HP1159, LD 1600, item 1, An Act To Support E-9-1-1 Dispatchers and Corrections Officers Diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

An Act To Support E-9-1-1 Dispatchers and Corrections Officers Diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 39-A MRSA §201, sub-§3-A, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 294, §2, is amended to read:

B. The employee is a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, E-9-1-1 dispatcher, firefighter or emergency medical services person and is diagnosed by an allopathic physician or an osteopathic physician licensed under Title 32, chapter 48 or chapter 36, respectively, with a specialization in psychiatry or a psychologist licensed under Title 32, chapter 56 as having post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted from work stress, that the work stress was extraordinary and unusual compared with that experienced by the average employee and the work stress and not some other source of stress was the predominant cause of the post-traumatic stress disorder, in which case the post-traumatic stress disorder is presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of the worker's employment. This presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. For purposes of this paragraph, "law enforcement officer," "corrections officer," "firefighter" and "emergency medical services person" have the same meaning as in section 328-A, subsection 1. For the purposes of this paragraph, "E-9-1-1 dispatcher" means a person who receives calls made to the E-9-1-1 system and dispatches emergency services. "E-9-1-1 dispatcher" includes an emergency medical dispatcher as defined in Title 32, section 85-A, subsection 1, paragraph D.

By January 1, 2022, the board shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters that includes an analysis of the number of claims brought under this paragraph, the portion of those claims that resulted in a settlement or award of benefits and the effect of the provisions of this paragraph on costs to the State and its subdivisions. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Human Resources and the Department of Public Safety shall assist the board in developing the report, and the board shall seek the input of an association, the membership of which consists exclusively of counties, municipalities and other political or administrative subdivisions, in the development of the report.

This paragraph is repealed October 1, 2022.

summary

This bill adds corrections officers and E-9-1-1 dispatchers to the list of employees for whom there is a rebuttable presumption under the laws governing workers' compensation that when the employee is diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist as having post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from work stress that was extraordinary and unusual, the post-traumatic stress disorder is presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of the worker's employment.

HP1159 LD 1600	Session - 129th Maine Legislature		LR 2273 Item 1
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