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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 313
AN ACT CONCERNING ADOPTION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE TASK FORCE TO STUDY CANCER RELIEF BENEFITS FOR
FIREFIGHTERS.
SUMMARY
This bill (1) establishes a rebuttable presumption that a paid or
volunteer firefighter diagnosed with cancer got the disease in the course
of employment due to exposures specific to duties performed as a
firefighter and (2) makes the illness covered under workers’
compensation law. To qualify for workers’ compensation, the cancer
must result in death or temporary or permanent total or partial
disability and be a condition of cancer affecting the brain or skin, or any
of the following systems: skeletal, digestive, endocrine, respiratory,
lymphatic, reproductive, hematological, or urinary.
The bill sets six conditions that a firefighter must meet to qualify for
the presumption including, for example, time served as a firefighter,
annual checkups, and whether the firefighter regularly used proper
protective equipment. It specifically states that the presumption can
only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that the firefighter
did not meet one of the qualifying conditions.
The bill also:
1. requires the Labor Department’s (DOL) Division of Occupational
Safety and Health (CONN-OSHA) to adopt the International
Association of Fire Chiefs’ Best Practices for Preventing
Firefighter Cancer (§ 1);
2. requires the Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) to (a)
maintain a record of all firefighters’ workers’ compensation
claims made due to a cancer diagnosis and (b) report a summary
of the records to the Labor Committee each year by January 1 (§ 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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3);
3. repeals language that bars a firefighter from receiving benefits
from the existing firefighters cancer relief program or any other
wage replacement program while also receiving workers’
compensation benefits for work-related cancer (§ 4);
4. appropriates $1.2 million to the firefighters cancer relief account
established in law to provide funds for the firefighters cancer
relief program (§ 10);
5. replaces the term “employee” with “claimant” in the law that
requires employers to continue employee insurance coverage
while he or she is eligible for, or receiving workers’ compensation
benefits, and in doing so expands the law to also apply to the
employee’s surviving spouse or other dependents (§ 5);
6. requires the comptroller to conduct a feasibility study on
providing pension benefits to firefighters in circumstances when
the required pension service years are not met due to early
retirement resulting from a qualifying cancer diagnosis (§ 6); and
7. requires a volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance
company to comply with the state’s Occupational Safety and
Health Act (CONN-OSHA) as an employer, unless it can show
that it is under federal OSHA jurisdiction (§§ 7-9).
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage, except July 1, 2022, for the
provisions (1) creating the rebuttable presumption and (2) requiring
CONN-OSHA to adopt the international best practices.
§ 2 — WORKERS’ COMPENSATION REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION
Presumption Qualification Requirements (§ 2(b))
If a firefighter meets the bill’s required qualifications, there is a
presumption that his or her cancer diagnosis is work related.
Service. To qualify, the firefighter must have worked at least five
years on or after February 1, 2017, as: 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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1. an interior structural firefighter at a paid municipal, state, or
volunteer fire department; or
2. a local fire marshal, deputy fire marshal, fire investigator, fire
inspector, or another class of inspector or investigator whose
position meets minimum qualifications under state law set by the
State Fire Marshal and the Codes and Standards Committee at
the time the cancer is discovered or should have been discovered.
Under the bill, an “interior structural firefighter” is a person who
performs fire suppression, rescue, or both, inside buildings or enclosed
structures that are involved in a fire beyond the incipient state as
defined in federal regulations (i.e., a fire at the beginning stages that can
be extinguished by portable fire extinguishers or small hose systems
without the need for protective clothing or breathing safety apparatus
(29 C.F.R. 1910.155)).
Grounds for Rebutting the Presumption. The bill’s presumption can
only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of any of the
following:
1. the firefighter worked less than five years of service on or after
February 1, 2017, as service is defined above;
2. the firefighter had a physical examination upon entry into
service, or subsequent to entry, that revealed evidence of the
claimed cancer or a propensity for such cancer;
3. the firefighter failed to have annual physical examinations
subsequent to entry into service;
4. the firefighter used cigarettes or any other tobacco products, as
defined in state law, within 15 years of the diagnosis of the
claimed cancer;
5. the firefighter has not used respiratory protection and other
personal protective equipment as described in the federal OSHA
standards for five consecutive years; or
6. the claimed cancer is not one that is known to result from 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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exposure to heat, radiation, or a known carcinogen as determined
by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the
National Toxicology Program of the United States Department of
Health and Human Services.
Five-Year Window After Service as a Firefighter (§ 2(c))
The bill allows a firefighter who is no longer actively serving, but who
would otherwise fall within the provisions of the bill’s presumption, to
apply for workers compensation benefits no later than five years after
the date the person last served as a firefighter.
