89R10913 KKR-D
By: Cole H.B. No. 2414
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of certain first responders for
workers' compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder
under the workers' compensation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 408.006(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Section 408.0061 [504.019], a mental or
emotional injury that arises principally from a legitimate
personnel action, including a transfer, promotion, demotion, or
termination, is not a compensable injury under this subtitle.
SECTION 2. Section 504.019, Labor Code, is transferred to
Subchapter A, Chapter 408, Labor Code, redesignated as Section
408.0061, Labor Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 408.0061 [504.019]. COVERAGE FOR POST-TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER FOR CERTAIN FIRST RESPONDERS. (a) In this section:
(1) "First responder" means an individual employed by
this state, a political subdivision of this state, or an
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
Education Code, who is:
(A) a peace officer under Article 2A.001, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(B) an individual [a person] licensed under
Chapter 773, Health and Safety Code, as an emergency care
attendant, emergency medical technician, advanced emergency
medical technician [technician-intermediate], emergency medical
technician-paramedic, or licensed paramedic; or
(C) a firefighter subject to certification by the
Texas Commission on Fire Protection under Chapter 419, Government
Code, whose principal duties are firefighting and aircraft crash
and rescue.
(2) "Post-traumatic stress disorder" means a disorder
that meets the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress
disorder specified by the American Psychiatric Association in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth
edition, or a later edition adopted by the commissioner of workers'
compensation.
(b) It is presumed that post-traumatic [Post-traumatic]
stress disorder suffered by a first responder is a compensable
injury under this subtitle unless it is shown by a preponderance of
the evidence [only if it is based on a diagnosis] that:
(1) the disorder is caused by one or more events
occurring outside [in] the course and scope of the first
responder's employment; and
(2) no [the preponderance of the evidence indicates
that the] event or events that occurred in the course and scope of
the first responder's employment were a producing cause of the
disorder.
(c) For purposes of this subtitle, the date of injury for
post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by a first responder is the
date on which the first responder first knew or should have known
that the disorder may be related to the first responder's
employment.
SECTION 3. Section 409.021(a-3), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a-3) An insurance carrier is not required to comply with
Subsection (a) if the claim results from an employee's disability
or death for which a presumption is claimed to be applicable under
Section 408.0061 of this code or Subchapter B, Chapter 607,
Government Code, and, not later than the 15th day after the date on
which the insurance carrier received written notice of the injury,
the insurance carrier has provided the employee and the division
with a notice that describes all steps taken by the insurance
carrier to investigate the injury before the notice was given and
the evidence the carrier reasonably believes is necessary to
complete its investigation of the compensability of the
injury. The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to
implement this subsection.
SECTION 4. Section 415.021(c-2), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c-2) In determining whether to assess an administrative
penalty involving a claim in which the insurance carrier provided
notice under Section 409.021(a-3), the commissioner shall consider
whether:
(1) the employee cooperated with the insurance
carrier's investigation of the claim;
(2) the employee timely authorized access to the
applicable medical records before the insurance carrier's deadline
to:
(A) begin payment of benefits; or
(B) notify the division and the employee of the
insurance carrier's refusal to pay benefits; and
(3) the insurance carrier conducted an investigation
of the claim, applied the statutory presumptions under Section
408.0061 of this code or Subchapter B, Chapter 607, Government
Code, and expedited medical benefits under Section 504.055.
SECTION 5. Section 501.001(5-a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(5-a) "Post-traumatic stress disorder" has the
meaning assigned by Section 408.0061 [504.019].
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a claim for workers' compensation benefits based on a compensable
injury that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A
claim based on a compensable injury that occurs before that date is
governed by the law as it existed on the date the compensable injury
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.