Specifically, the bill provides that (1) heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers of federal employees employed in fire protection activities for at least 5 years is presumed to be proximately caused by such employment if the employee is diagnosed with the disease within 10 years of their employment in fire protection activities; and (2) the disability or death of the employee due to such disease is presumed to result from personal injury sustained in the performance of duty. These presumptions also apply to fire protection employees who contract any uncommon infectious disease, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, or C, or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
An employee in fire protection activities is a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must examine the implementation of this bill and appropriate scientific and medical data related to the health risks of firefighting.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1942 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1942

    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 the duty of the employee, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2019

Mr. Carper (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Schatz, Mr. King, Mr. Brown, 
    Mr. Coons, Mr. Bennet, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Tester, and Ms. Baldwin) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 the duty of the employee, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RELATED CAUSE OF 
              DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 
              PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Definition.--Section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (18), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (19), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (20), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) `employee in fire protection activities' means an 
        employee--
                    ``(A) serving as a firefighter, a paramedic, an 
                emergency medical technician, a rescue worker, 
                ambulance personnel, or a hazardous material worker; 
                and
                    ``(B) who--
                            ``(i) is trained in fire suppression;
                            ``(ii) has the legal authority and 
                        responsibility to engage in fire suppression;
                            ``(iii) is engaged in the prevention, 
                        control, and extinguishment of fires or 
                        response to emergency situations in which life, 
                        property, or the environment is at risk; and
                            ``(iv) performs such activities as a 
                        primary responsibility of the duty of the 
                        employee.''.
    (b) Presumption Relating to Employees in Fire Protection 
Activities.--Section 8102 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), and any length of service 
limitation under paragraph (3), with respect to an employee in fire 
protection activities--
            ``(A) a disease described in paragraph (3) shall be 
        presumed to be proximately caused by the employment of the 
        employee; and
            ``(B) the disability or death of the employee due to a 
        disease described in paragraph (3) shall be presumed to result 
        from personal injury sustained while in the performance of the 
        duty of the employee.
    ``(2) With respect to any presumption described in paragraph (1)--
            ``(A) the presumption shall apply with respect to an 
        employee in fire protection activities only if the employee is 
        diagnosed with the disease with respect to which the 
        presumption is sought not later than 10 years after the last 
        day on which the employee is an active employee in fire 
        protection activities; and
            ``(B) the presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of 
        the evidence.
    ``(3) The following diseases shall be presumed to be proximately 
caused by the employment of an employee in fire protection activities:
            ``(A) If the employee has been employed for not less than 5 
        years in the aggregate as an employee in fire protection 
        activities:
                    ``(i) Heart disease.
                    ``(ii) Lung disease.
                    ``(iii) The following cancers:
                            ``(I) Brain cancer.
                            ``(II) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic 
                        systems.
                            ``(III) Leukemia.
                            ``(IV) Lymphoma (except Hodgkin's disease).
                            ``(V) Multiple myeloma.
                            ``(VI) Bladder cancer.
                            ``(VII) Kidney cancer.
                            ``(VIII) Testicular cancer.
                            ``(IX) Cancer of the digestive system.
                            ``(X) Colon cancer.
                            ``(XI) Liver cancer.
                            ``(XII) Skin cancer.
                            ``(XIII) Lung cancer.
                            ``(XIV) Breast cancer.
                    ``(iv) Any other cancer, the contraction of which 
                the Secretary of Labor, by rule, determines to be 
                related to the hazards to which an employee in fire 
                protection activities may be subject.
            ``(B) Without regard to the length of time that an employee 
        in fire protection activities has been employed, any uncommon 
        infectious disease, including--
                    ``(i) tuberculosis;
                    ``(ii) hepatitis A, B, or C;
                    ``(iii) the human immunodeficiency virus (commonly 
                known as `HIV'); and
                    ``(iv) any other uncommon infectious disease, the 
                contraction of which the Secretary of Labor, by rule, 
                determines to be related to the hazards to which an 
                employee in fire protection activities may be 
                subject.''.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health shall--
            (1) examine the implementation of this Act, and the 
        amendments made by this Act, and appropriate scientific and 
        medical data relating to the health risks associated with 
        firefighting; and
            (2) submit to Congress a report, which shall include--
                    (A) an analysis of the claims for compensation made 
                under the amendments made by this Act;
                    (B) an analysis of the available research relating 
                to the health risks associated with firefighting; and
                    (C) recommendations for any administrative or 
                legislative actions necessary to ensure that those 
                diseases most associated with firefighting are included 
                in the presumptions under subsection (c) of section 
                8102 of title 5, United States Code, as added by 
                subsection (b) of this section.
    (d) Application.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
to a disability or death that occurs on or after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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