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North Dakota Senate Bill SB2181

North Dakota 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Dakota Senate Bill SB2181 Compare Versions

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11 25.0544.02000
22 Sixty-ninth
33 Legislative Assembly
44 of North Dakota
55 Introduced by
66 Senators Rummel, Cleary, Hogue
77 Representatives Lefor, Ista
88 A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 65-05 of the North Dakota
99 Century Code, relating to posttraumatic stress disorder duration limits; to amend and reenact
1010 subsection 11 of section 65-01-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to workers'
1111 compensation coverage for posttraumatic stress disorder; to provide for application; and to
1212 provide an expiration date.
1313 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
1414 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Subsection 11 of section 65-01-02 of the North Dakota Century
1515 Code, as effective through August 31, 2028, is amended and reenacted as follows:
1616 11."Compensable injury" means an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of
1717 hazardous employment which must be established by medical evidence supported by
1818 objective medical findings.
1919 a.The term includes:
2020 (1)Disease caused by a hazard to which an employee is subjected in the
2121 course of employment. The disease must be incidental to the character of
2222 the business and not independent of the relation of employer and employee.
2323 Disease includes effects from radiation.
2424 (2)An injury to artificial members.
2525 (3)Injuries due to heart attack or other heart-related disease, stroke, and
2626 physical injury caused by mental stimulus, but only when caused by the
2727 employee's employment with reasonable medical certainty, and only when it
2828 is determined with reasonable medical certainty that unusual stress is at
2929 least fifty percent of the cause of the injury or disease as compared with all
3030 other contributing causes combined. Unusual stress means stress greater
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5858 than the highest level of stress normally experienced or anticipated in that
5959 position or line of work.
6060 (4)Injuries arising out of employer-required or supplied travel to and from a
6161 remote jobsite or activities performed at the direction or under the control of
6262 the employer.
6363 (5)An injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an
6464 employee because of the employee's employment.
6565 (6)A mental or psychological condition caused by a physical injury, but only
6666 when the physical injury is determined with reasonable medical certainty to
6767 be at least fifty percent of the cause of the condition as compared with all
6868 other contributing causes combined, and only when the condition did not
6969 pre-exist the work injury.
7070 (7)Posttraumatic stress disorder, if the injured employee establishes by a
7171 preponderance of the evidence that the condition causing the posttraumatic
7272 stress disorder was extraordinary, based on unusual stress of a greater
7373 dimension than the day-to-day emotional strain and tension experienced by
7474 similarly situated employees.
7575 (a)The mental injury must be:
7676 [1]Diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist;
7777 [2]Meet the criteria established in the "Diagnostic and Statistical
7878 Manual of Mental Disorders", American psychiatric association,
7979 (5th edition, text revision 2022);
8080 [3]Determined not to pre - exist the employment event; and
8181 [4]Determined with reasonable medical certainty to be at least fifty
8282 percent of the cause as compared to all other contributing
8383 causes combined.
8484 (b)The mental injury may not be the result of any of the following actions
8585 taken in good faith by an employer:
8686 [1]A disciplinary action;
8787 [2]A work evaluation;
8888 [3]A job transfer;
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122122 [4]A layoff;
123123 [5]A demotion; or
124124 [6]A termination.
125125 b.The term does not include:
126126 (1)Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public outside of employment
127127 is exposed or preventive treatment for communicable diseases, except the
128128 organization may pay for preventive treatment for an exposure to a
129129 bloodborne pathogen as defined in section 23-07.5-01 occurring in the
130130 course of employment and for exposure to rabies occurring in the course of
131131 employment.
132132 (2)A willfully self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempted suicide, or an
133133 injury caused by the employee's willful intention to injure or kill another.
134134 (3)Any injury caused by the use of intoxicants, including recreational marijuana
135135 use, or the illegal use of controlled substances.
136136 (4)An injury that arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is an
137137 aggressor. This paragraph does not apply to public safety employees,
138138 including law enforcement officers or private security personnel who are
139139 required to engage in altercations as part of their job duties if the altercation
140140 arises out of the performance of those job duties.
141141 (5)An injury that arises out of an illegal act committed by the injured employee.
142142 (6)An injury that arises out of an employee's voluntary nonpaid participation in
143143 any recreational activity, including athletic events, parties, and picnics, even
144144 though the employer pays some or all of the cost of the activity.
145145 (7)Injuries attributable to a pre-existing injury, disease, or other condition,
146146 including when the employment acts as a trigger to produce symptoms in
147147 the pre-existing injury, disease, or other condition unless the employment
148148 substantially accelerates its progression or substantially worsens its
149149 severity. Pain is a symptom and may be considered in determining whether
150150 there is a substantial acceleration or substantial worsening of a pre-existing
151151 injury, disease, or other condition, but pain alone is not a substantial
152152 acceleration or a substantial worsening.
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186186 (8)A nonemployment injury that, although acting upon a prior compensable
187187 injury, is an independent intervening cause of injury.
188188 (9)A latent or asymptomatic degenerative condition, caused in substantial part
189189 by employment duties, which is triggered or made active by a subsequent
190190 injury.
191191 (10)AExcept as otherwise provided in subdivision a, a mental injury arising from
192192 mental stimulus.
