1.This Act may be cited as the
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of
2011
.
2.Certain diseases
presumed to be work-related cause of disability or death for Federal employees
in fire protection activities
(a)Section
8101 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking and
at the end of paragraph (19), by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(20) and inserting ; and
, and by adding at the end the
following:
(21)employee in
fire protection activities means a firefighter, paramedic, emergency
medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material
worker, who—
(A)is trained in fire
suppression;
(B)has the legal
authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression;
(C)is engaged in the
prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency
situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and
(D)performs such
activities as a primary responsibility of his or her
job.
.
(b)Presumption
relating to employees in fire protection activitiesSection 8102
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
(c)(1)With regard to an
employee in fire protection activities, a disease specified in paragraph (3)
shall be presumed to be proximately caused by the employment of such employee,
subject to the length of service requirements specified. The disability or
death of an employee in fire protection activities due to such a disease shall
be presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the performance
of such employee’s duty. Such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance
of the evidence.
(2)Such presumptions apply only if the
employee in fire protection activities is diagnosed with the disease for which
presumption is sought within 10 years of the last active date of employment as
an employee in fire protection activities.
(3)The following diseases shall be
presumed to be proximately caused by the employment of the employee in fire
protection activities:
(A)If the employee has been employed for
a minimum of 5 years in aggregate as an employee in fire protection
activities:
(i)Heart disease.
(ii)Lung disease.
(iii)The following cancers:
(I)Brain cancer.
(II)Cancer of the blood or lymphatic
systems.
(III)Leukemia.
(IV)Lymphoma (except Hodgkin’s
disease).
(V)Multiple myeloma.
(VI)Bladder cancer.
(VII)Kidney cancer.
(VIII)Testicular cancer.
(IX)Cancer of the digestive system.
(X)Colon cancer.
(XI)Liver cancer.
(XII)Skin cancer.
(XIII)Lung cancer.
(iv)Any other cancer the contraction
of which the Secretary of Labor through regulations determines to be related to
the hazards to which an employee in fire protection activities may be
subject.
(B)Regardless of the length of time an
employee in fire protection activities has been employed, any uncommon
infectious disease, including but not limited to tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B,
or C, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and any other uncommon infectious
disease the contraction of which the Secretary of Labor through regulations
determines to be related to the hazards to which an employee in fire protection
activities may be
subject.
.
(c)Not
later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention shall examine the implementation of this Act and appropriate
scientific and medical data related to the health risks associated with
firefighting and submit to Congress a report which shall include—
(1)an analysis of the
injury claims made under this Act;
(2)an analysis of the
available research related to the health risks associated with firefighting;
and
(3)recommendations
for any administrative or legislative actions necessary to ensure that those
diseases most associated with firefighting are included in the presumption
created by this Act.
(d)The amendment made by this section applies to an injury that
is first diagnosed or a death that occurs, on or after the date of enactment of
this Act.