2023 Utah Code › Title 34A - Utah Labor Code › Chapter 3 - Utah Occupational Disease Act › Section 113 - Presumption of workers' compensation benefits for firefighters.

Affected by 63I-2-234 on 1/1/2025
Effective 5/3/2023
34A-3-113.
Presumption of workers' compensation benefits for firefighters -- Study.
(1) As used in this section:
(a)
(i) "Firefighter" means a member, including a volunteer member, as described in Subsection 67-20-2(10)(b)(ii), or a member paid on call, of a fire department or other organization that provides fire suppression and other fire-related service who is responsible for or is in a capacity that includes responsibility for the extinguishment of fires.
(ii) "Firefighter" does not include a person whose job description, duties, or responsibilities do not include direct involvement in fire suppression.
(b) "Presumptive cancer" means one or more of the following cancers:
(i) pharynx;
(ii) esophagus;
(iii) lung; and
(iv) mesothelioma.
(2) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer meets the requirements of Subsection (3), there is a rebuttable presumption that:
(a) the presumptive cancer was contracted arising out of and in the course of employment; and
(b) the presumptive cancer was not contracted by a willful act of the firefighter.
(3) To be entitled to the rebuttable presumption described in Subsection (2), the firefighter shall:
(a) during the time of employment as a firefighter, undergo annual physical examinations;
(b) have been employed as a firefighter for eight years or more and regularly responded to firefighting or emergency calls within the eight-year period; and
(c) if the firefighter has used tobacco, provide documentation from a physician that indicates that the firefighter has not used tobacco for the eight years preceding reporting the presumptive cancer to the employer or division.
(4) A presumption established under this section may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.
(5) If a firefighter who contracts a presumptive cancer is employed as a firefighter 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 risk of the presumptive cancer are liable under this chapter under Section 34A-3-105.
(6) A cause of action subject to the presumption under this section is considered to arise on the date that the employee:
(a) suffers disability from the occupational disease;
(b) knows, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that the occupational disease is caused by employment; and
(c) files a claim as provided in Section 34A-3-108.
(7)
(a) The division shall conduct a study to determine whether cancers other than the cancers listed in Subsection (1)(b) are commonly contracted in the course of a firefighter's employment.
(b) In conducting the study, the division shall:
(i) consider cancer latency periods; and
(ii) consult with:
(A) associations representing firefighters;
(B) fire departments; and
(C) the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health created in Section 53B-30-203.
(c) Before November 30, 2024, the division shall provide a report to the Business and Labor Interim Committee summarizing the results of the study and any recommendations for legislation.
Amended by Chapter 25, 2023 General Session
Amended by Chapter 364, 2023 General Session