After being amended on both the House and Senate Floors, Senator Gatti’s SB 107, which adds PTSD to injuries covered by workers’ compensation for certain public employees, passed. The House vote was 99 to 0 and Senate was 34 to 0.

Amendments included: Specify that the posttraumatic stress injury shall be caused by an event occurring in the course and scope of employment and which the preponderance of evidence indicates that the event was a substantial contributing factor; Remove the determination and factors of whether the evidence presented to determine if an employee has a posttraumatic stress injury has successfully rebutted the presumptions provided for posttraumatic stress injury; and Add that a posttraumatic stress injury that arises solely from a legitimate personnel action such as a transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination, is not a compensable injury under present law.

The newest digest indicates that while present law requires the state fire marshal to obtain workers’ compensation coverage for volunteer members who participate in the normal functions of the fire company, the new law will also now require upon the purchase of a new policy or renewal of an existing policy, that any workers’ compensation policy which provides coverage for a volunteer member of a fire company, pursuant to present law, will include coverage for posttraumatic stress injury.

The new law provides that any volunteer member of a fire company who is diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist with posttraumatic stress injury, either during his period of voluntary service or thereafter, shall be presumed, prima facie, to have a disease or infirmity connected with his volunteer service.

Once diagnosed with posttraumatic stress injury the volunteer member affected or his survivors shall be entitled to all rights and benefits as granted by present law to one suffering from an occupational disease.

The new law also provides that, except as provided in proposed law, any local emergency medical services personnel, any employee of a local police department, or any local fire employee who is diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist with posttraumatic stress injury, either during employment or thereafter, shall be presumed, prima facie, to have a disease or infirmity connected with his employment.

An employee of the division of state police who is diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist with posttraumatic stress injury, either during employment or thereafter,
shall be presumed, prima facie, to have a disease or infirmity connected with his employment for purposes of workers’ compensation benefits.

Once diagnosed with posttraumatic stress injury the employee of the division of state police affected or his survivors shall be entitled to all rights and benefits as granted by state workers’ compensation law, as service connected in the line of duty, regardless of whether the employee is employed at the time of diagnosis.

The new law provides that a posttraumatic stress injury that arises solely from a legitimate personnel action such as a transfer, promotion, demotion, or termination, is not a compensable injury pursuant to present law. The law is set to become effective August 1, 2019.