On February 28, 2024, Associate Policy Director Brianna January testified before the House Economic Matters Committee in opposition to HB 190- Workers’ Compensation- Occupational Disease Presumptions- First Responders. This bill would categorize Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a presumed occupational disease eligible for workers’ compensation for a lengthy list of public sector workers.
Counties honor and support our first responders, who, without question, experience challenging work requirements. However, HB 190 creates an unreasonable and unenforceable standard. The bill skips past the process to determine if an individual suffers from PTSD because of their professional capacity and instead applies an effectively irrebuttable presumption that all such cases are work-related.
HB 190’s cross-file, SB 1069, was heard on March 5, 2024 in the Senate Finance Committee. Brianna January testified in opposition to this bill.
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