Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022

II Calendar No. 485 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1116 [Report No. 117–146] To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activi- ties caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance of such employees duty, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 14, 2021 Mr. CARPER (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KING, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. FISCHER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. WARREN, Mr. OSSOFF, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. DURBIN, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance of such employees duty, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1116 RS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firefighters 4 Fairness Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RE- 6 LATED CAUSE OF DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR 7 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE PROTECTION 8 ACTIVITIES. 9 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 8101 of title 5, United 10 States Code, is amended— 11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 12 (19); 13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 14 graph (20) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(21) ‘employee in fire protection activi- 17 ties’ means a firefighter, paramedic, emergency 18 medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance 19 personnel, or hazardous material worker, who— 20 ‘‘(A) is trained in fire suppression; 21 ‘‘(B) has the legal authority and re- 22 sponsibility to engage in fire suppression; 23 ‘‘(C) is engaged in the prevention, 24 control, and extinguishment of fires or re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1116 RS sponse to emergency situations where life, 1 property, or the environment is at risk; 2 and 3 ‘‘(D) performs such activities as a pri- 4 mary responsibility of his or her job.’’. 5 (b) PRESUMPTION RELATING TO EMPLOYEES IN 6 FIRE PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.—Section 8102 of title 5, 7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(c)(1) With regard to an employee in fire protection 10 activities, a disease specified in paragraph (3) shall be pre- 11 sumed to be proximately caused by the employment of 12 such employee, subject to the length of service require- 13 ments specified. The disability or death of an employee 14 in fire protection activities due to such a disease shall be 15 presumed to result from personal injury sustained while 16 in the performance of such employee’s duty. Such pre- 17 sumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evi- 18 dence from the employing agency. 19 ‘‘(2) Such presumptions apply only if the employee 20 in fire protection activities is diagnosed with the disease 21 for which presumption is sought within 10 years of the 22 last active date of employment as an employee in fire pro- 23 tection activities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1116 RS ‘‘(3) The following diseases shall be presumed to be 1 proximately caused by the employment of the employee in 2 fire protection activities: 3 ‘‘(A) If the employee has been employed for a 4 minimum of 5 years in aggregate as an employee in 5 fire protection activities: 6 ‘‘(i) Heart disease. 7 ‘‘(ii) Lung disease. 8 ‘‘(iii) The following cancers: 9 ‘‘(I) Brain cancer. 10 ‘‘(II) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic 11 systems. 12 ‘‘(III) Bladder cancer. 13 ‘‘(IV) Kidney cancer. 14 ‘‘(V) Testicular cancer. 15 ‘‘(VI) Cancer of the digestive system. 16 ‘‘(VII) Skin cancer. 17 ‘‘(VIII) Cancer of the respiratory sys- 18 tem. 19 ‘‘(IX) Breast cancer. 20 ‘‘(iv) Any other cancer the contraction of 21 which the Secretary of Labor through regula- 22 tions determines to be related to the hazards to 23 which an employee in fire protection activities 24 may be subject. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1116 RS ‘‘(B) Regardless of the length of time an em- 1 ployee in fire protection activities has been em- 2 ployed, any communicable disease that has been de- 3 termined to be a pandemic by the World Health Or- 4 ganization or the United States Centers for Disease 5 Control and Prevention, or any chronic infectious 6 disease, the contraction of which the Secretary of 7 Labor through regulations determines to be related 8 to the hazards to which an employee in fire protec- 9 tion activities may be subject.’’. 10 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 11 section shall apply to a covered disability or death that 12 occurs on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firefighters 15 Fairness Act of 2022’’. 16 SEC. 2. CERTAIN ILLNESSES AND DISEASES PRESUMED TO 17 BE WORK-RELATED CAUSE OF DISABILITY OR 18 DEATH FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 19 PROTECTION ACTIVITIES. 20 (a) PRESUMPTION RELATING TO EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 21 PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 81 of 23 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting 24 after section 8143a the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1116 RS ‘‘§ 8143b. Employees in fire protection activities 1 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE IN FIRE PROTECTION ACTIVI- 3 TIES.—The term ‘employee in fire protection activi- 4 ties’ means an employee employed as a firefighter, 5 paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue 6 worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material 7 worker who— 8 ‘‘(A) is trained in fire suppression; 9 ‘‘(B) has the legal authority and responsi- 10 bility to engage in fire suppression; 11 ‘‘(C) is engaged in the prevention, control, 12 and extinguishment of fires or response to emer- 13 gency situations in which life, property, or the 14 environment is at risk, including the prevention, 15 control, suppression, or management of wildland 16 fires; and 17 ‘‘(D) performs the activities described in 18 subparagraph (C) as a primary responsibility of 19 the job of the employee. 20 ‘‘(2) RULE.—The term ‘rule’ has the meaning 21 given the term in section 804. 22 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 23 the Secretary of Labor. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1116 RS ‘‘(b) CERTAIN ILLNESSES AND DISEASES DEEMED TO 1 BE PROXIMATELY CAUSED BY EMPLOYMENT IN FIRE PRO- 2 TECTION ACTIVITIES.