Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2005

Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends Federal law to provide that, with regard to an employee in fire protection activities: (1) heart disease, lung disease, specified cancers and infectious diseases shall be presumed to be proximately caused by the employee's employment; (2) 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; and (3) such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 697 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 697

  To amend title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that 
 disability of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused 
  by certain conditions is presumed to result from the performance of 
                         such employee's duty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 2005

 Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia (for herself and Mrs. Capps) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education 
                           and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that 
 disability of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused 
  by certain conditions is presumed to result from the performance of 
                         such employee's duty.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RELATED CAUSE OF 
              DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 
              PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 8102 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) With regard to an employee in fire protection activities, 
a disease specified in paragraph (2) shall be presumed to be 
proximately caused by the employment of such employee. 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) The diseases specified in this paragraph are the following:
            ``(A) Heart disease.
            ``(B) Lung disease.
            ``(C) 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) Prostate cancer.
                    ``(ix) Testicular cancer.
                    ``(x) Cancer of the digestive system.
                    ``(xi) Colon cancer.
                    ``(xii) Liver cancer.
                    ``(xiii) Skin cancer.
                    ``(xiv) Breast cancer.
                    ``(xv) Lung cancer.
            ``(D) The following infectious diseases:
                    ``(i) Tuberculosis.
                    ``(ii) Hepatitis A, B, or C.
                    ``(iii) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
                    ``(iv) Diphtheria.
                    ``(v) Hemorrhagic fever.
                    ``(vi) Meningococcal disease.
                    ``(vii) Rabies.
                    ``(viii) Any uncommon infectious disease the 
                contraction of which the Secretary of Labor determines 
                to be related to the hazards to which an employee in 
                fire protection activities may be subject.
    ``(3) The term `employee in fire protection activities' means an 
employee, including a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical 
technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous materials 
worker, who--
            ``(A) is trained in fire suppression, has the legal 
        authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; and
            ``(B) is engaged in the prevention, control, and 
        extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations 
        where life, property, or the environment is at risk.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--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.
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