Bill > S1624

This bill amends Chapter 32 of the General Laws to establish a presumption that if a full-time uniformed member of a paid police department, fire department, or municipal emergency medical service develops a contagious disease resulting in disability or death, and they passed a physical examination at the time of entry or subsequent to entry which did not reveal the condition, the disease is presumed to have been contracted in the line of duty. This presumption applies to diseases that may result from exposure to blood and other bodily fluids, excluding the common cold. The bill also applies this presumption to specific diseases like COVID-19, Hepatitis A, B, or C, Tuberculosis, and HIV, as well as any other contagious diseases found by the Department of Public Health to have a statistically significant correlation with these professions. Eligible individuals have up to 5 years after last serving in these positions to apply for benefits, which would be payable from the date they last received regular compensation.