Bill > H2851

This bill proposes an amendment to Massachusetts General Laws that creates a presumption of line-of-duty disability or death benefits for full-time uniformed police, fire, and emergency medical service personnel who contract certain contagious diseases. Under the new provision, if a public safety worker contracts a qualifying contagious disease and previously passed a physical examination that did not reveal the condition, the illness will be presumed to have been contracted in the line of duty. This presumption applies to diseases that can result from exposure to blood and bodily fluids, specifically including COVID-19, Hepatitis A, B, C, Tuberculosis, HIV, and other diseases determined by the Department of Public Health to have a statistically significant correlation with public safety work. To be eligible, the worker must have regularly responded to service calls, and they must discover the condition within five years of their last active service. The benefits would be payable from the date of the employee's last regular compensation, and the presumption can be challenged only if there is clear evidence of non-service connected risk factors. The bill does not prevent workers from also applying for benefits under existing sections of the law, thus providing additional protection for public safety workers exposed to contagious diseases during their service.