Ongoing Testing (§ 2(d))
A firefighter, or other individual, who is eligible for benefits under
the bill must, as a condition of receiving the benefits, submit to annual
physical examinations, including blood testing, during the firefighter’s
or other individual’s active service and for five years after the date the
person last served.
Under the bill, workers’ compensation will not cover the cost of any
physical examination required under this provision.
Separate Insurance Policy to Address Cancer Illnesses (§ 2(e))
The bill also permits a fire department to purchase a separate private
insurance policy to cover firefighters’ illnesses or injuries arising out of,
and in the course of, employment as an alternative to workers’
compensation coverage for work related to cancer. The policy must
provide benefits that are comparable to, or better than, workers’
compensation. (The bill does not specify how an employer would
determine whether the policy’s benefits are comparable to or better than
workers’ compensation.)
§ 1 – CONN-OSHA PRACTICES
In addition to requiring CONN-OSHA to adopt the International
Association of Fire Chiefs’ Best Practices for Preventing Firefighter
Cancer, the bill also requires the same agency to adopt a practice
requiring at least two sets of turnout gear to be provided to firefighters.
The bill states that this would ensure clean gear is worn while any 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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contaminated gear is properly cleaned.
§§ 4 & 10 – FIREFIGHTERS CANCER RELIEF PROGRAM
Under current law, the firefighters cancer relief program is
authorized to provide wage replacement benefits to eligible paid and
volunteer firefighters diagnosed with cancer. The law established a
cancer relief subcommittee of the Connecticut State Firefighters
Association to award the program benefits.
The bill repeals language that bars a firefighter from receiving
benefits from the existing firefighters cancer relief program or any other
wage replacement program while also receiving workers’ compensation
benefits for a work-related cancer diagnosis.
The bill also appropriates, from the General Fund, $1.2 million for FY
23 to the existing firefighters cancer relief account set up to provide
funds for the firefighters cancer relief program. The funds must be used
for retroactive pay for the years the $400,000 annual appropriation was
deferred.
§ 5 – HEALTH INSURANCE AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
CLAIMANTS
Current worker’s compensation law requires an employer that
provides accident, health, or life insurance to its employees to continue
to provide the insurance while the employee is eligible for, or receiving,
workers’ compensation benefits.
The bill replaces the term “employee” with “claimant” and in doing
so expands the law to also apply to the surviving spouse or other
dependents of the employee.
Under a separate workers’ compensation law, a surviving spouse or
other dependent is eligible for burial benefits and weekly compensation
calculated as a percentage of the deceased employee’s wages (CGS § 31-
306).
§ 6 – PENSION STUDY REGARDING EARLY RETIREMENT DUE TO
CANCER 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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The bill requires the comptroller to study the feasibility of providing
pension benefits in circumstances when a firefighter’s years of service
do not meet the full pension requirement because of an early retirement
due to a qualifying cancer diagnosis. The study must examine the
feasibility of implementing a prorated benefit for early retirement
situations.
The comptroller must report the findings and any recommendations
to the Labor Committee (The bill does not provide a deadline for the
study.).
§§ 7-9 – VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES AND CONN -OSHA
The bill requires a volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance
company to comply with Conn-OSHA as an employer unless it can
show that it is under federal OSHA jurisdiction. By law, Conn-OSHA
governs workplace safety for the state and its political subdivisions as
employers; so, certain non-governmental volunteer fire and ambulance
companies are not considered to be under its jurisdiction (see
BACKGROUND). They are, generally, not covered by federal OSHA
unless they are privately chartered and have paid employees.
The bill also limits the penalty that may be imposed on volunteer fire
departments and ambulance companies for non-serious violations of
certain Conn-OSHA laws and regulations. Current law allows the
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to impose up to a
$1,000 civil penalty on an employer cited for a non-serious violation. The
bill instead requires it to issue a written warning for the first non-serious
violation by a volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance
company.
By law, a serious violation is one that (1) could result in a substantial
probability of death or serious physical harm and (2) the employer
should know about by exercising reasonable diligence (CGS § 31-382(b)
& (l)).
BACKGROUND
Related Case 2022SB-00313-R000367-BA.DOCX
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In Mayfield v. Goshen Volunteer Fire Company (301 Conn. 739 (2011)),
the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that a privately chartered
volunteer fire company is not a political subdivision of the state (and
not subject to Conn-OSHA jurisdiction) if it is not controlled by a
municipality or municipal officials.
Related Bill
HB 5247 (File 76), favorably reported by the Labor Committee on
March 10, 2022, includes identical provisions to sections 7-9 of the bill.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 12 Nay 0 (03/22/2022)