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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
February 28, 2024
AS AMENDED
SENATE BILL NO. 1457 By: Treat and Rosino of the
Senate
and
Kannady of the House
[ workers’ compensation - mental-health related
injuries - benefits - insurance coverage - payment -
effective date ]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 85A O.S. 2021, Section 13, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 13. A. 1. A mental injury or illness is not a
compensable injury unless cau sed by a physical injury to the
employee, and shall not be considered an injury arising out of and
in the course and scope of employment or compensable unless
demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence ; provided, however,
that this physical injury li mitation shall not apply to any victim
of a crime of violence , a law enforcement officer , paid or volunteer
firefighter, or emergency medical technician employed on a full -time
basis by a municipality, county, or this state, or a voluntary
firefighter who suffers post-traumatic stress disorder, as defined
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in subsection E of this section, while responding to an emergency.
For the purposes of this section, such employee shall be referred to
as a first responder .
2. No mental injury or illnes s under this section shall be
compensable unless it is also diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist
or psychologist and unless the diagnosis of the condition meets the
criteria established in the most current issue of the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
B. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act the
Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act, where a claim is for
mental injury or illness, the employee shall be limited to twenty -
six (26) weeks of disability benefits unless it is shown by clea r
and convincing evidence that benefits should continue for a set
period of time, not to exceed a total of fifty-two (52) weeks. If
the treating physician is of the opinion that the first responder is
temporarily unable to perform his or her job or an y alternative work
offered by the employer, he or she shall be entitled to receive
compensation which is th e greater of the weekly benefit provided for
in a collective bargaining agreement or according to the policy of
the employer, or seventy percent (70%) of t he injured employee’s
average weekly wage not to exceed the state a verage weekly wage. If
the employee has a temporary pension benefit available at no
additional cost to the employee and the benefit is equal to or
greater than the temporary awar d in this system, the employer may
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elect to exercise the temporary pension benefit. In no event shall
disability benefits extend beyond fifty-two (52) weeks.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a first
responder who receives benefits provided herein for a mental injury
or illness not accompanied by a physical injury who, after reaching
maximum medical improvement, is unable to perform the esse ntial
functions of his or her employment position and who is not eligib le
to receive a disability retire ment through his or her pension or
retirement system shall be eligible to be awarded permanent
disability benefits not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars
($50,000.00) as provided for in this act.
3. a. In cases where death results dire ctly from the mental
injury or illness within a period of one (1) year,
compensation shall be paid to the dependents as
provided in other death cases under this act the
Administrative Workers ’ Compensation Act.
b. Death directly or indirectly related to the mental
injury or illness occurring one (1) ye ar or more from
the incident resulting in the mental injury or illness
shall not be a compensable injury.
C. 1. In the event th at the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation
Commission finds that a first r esponder has suffered post -traumatic
stress disorder not accompanied by a physical injury, the employer
shall provide reasonable and necessary medical treatment for such
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injury, subject to the Oklahoma Wor kers’ Compensation Commission’s
Fee Schedule, for a period not longer than one (1) year. The
employer shall not be responsible for medical tr eatment in the form
of prescription medicine in excess of Te n Thousand Dollars
($10,000.00).
2. During any period in which a first responder is temporarily
unable to perform his or her job, the empl oyer shall pay to maintain
health insurance coverage for the first responder, if such health
insurance was in effect on the date of the injury.
D. For the purposes of this section, claim payments for
volunteer firefighters shall be paid pursuant to the Volunteer
Firefighter Group Insurance Pool .
E. For the purposes of this section :
1. “Post-traumatic stress disorder ” means an injury or
condition in which a first responder has been exposed to a tra umatic
event and:
a. has experienced, witnessed , or was confronted with an
event that involved actual or t hreatened death or
serious injury, or a threat to the phys ical integrity
of others, and the response involved fear,
helplessness, or horror ,
b. the traumatic event is persistently re -experienced in
one or more of the following ways:
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(1) recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections
of the event,
(2) recurrent distressing d reams,
(3) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were
recurring,
(4) intense psychological distress at exposure to
cues that symbolize an aspect of the traumatic
event, or
(5) physiological reactivity on exposure to cues that
symbolize an aspect of the tra umatic event,
c. persistent avoidance of stimuli associ ated with the
trauma and numbing of general respon siveness such as
efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversat ions
associated with the trauma , markedly diminished
interest or participation in significa nt activities,
or a feeling of detachment or estrangement from
others,
d. persistent symptoms of increased arousal such as
difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or
outbursts of anger, difficult y concentrating, or
hypervigilance,
e. the duration of the disturbance is more than one (1)
month, and
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f. the disturbance causes clinically significant distress
or impairment in social, occupational, or other
important areas of functioning ;
2. “Volunteer firefighter ” means a person who is enrolled as a
member of a volunteer fire department with two or less sala ried
firefighters and who serves in such capacity without receivin g a
regular salary; and
3. “Emergency medical technician ” means a person who holds a
license as an emergency medical tec hnician, an intermediate or
advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedi c, issued by the
State Department of Health to perform emergency medical services in
accordance with the Oklahoma Emergency R esponse Systems Development
Act and the rules and standards promulgated by the State
Commissioner of Health.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective January 1, 2025.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
February 28, 2024 - DO PASS