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28	28	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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30	30	1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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32	32	HOUSE BILL 1842 By: Lepak
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40	40	AS INTRODUCED
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42	42	An Act relating to workers ' compensation; amending
43	43	85A O.S. 2021, Section 13, as amended by Section 1,
44	44	Chapter 285, O.S.L. 2024 (85A O.S . Supp. 2024,
45	45	Section 13), which relates to mental health -related
46	46	injuries; directing employer of first responders to
47	47	collect service weapon while undergoing treatment;
48	48	directing for CLEET certification to be suspended
49	49	until the first responder is able to perform their
50	50	job; and providing an effective date.
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58	58	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
59	59	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 85A O.S. 2021, Section 13, as
60	60	amended by Section 1, Chapter 285, O.S.L. 2024 (85A O.S. S upp. 2024,
61	61	Section 13), is amended to read as follows:
62	62	Section 13. A. 1. A mental injury or illness is not a
63	63	compensable injury unless caused by a physical injury to the
64	64	employee, and shall not be considered an injury arising out of and
65	65	in the course and scope of employment or compensable unless
66	66	demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence; provided, however,
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93	93	that this physical injury limitation shall not apply to any victim
94	94	of a crime of violence, a law enforcement officer, paid or volunteer
95	95	firefighter, or emergency medical technician employed on a full -time
96	96	basis by a municipality, county, or this state, or a volunteer
97	97	firefighter, who suffers post -traumatic stress disorder, as defined
98	98	in subsection E of this section, while responding to an emergency .
99	99	For the purposes of this section, such employee shall be referred to
100	100	as a first responder.
101	101	2. No mental injury or illness under this section shall be
102	102	compensable unless it is also diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist
103	103	or psychologist and unless the diag nosis of the condition meets the
104	104	criteria established in the most current issue of the Diagnostic and
105	105	Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
106	106	B. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of the
107	107	Administrative Workers ' Compensation Act, where a claim is for
108	108	mental injury or illness, the employee shall be limited to twenty -
109	109	six (26) weeks of disability benefits unless it is shown by clear
110	110	and convincing evidence that benefits should continue for a set
111	111	period of time, not to exceed a total of fifty -two (52) weeks. If
112	112	the treating physician is of the opinion that the first responder is
113	113	temporarily unable to perform his or her job or any alternative work
114	114	offered by the employer, he or she shall be entitled to receive
115	115	compensation which is the greater of the weekly benefit provided for
116	116	in a collective bargaining agreement or according to the policy of
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143	143	the employer, or seventy percent (70%) of the injured employee 's
144	144	average weekly wage, not to exceed the state average weekly wage.
145	145	If the employee has a temporary pen sion benefit available at no
146	146	additional cost to the employee and the benefit is equal to or
147	147	greater than the temporary award in this system, the employer may
148	148	elect to exercise the temporary pension benefit. In no event shall
149	149	disability benefits extend bey ond fifty-two (52) weeks.
150	150	2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this sect ion, a first
151	151	responder who receives benefits provided herein for a mental injury
152	152	or illness not accompanied by a physical injury who, after reaching
153	153	maximum medical improvement, is unable to perform the essential
154	154	functions of his or her employment position and who is not eligible
155	155	to receive a disability retirement through his or her pension or
156	156	retirement system shall be eligible to be awarded permanent
157	157	disability benefits not to e xceed Fifty Thousand Dollars
158	158	($50,000.00) as provided for in this act.
159	159	3. a. In cases where death results directly from the mental
160	160	injury or illness within a period of one (1) year,
161	161	compensation shall be paid to the dependents as
162	162	provided in other death ca ses under the Administrative
163	163	Workers' Compensation Act.
164	164	b. Death directly or indirectly related to the mental
165	165	injury or illness occurring one (1) year or more from
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192	192	the incident resulting in the mental injury or illness
193	193	shall not be a compensable injury.
194	194	C. 1. In the event that the Oklahoma Workers ' Compensation
195	195	Commission finds that a first responder has suffered post -traumatic
196	196	stress disorder not accompanied by a physical injury, the employer
197	197	shall provide reasonable and necessary medical treatment for s uch
198	198	injury, subject to the Oklahoma Workers ' Compensation Commission 's
199	199	Fee Schedule, for a period not longer than one (1) year. The
200	200	employer shall not be responsible for medical treatment in the form
201	201	of prescription medicine in excess of Ten Thousand Doll ars
202	202	($10,000.00).
203	203	2. During any period in which a first responder is temporar ily
204	204	unable to perform his or her job, the employer shall pay to maintain
205	205	health insurance coverage for the first responder, if such health
206	206	insurance was in effect on the date of the injury.
207	207	3. During any period in which the first responder is
208	208	temporarily unable to perform his or her job, the employer shall
209	209	collect the first responder 's service weapon, and the first
210	210	responder's CLEET certification shall be suspended until the firs t
211	211	responder is able to perform his or her job.
212	212	D. For the purposes of this se ction, claim payments for
213	213	volunteer firefighters shall be paid pursuant to the Volunteer
214	214	Firefighter Group Insurance Pool.
215	215	E. For the purposes of this section:
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242	242	1. "Post-traumatic stress disorder" means an injury or
243	243	condition in which a first responder has been exposed to a traumatic
244	244	event and:
245	245	a. has experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an
246	246	event that involved actual or threatened death or
247	247	serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity
248	248	of others, and the response involved fear,
249	249	helplessness, or horror,
250	250	b. the traumatic event is persistently re -experienced in
251	251	one or more of the following ways:
252	252	(1) recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections
253	253	of the event,
254	254	(2) recurrent distressing dreams,
255	255	(3) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event was
256	256	recurring,
257	257	(4) intense psychological distress at exposure to
258	258	cues that symbolize an aspect of the traumatic
259	259	event, or
260	260	(5) physiological reactivity on exposure to cues that
261	261	symbolize an aspect of the traumatic event,
262	262	c. persistent avoidance of stimuli a ssociated with the
263	263	trauma and numbing of general responsiveness such as
264	264	efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations
265	265	associated with the trauma, markedly diminished
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292	292	interest or participation in significant activities,
293	293	or a feeling of detachment or estrangement from
294	294	others,
295	295	d. persistent symptoms of increased arousal such as
296	296	difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or
297	297	outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, or
298	298	hypervigilance,
299	299	e. the duration of the disturbance is more than one (1)
300	300	month, and
301	301	f. the disturbance causes clinically significant distress
302	302	or impairment in social, occupational, or other
303	303	important areas of functioning;
304	304	2. "Volunteer firefighter " means a person who is enrolled as a
305	305	member of a volunteer fire department with two or less salaried
306	306	firefighters and who serves in such capacity without receiving a
307	307	regular salary; and
308	308	3. "Emergency medical technician " means a person who holds a
309	309	license as an emergency medical technician, an intermediate or
310	310	advanced emergency medical technician, or a paramedic, issued by the
311	311	State Department of Health to perform emergency medical services in
312	312	accordance with the Oklahoma Emergency Response Systems Development
313	313	Act and the rules and standards promulgated by the State
314	314	Commissioner of Health.
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341	341	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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343	343	60-1-10584 MJ 01/07/25

Oklahoma 2025 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB1842 Compare Versions