US Congress House Bill 1035 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on February 24 2015 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2015-04-29 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
Pending: House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2015 Provides that: (1) specified diseases, including heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers of federal employees employed in fire protection activities for a minimum of 5 years shall be presumed to be proximately caused by such employment if the employee is diagnosed with the disease within 10 years of the last active date of employment in fire protection activities; (2) the disability or death of such an employee due to such a disease shall be presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the performance of duty; and (3) such presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. Allows such presumption for fire protection employees who contract any uncommon infectious disease, including but not limited to tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, or C, or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), regardless of the length of employment of such employee. Defines an "employee in fire protection activities" as a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who: (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility of his or her job. Directs the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the implementation of this Act and appropriate scientific and medical data related to the health risks associated with firefighting and to report to Congress on: (1) an analysis of the injury claims made under this Act, (2) an analysis of the available research related to the health risks associated with firefighting, and (3) recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions necessary to ensure that those diseases most associated with firefighting are included in the presumption created by this Act.

Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2015

Rep. Lois Capps [D-CA]

Rep. Patrick Meehan [R-PA]

Rep. Richard Hanna [R-NY]

Sen. Chris Van Hollen [D-MD]

Date	Chamber	Action
2015-04-29	House	Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
2015-02-24	House	Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
2015-02-24	House	Introduced in House

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1035/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr1035/BILLS-114hr1035ih.pdf