Senate Bill No. 132–Committee on Commerce and Labor

(On Behalf of Legislative Committee on
Workers’ Compensation)

February 5, 1999

____________

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing benefits for industrial insurance for certain police officers and firemen. (BDR 53-925)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: Yes.

Effect on the State or on Industrial Insurance: Yes.

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

 

AN ACT relating to industrial insurance; providing for the availability of benefits to certain police officers and firemen for exposure to a contagious disease; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1-1 Section 1. Chapter 616A of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto

1-2 a new section to read as follows:

1-3 "Police officer" has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 617.135.

1-4 Sec. 2. NRS 616A.025 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-5 616A.025 As used in chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS,

1-6 unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS

1-7 616A.030 to 616A.360, inclusive, and section 1 of this act have the

1-8 meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

1-9 Sec. 3. NRS 616A.035 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-10 616A.035 1. "Accident benefits" means medical, surgical, hospital or

1-11 other treatments, nursing, medicine, medical and surgical supplies, crutches

1-12 and apparatuses, including prosthetic devices.

1-13 2. The term includes [medical] :

1-14 (a) Medical benefits as defined by NRS 617.130 [and any preventive] ;

1-15 (b) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to an employee

1-16 who is exposed to a contagious disease while providing medical services,

2-1 including emergency medical care, in the course and scope of his

2-2 employment [.] ; and

2-3 (c) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to a police

2-4 officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman who was exposed to a

2-5 contagious disease:

2-6 (1) Upon battery by an offender; or

2-7 (2) While performing the duties of a police officer or fireman,

2-8 if the exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a

2-9 report concerning the exposure pursuant to subsection 1 of section 5 of

2-10 this act.

2-11 3. The term does not include:

2-12 (a) Exercise equipment, a hot tub or a spa for an employee’s home;

2-13 (b) Membership in an athletic or health club;

2-14 (c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.245, a motor vehicle; or

2-15 (d) The costs of operating a motor vehicle provided pursuant to NRS

2-16 616C.245, fees related to the operation or licensing of the motor vehicle or

2-17 insurance for the motor vehicle.

2-18 4. As used in this section, the term:

2-19 (a) "Battery" includes, without limitation, the intentional propelling

2-20 or placing, or the causing to be propelled or placed, of any human

2-21 excrement or bodily fluid upon the person of an employee.

2-22 (b) "Preventive treatment" includes, without limitation, tests to

2-23 determine if an employee has contracted the contagious disease to which

2-24 he was exposed.

2-25 Sec. 4. NRS 616A.265 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-26 616A.265 1. "Injury" or "personal injury" means a sudden and

2-27 tangible happening of a traumatic nature, producing an immediate or

2-28 prompt result which is established by medical evidence, including injuries

2-29 to prosthetic devices. Any injury sustained by an employee while engaging

2-30 in an athletic or social event sponsored by his employer shall be deemed

2-31 not to have arisen out of or in the course of employment unless the

2-32 employee received remuneration for participation in the event.

2-33 2. For the purposes of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS:

2-34 (a) Coronary thrombosis, coronary occlusion, or any other ailment or

2-35 disorder of the heart, and any death or disability ensuing therefrom, shall be

2-36 deemed not to be an injury by accident sustained by an employee arising

2-37 out of and in the course of his employment.

2-38 (b) The exposure of an employee to a contagious disease while

2-39 providing medical services, including emergency medical care, in the

2-40 course and scope of his employment shall be deemed to be an injury by

2-41 accident sustained by the employee arising out of and in the course of his

2-42 employment.

3-1 (c) The exposure to a contagious disease of a police officer or a

3-2 salaried or volunteer fireman who was exposed to the contagious disease:

3-3 (1) Upon battery by an offender; or

3-4 (2) While performing the duties of a police officer or fireman,

3-5 shall be deemed to be an injury by accident sustained by the police officer

3-6 or fireman arising out of and in the course of his employment if the

3-7 exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a report

3-8 concerning the exposure pursuant to subsection 1 of section 5 of this act.

3-9 As used in this paragraph, the term "battery" includes, without

3-10 limitation, the intentional propelling or placing, or the causing to be

3-11 propelled or placed, of any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the

3-12 person of an employee.

3-13 Sec. 5. Chapter 616C of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

3-14 new section to read as follows:

3-15 1. If a police officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman is exposed to

3-16 a contagious disease:

3-17 (a) Upon battery by an offender; or

3-18 (b) While performing the duties of a police officer or fireman,

3-19 the employer of the police officer or fireman shall create and maintain a

3-20 report concerning the exposure that includes, without limitation, the

3-21 name of each police officer or fireman, as applicable, who was exposed

3-22 to the contagious disease and the name of each person, if any, to whom

3-23 the police officer or fireman was exposed.

3-24 2. If the employment of a police officer or a salaried or volunteer

3-25 fireman is terminated, voluntarily or involuntarily, the employer of the

3-26 police officer or fireman shall, at the time of termination and at 6 and 12

3-27 months after the date of termination, provide to the police officer or

3-28 fireman a blood test to screen for contagious diseases, including, without

3-29 limitation, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and human

3-30 immunodeficiency virus. If a blood test administered pursuant to this

3-31 subsection and provided to the employer reveals that a former police

3-32 officer or a former salaried or volunteer fireman has a contagious

3-33 disease or the antibodies associated with a contagious disease, the police

3-34 officer or fireman is eligible, during his lifetime, to receive compensation

3-35 for such a disease and any additional diseases or conditions that are

3-36 associated with or result from the contagious disease pursuant to

3-37 chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, and chapter 617 of NRS. The former

3-38 employer of a police officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman shall pay

3-39 all the costs associated with providing blood tests required pursuant to

3-40 this subsection.

3-41 3. As used in this section, the term "battery" includes, without

3-42 limitation, the intentional propelling or placing, or the causing to be

4-1 propelled or placed, of any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the

4-2 person of an employee.

4-3 Sec. 6. NRS 616C.160 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-4 616C.160 If, after a claim for compensation is filed pursuant to NRS

4-5 616C.020:

4-6 1. The injured employee seeks treatment from a physician or

4-7 chiropractor for a newly developed injury or disease; and

4-8 2. The employee’s medical records for the injury reported do not

4-9 include a reference to the injury or disease for which treatment is being

4-10 sought, or there is no documentation indicating that there was possible

4-11 exposure to an injury described in paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 2 of

4-12 NRS 616A.265,

4-13 the injury or disease for which treatment is being sought must not be

4-14 considered part of the employee’s original claim for compensation unless

4-15 the physician or chiropractor establishes by medical evidence a causal

4-16 relationship between the injury or disease for which treatment is being

4-17 sought and the original accident.

4-18 Sec. 7. The provisions of this act do not apply to an employee who,

4-19 before July 1, 1999, is receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions of

4-20 chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS.

4-21 Sec. 8. This act becomes effective on July 1, 1999.

~