An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Corrections Officers Who Suffer Certain Injuries, Impairments or Medical Conditions
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1385
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: DESCHAMBAULT, PICKETT, BELLOWS, CYRWAY, DIAMOND, COOPER, COSTAIN, SHARPE
Amends: 39-A MRSA §328-C, 39-A MRSA §328-D

Legislative Document
No. 1385
S.P. 429
In Senate, March 26, 2019
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Corrections Officers Who 
Suffer Certain Injuries, Impairments or Medical Conditions
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator DESCHAMBAULT of York.
Cosponsored by Representative PICKETT of Dixfield and
Senators: BELLOWS of Kennebec, CYRWAY of Kennebec, DIAMOND of Cumberland, 
Representatives: COOPER of Yarmouth, COSTAIN of Plymouth, SHARPE of Durham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA Pt. 14 is enacted to read:
PART 14
BENEFITS FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICERS
CHAPTER 651
SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFIT
§5501.  Supplemental benefit for corrections officer
1.  Corrections officer; definition.  "Corrections officer," as used in this chapter, has 
the same meaning as in section 2801-A, subsection 2.
2.  Supplemental benefit.  A corrections officer who while in the performance of 
duty suffers bodily injury resulting from acts of a patient or prisoner in the custody of the 
jail, prison or state correctional facility where the corrections officer works and as a result 
of the injury is entitled to benefits under Title 39-A is entitled to a supplemental benefit in 
the amount of the difference between the weekly cash benefits to which the corrections 
officer is entitled under Title 39-A and the corrections officer's regular salary.
3.  Not chargeable against sick leave.  Any absence from work resulting from the 
injury described in subsection 2 may not be charged against available sick leave credits.
Sec. 2.  39-A MRSA §328-C is enacted to read:
§328-C.  Impairment of health caused by infectious disease suffered by a corrections 
officer
Impairment of health by infectious disease suffered by a corrections officer is 
governed by this section.
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Corrections officer" means an employee of the State or of a county whose place 
of employment is a correctional facility as defined in Title 34-A, section 1001, 
subsection 6 or a county or regional jail under Title 30-A, chapter 13 and who is 
responsible for the care, custody or direct supervision of a person confined in a jail, 
prison or state correctional facility pursuant to an order of a court or as a result of an 
arrest.
B.  "Infectious disease" means a disease resulting from the presence and activity of a 
pathogenic microbial agent, including, but not limited to, bacteria, viruses, fungi or 
parasites.
2.  Presumption.  If a corrections officer successfully passed a physical examination 
upon entry into service as a corrections officer, or subsequently successfully passed a 
physical examination, and the examination or examinations failed to reveal any evidence 
of a condition of impairment of health caused by an infectious disease, then a condition of 
impairment of health caused by an infectious disease resulting in total or partial disability 
or death of that corrections officer is presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty, 
unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence.
Sec. 3.  39-A MRSA §328-D is enacted to read:
§328-D.  Heart disease or hypertension suffered by a corrections officer
Heart disease or hypertension suffered by a corrections officer is governed by this 
section.
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Corrections officer" means an employee of the State or of a county whose place 
of employment is a correctional facility as defined in Title 34-A, section 1001, 
subsection 6 or a county or regional jail under Title 30-A, chapter 13 and who is 
responsible for the care, custody or direct supervision of a person confined in a jail, 
prison or state correctional facility pursuant to an order of a court or as a result of an 
arrest.
B.  "Heart disease" means a structural or functional abnormality of the heart, or of the 
blood vessels supplying the heart, that impairs the heart's normal functioning.
C.  "Hypertension" means a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure in 
the arteries is elevated.
2.  Presumption.  If a corrections officer who contracts heart disease or hypertension 
has met the requirements of subsections 3, 6 and 7, there is a rebuttable presumption that 
the corrections officer contracted the heart disease or hypertension in the course of 
employment as a corrections officer and as a result of that employment, that sufficient 
notice of the heart disease or hypertension has been given and that the heart disease or 
hypertension was not occasioned by any willful act of the corrections officer to cause the 
heart disease or hypertension.
3.  Medical tests.  In order to be entitled to the presumption in subsection 2, during 
the time of employment as a corrections officer, the corrections officer must have 
undergone a standard, medically acceptable test for evidence of the heart disease or 
hypertension for which the presumption is sought or evidence of the medical conditions 
derived from the heart disease or hypertension, and that test did not indicate the presence 
or condition of heart disease or hypertension.
4.  Liability if services performed for more than one employer.  If a corrections 
officer who contracts heart disease or hypertension was employed as a corrections officer 
by more than one employer and qualifies for the presumption under subsection 2, and that 
presumption has not been rebutted, the employer and insurer at the time of the last 
substantial exposure to the risk of the heart disease or hypertension are liable under this 
Part.
5.  Retired corrections officer.  This section applies to a corrections officer who is 
diagnosed with heart disease or hypertension within 10 years of the corrections officer's 
last active employment as a corrections officer or prior to attaining 70 years of age, 
whichever occurs first.
6.  Length of service.  In order to qualify for the presumption under subsection 2, a 
corrections officer must have been employed as a corrections officer for at least 5 years.
7.  Written verification.  In order to qualify for the presumption under subsection 2, 
a corrections officer must sign a written affidavit declaring, to the best of the corrections 
officer's knowledge and belief, that the corrections officer's diagnosed heart disease or 
hypertension is not prevalent among the corrections officer's blood-related parents, 
grandparents or siblings and that the corrections officer has no substantial lifetime habits 
or personal activities that are associated with the corrections officer's diagnosed heart 
disease or hypertension.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing corrections officers.
1.  It provides a supplemental benefit paid to a corrections officer who is injured by 
the acts of a patient or prisoner of the jail, prison or state correctional facility where the 
corrections officer works if the injury qualifies the corrections officer for workers' 
compensation benefits.
2.  It amends the workers' compensation laws by including a rebuttable presumption 
that a condition of impairment of health caused by an infectious disease resulting in total 
or partial disability or death of a corrections officer is presumed to have been suffered in 
the line of duty, unless it is shown otherwise.
3.  It amends the workers' compensation laws by including a rebuttable presumption 
that heart disease or hypertension suffered by a corrections officer was caused in the 
course of employment as a corrections officer, like the provisions of current law that 
establish a rebuttable presumption that cancer contracted by a firefighter was caused by 
exposure to carcinogens in the course of the firefighter's firefighting duties.