SB 170 — Relating to compensable diseases of certain firefighters covered by workers' compensation

SB170WEST HFINVIRGINIA AMMcOTheLEGISLATURE CommitteeREGULAR onSESSION FinanceEnrolled movesSenate toBill amend170 theBy billSenators onWeld, pageTakubo, one,Phillips, sectionTarr, one,Oliverio, lineDeeds, two,Swope, followingHamilton, theQueen, wordsWoodrum, “shallStuart, beJeffries, paid”, by striking out the words “from the Workers' Compensation Fund” and theGrady comma;And,On[Passed pageMarch four,8, section2024; one, line eighty-nine, following the words “by rule of the”, by striking out the words “board of managers” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “Insurance Commissioner and Industrial Council”. ADOPTEDREJECTED

in effect from passage] Enr SB 170 AN ACT to amend and reenact §23-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to compensable diseases of certain firefighters covered by workers' compensation;

establishing rebuttable presumption of injury arising out of, and in the course of, employment for certain covered firefighters that develop bladder cancer, mesothelioma, and testicular cancer;

providing for conditions of the presumption;

and providing that the rebuttable presumption expires on July 1, 2027, unless extended by the Legislature.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 4.

DISABILITY AND DEATH BENEFITS.

§23-4-1.

To whom compensation fund disbursed;

occupational pneumoconiosis and other occupational diseases included in "injury" and "personal injury";

definition of occupational pneumoconiosis and other occupational diseases;

rebuttable presumption for cardiovascular injury and disease or pulmonary disease for firefighters.

(a) Subject to the provisions and limitations elsewhere in this chapter, workers' compensation benefits shall be paid to the employees of employers subject to this chapter who have received personal injuries in the course of and resulting from their covered employment or to the dependents, if any, of the employees in case death has ensued, according to the provisions hereinafter made:

Provided, That in the case of any employees of the state and its political subdivisions, including:

Counties;

municipalities;

cities;

towns;

any separate corporation or instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities or towns as permitted by law;

any corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or towns;

any public corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more counties, cities or towns;

any agency or organization established by the Department of Mental Health, or its successor agencies, for the provision of community health or intellectual and developmental disability services and which is supported, in whole or in part, by state, county, or municipal funds;

board, agency, commission, department, or 1 Enr SB 170 spending unit, including any agency created by rule of the Supreme Court of Appeals, who have received personal injuries in the course of, and resulting from, their covered employment, the employees are ineligible to receive compensation while the employees are at the same time, and for the same reason, drawing sick leave benefits.

The state employees may only use sick leave for nonjob-related absences consistent with sick leave use and may draw workers’ compensation benefits only where there is a job-related injury.

This proviso does not apply to permanent benefits:

Provided, however, That the employees may collect sick leave benefits until receiving temporary total disability benefits.

The Division of Personnel shall propose rules for legislative approval pursuant to §29A-3-1 et seq.

of this code relating to use of sick leave benefits by employees receiving personal injuries in the course of, and resulting from, covered employment:

Provided further, That if an employee is injured in the course of and resulting from covered employment and the injury results in lost time from work and the employee, for whatever reason, uses or obtains sick leave benefits and subsequently receives temporary total disability benefits for the same time period, the employee may be restored sick leave time taken by him or her as a result of the compensable injury by paying to his or her employer the temporary total disability benefits received or an amount equal to the temporary total disability benefits received.

The employee shall be restored sick leave time on a day-for-day basis which corresponds to temporary total disability benefits paid to the employer:

And provided further, That since the intent of this subsection is to prevent an employee of the state or any of its political subdivisions from collecting both temporary total disability benefits and sick leave benefits for the same time period, nothing in this subsection prevents an employee of the state or any of its political subdivisions from electing to receive either sick leave benefits or temporary total disability benefits, but not both.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, the terms "injury" and "personal injury" include occupational pneumoconiosis and any other occupational disease, as hereinafter defined, and workers' compensation benefits shall be paid to the employees of the employers in whose employment the employees have been exposed to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis 2 Enr SB 170 or other occupational disease and have contracted occupational pneumoconiosis or other occupational disease, or have suffered a perceptible aggravation of an existing pneumoconiosis or other occupational disease, or to the dependents, if any, of the employees, in case death has ensued, according to the provisions hereinafter made:

Provided, That compensation is not payable for the disease of occupational pneumoconiosis, or death resulting from the disease, unless the employee has been exposed to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis in the State of West Virginia over a continuous period of not less than two years during the 10 years immediately preceding the date of his or her last exposure to such hazards, or for any five of the 15 years immediately preceding the date of his or her last exposure.

An application for benefits on account of occupational pneumoconiosis shall set forth the name of the employer or employers and the time worked for each.

The commission may allocate to and divide any charges resulting from such claim among the employers by whom the claimant was employed for as much as 60 days during the period of three years immediately preceding the date of last exposure to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis.

The allocation shall be based upon the time and degree of exposure withemployer.

(c) For the purposes of this chapter, disability or death resulting from occupational pneumoconiosis, as defined in subsection (d) of this section, shall be treated and compensated as an injury by accident.

(d) Occupational pneumoconiosis is a disease of the lungs caused by the inhalation of minute particles of dust over a period of time due to causes and conditions arising out of, and in the course of, the employment.

The term "occupational pneumoconiosis" includes, but is not limited to, such diseases as silicosis, anthracosilicosis, coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, commonly known as black lung or miner's asthma, silicotuberculosis (silicosis accompanied by active tuberculosis of the lungs), coal worker's pneumoconiosis accompanied by active tuberculosis of the lungs, asbestosis, siderosis, anthrax, and any and all other dust diseases of the lungs and conditions and diseases caused by occupational pneumoconiosis which are not specifically designated in this 3 Enr SB 170 section meeting the definition of occupational pneumoconiosis set forth in this subsection.