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For a claim under this sub- 4 chapter of disability or death of an employee who has 5 been employed for not less than 5 years in aggregate 6 as an employee in fire protection activities, an illness 7 or disease specified on the list established under para- 8 graph (2) shall be deemed to be proximately caused 9 by the employment of that employee, if the employee 10 is diagnosed with that illness or disease not later than 11 10 years after the last active date of employment as 12 an employee in fire protection activities. 13 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF INITIAL LIST.—There 14 is established under this section the following list of 15 illnesses and diseases: 16 ‘‘(A) Bladder cancer. 17 ‘‘(B) Brain cancer. 18 ‘‘(C) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 19 ‘‘(D) Colorectal cancer. 20 ‘‘(E) Esophageal cancer. 21 ‘‘(F) Kidney cancer. 22 ‘‘(G) Leukemias. 23 ‘‘(H) Lung cancer. 24 ‘‘(I) Mesothelioma. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1116 RS ‘‘(J) Multiple myeloma. 1 ‘‘(K) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 2 ‘‘(L) Prostate cancer. 3 ‘‘(M) Skin cancer (melanoma). 4 ‘‘(N) A sudden cardiac event or stroke suf- 5 fered while, or not later than 24 hours after, en- 6 gaging in the activities described in subsection 7 (a)(1)(C). 8 ‘‘(O) Testicular cancer. 9 ‘‘(P) Thyroid cancer. 10 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONS TO THE LIST.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 12 ‘‘(i) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Sec- 13 retary shall— 14 ‘‘(I) in consultation with the Di- 15 rector of the National Institute for Oc- 16 cupational Safety and Health and any 17 advisory committee determined appro- 18 priate by the Secretary, periodically 19 review the list established under para- 20 graph (2); and 21 ‘‘(II) if the Secretary determines 22 that the weight of the best available sci- 23 entific evidence warrants adding an 24 illness or disease to the list established 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1116 RS under paragraph (2), as described in 1 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 2 make such an addition through a rule 3 that clearly identifies that scientific 4 evidence. 5 ‘‘(ii) CLASSIFICATION.—A rule issued 6 by the Secretary under clause (i) shall be 7 considered to be a major rule for the pur- 8 poses of chapter 8. 9 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR DETERMINATION.—The 10 Secretary shall add an illness or disease to the 11 list established under paragraph (2) based on the 12 weight of the best available scientific evidence 13 that there is a significant risk to employees in 14 fire protection activities of developing that illness 15 or disease. 16 ‘‘(C) AVAILABLE EXPERTISE.—In deter- 17 mining significant risk for purposes of subpara- 18 graph (B), the Secretary may accept as authori- 19 tative, and may rely upon, recommendations, 20 risk assessments, and scientific studies (includ- 21 ing analyses of National Firefighter Registry 22 data pertaining to Federal firefighters) by the 23 National Institute for Occupational Safety and 24 Health, the National Toxicology Program, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1116 RS National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 1 and Medicine, and the International Agency for 2 Research on Cancer.’’. 3 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 4 MENT.—The table of sections for subchapter I of chap- 5 ter 81 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 6 inserting after the item relating to section 8143a the 7 following: 8 ‘‘8143b. Employees in fire protection activities.’’. (3) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 9 this subsection shall apply to claims for compensation 10 filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 11 (b) RESEARCH COOPERATION.—Not later than 120 12 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 13 of Labor (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 14 shall establish a process by which an employee in fire pro- 15 tection activities, as defined in subsection (a) of section 16 8143b of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection 17 (a) of this section (referred to in this section as an ‘‘em- 18 ployee in fire protection activities’’), filing a claim under 19 chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by 20 this Act, relating to an illness or disease on the list estab- 21 lished under subsection (b)(2) of such section 8143b (re- 22 ferred to in this section as ‘‘the list’’), as the list may be 23 updated under such section 8143b, shall be informed about, 24 and offered the opportunity to contribute to science by vol- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1116 RS untarily enrolling in, the National Firefighter Registry or 1 a similar research or public health initiative conducted by 2 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 3 (c) AGENDA FOR FURTHER REVIEW.—Not later than 4 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 5 shall— 6 (1) evaluate the best available scientific evidence 7 of the risk to an employee in fire protection activities 8 of developing breast cancer, gynecological cancers, and 9 rhabdomyolysis; 10 (2) add breast cancer, gynecological cancers, and 11 rhabdomyolysis to the list, by rule in accordance with 12 subsection (b)(3) of section 8143b of title 5, United 13 States Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section, 14 if the Secretary determines that such evidence sup- 15 ports that addition; and 16 (3) submit to the Committee on Homeland Secu- 17 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the 18 Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 19 Representatives a report containing— 20 (A) the findings of the Secretary after mak- 21 ing the evaluation required under paragraph (1); 22 and 23 (B) the determination of the Secretary 24 under paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:35 Sep 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1116.RS S1116 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1116 RS (d) REPORT ON FEDERAL WILDLAND FIRE- 1 FIGHTERS.— 2 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 3 ‘‘Federal wildland firefighter’’ means an individual 4 occupying a position in the occupational series devel- 5 oped pursuant to section 40803(d)(1) of the Infra- 6 structure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 7 6592(d)(1)). 8 (2) STUDY.—The Secretary of the Interior and 9 the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the 10 Director of the National Institute for Occupational 11 Safety and Health, shall conduct a comprehensive 12 study on long-term health effects that Federal 13 wildland firefighters who are eligible to receive com- 14 pensation for work injuries under chapter 81 of title 15 5, United States Code, as amended by this Act, e [Text truncated for display. 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