193193 SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Subsection 11 of section 65-01-02 of the North Dakota Century
194194 Code, as effective after August 31, 2028, is amended and reenacted as follows:
195195 11."Compensable injury" means an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of
196196 hazardous employment which must be established by medical evidence supported by
197197 objective medical findings.
198198 a.The term includes:
199199 (1)Disease caused by a hazard to which an employee is subjected in the
200200 course of employment. The disease must be incidental to the character of
201201 the business and not independent of the relation of employer and employee.
202202 Disease includes effects from radiation.
203203 (2)An injury to artificial members.
204204 (3)Injuries due to heart attack or other heart-related disease, stroke, and
205205 physical injury caused by mental stimulus, but only when caused by the
206206 employee's employment with reasonable medical certainty, and only when it
207207 is determined with reasonable medical certainty that unusual stress is at
208208 least fifty percent of the cause of the injury or disease as compared with all
209209 other contributing causes combined. Unusual stress means stress greater
210210 than the highest level of stress normally experienced or anticipated in that
211211 position or line of work.
212212 (4)Injuries arising out of employer-required or supplied travel to and from a
213213 remote jobsite or activities performed at the direction or under the control of
214214 the employer.
215215 (5)An injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an
216216 employee because of the employee's employment.
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250250 (6)A mental or psychological condition caused by a physical injury, but only
251251 when the physical injury is determined with reasonable medical certainty to
252252 be at least fifty percent of the cause of the condition as compared with all
253253 other contributing causes combined, and only when the condition did not
254254 pre-exist the work injury.
255255 (7)Posttraumatic stress disorder, if the injured employee establishes by a
256256 preponderance of the evidence that the condition causing the posttraumatic
257257 stress disorder was extraordinary, based on unusual stress of a greater
258258 dimension than the day-to-day emotional strain and tension experienced by
259259 similarly situated employees.
260260 (a)The mental injury must be:
261261 [1]Diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist;
262262 [2]Meet the criteria established in the "Diagnostic and Statistical
263263 Manual of Mental Disorders", American psychiatric association,
264264 (5th edition, text revision 2022)
265265 [3]Determined not to pre - exist the employment event; and
266266 [4]Determined with reasonable medical certainty to be at least fifty
267267 percent of the cause as compared to all other contributing
268268 causes combined.
269269 (b)The mental injury may not be the result of any of the following actions
270270 taken in good faith by an employer:
271271 [1]A disciplinary action;
272272 [2]A work evaluation;
273273 [3]A job transfer;
274274 [4]A layoff;
275275 [5]A demotion; or
276276 [6]A termination.
277277 b.The term does not include:
278278 (1)Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public outside of employment
279279 is exposed or preventive treatment for communicable diseases, except the
280280 organization may pay for preventive treatment for an exposure to a
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314314 bloodborne pathogen as defined in section 23-07.5-01 occurring in the
315315 course of employment and for exposure to rabies occurring in the course of
316316 employment.
317317 (2)A willfully self-inflicted injury, including suicide or attempted suicide, or an
318318 injury caused by the employee's willful intention to injure or kill another.
319319 (3)Any injury caused by the use of intoxicants, including recreational marijuana
320320 use, or the illegal use of controlled substances.
321321 (4)An injury that arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is an
322322 aggressor. This paragraph does not apply to public safety employees,
323323 including law enforcement officers or private security personnel who are
324324 required to engage in altercations as part of their job duties if the altercation
325325 arises out of the performance of those job duties.
326326 (5)An injury that arises out of an illegal act committed by the injured employee.
327327 (6)An injury that arises out of an employee's voluntary nonpaid participation in
328328 any recreational activity, including athletic events, parties, and picnics, even
329329 though the employer pays some or all of the cost of the activity.
330330 (7)Injuries attributable to a pre-existing injury, disease, or other condition,
331331 including when the employment acts as a trigger to produce symptoms in
332332 the pre-existing injury, disease, or other condition unless the employment
333333 substantially accelerates its progression or substantially worsens its
334334 severity. Pain is a symptom and may be considered in determining whether
335335 there is a substantial acceleration or substantial worsening of a pre-existing
336336 injury, disease, or other condition, but pain alone is not a substantial
337337 acceleration or a substantial worsening.
338338 (8)A nonemployment injury that, although acting upon a prior compensable
339339 injury, is an independent intervening cause of injury.
340340 (9)A latent or asymptomatic degenerative condition, caused in substantial part
341341 by employment duties, which is triggered or made active by a subsequent
342342 injury.
343343 (10)AExcept as otherwise provided in subdivision a, a mental injury arising from
344344 mental stimulus.
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378378 SECTION 3. A new section to chapter 65-05 of the North Dakota Century Code is created
379379 and enacted as follows:
380380 Posttraumatic stress disorder duration limits.
381381 Disability benefits payable for posttraumatic stress disorder may not exceed:
382382 1.Thirty-two weeks in duration from first report of injury; or
383383 2.Two claims in an employee's lifetime.
384384 SECTION 4. APPLICATION. This Act applies to injuries sustained on or after August 1,
385385 2025.
386386 SECTION 5. EXPIRATION DATE. This Act is effective through July 31, 2029, and after that
387387 date is ineffective.
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