Assembly Bill No. 423–Assemblyman Hettrick (by request)

 

March 19, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing benefits for industrial insurance for exposure to contagious diseases. (BDR 53‑1187)

 

FISCAL NOTE:            Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                                    Effect on the State: Yes.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to industrial insurance; providing for the availability of benefits to certain employees for exposure to certain contagious diseases; 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. NRS 616A.035 is hereby amended to read as follows:

1-2    616A.035  1.  “Accident benefits” means medical, surgical, hospital

1-3  or other treatments, nursing, medicine, medical and surgical supplies,

1-4  crutches and apparatuses, including prosthetic devices.

1-5    2.  The term includes:

1-6    (a) Medical benefits as defined by NRS 617.130;

1-7    (b)  Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to an employee

1-8  who is exposed to a contagious disease while providing medical services,

1-9  including emergency medical care, in the course and scope of his

1-10  employment; [and]

1-11    (c) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to a police officer

1-12  or a salaried or volunteer fireman who was exposed to a contagious

1-13  disease:

1-14      (1) Upon battery by an offender; or

1-15      (2) While performing the duties of a police officer or
fireman,

1-16  if the exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a report

1-17  concerning the exposure pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 616C.052[.] ;

1-18  and

1-19    (d) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to an employee

1-20  who is not described in paragraph (b) or (c) and who is exposed to a

1-21  contagious, blood-borne disease in the course and scope of his

1-22  employment.

2-1    3.  The term does not include:

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

2-3    (b) Membership in an athletic or health club;

2-4    (c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.245, a motor vehicle; or

2-5    (d) The costs of operating a motor vehicle provided pursuant to NRS

2-6  616C.245, fees related to the operation or licensing of the motor vehicle or

2-7  insurance for the motor vehicle.

2-8    4.  As used in this section, the term:

2-9    (a) “Battery” includes, without limitation, the intentional propelling or

2-10  placing, or the causing to be propelled or placed, of any human excrement

2-11  or bodily fluid upon the person of an employee.

2-12    (b) “Preventive treatment” includes, without limitation, tests to

2-13  determine if an employee has contracted the contagious disease to which

2-14  he was exposed.

2-15    Sec. 2.  NRS 616A.265 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-16    616A.265  1.  “Injury” or “personal injury” means a sudden and

2-17  tangible happening of a traumatic nature, producing an immediate or

2-18  prompt result which is established by medical evidence, including injuries

2-19  to prosthetic devices. Any injury sustained by an employee while engaging

2-20  in an athletic or social event sponsored by his employer shall be deemed

2-21  not to have arisen out of or in the course of employment unless the

2-22  employee received remuneration for participation in the event.

2-23    2.  For the purposes of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS:

2-24    (a) Coronary thrombosis, coronary occlusion, or any other ailment or

2-25  disorder of the heart, and any death or disability ensuing therefrom, shall

2-26  be deemed not to be an injury by accident sustained by an employee arising

2-27  out of and in the course of his employment.

2-28    (b) The exposure of an employee to a contagious disease while

2-29  providing medical services, including emergency medical care, in the

2-30  course and scope of his employment shall be deemed to be an injury by

2-31  accident sustained by the employee arising out of and in the course of his

2-32  employment.

2-33    (c) The exposure to a contagious disease of a police officer or a salaried

2-34  or volunteer fireman who was exposed to the contagious disease:

2-35      (1) Upon battery by an offender; or

2-36      (2) While performing the duties of a police officer or
fireman,

2-37  shall be deemed to be an injury by accident sustained by the police officer

2-38  or fireman arising out of and in the course of his employment if the

2-39  exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a report

2-40  concerning the exposure pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 616C.052. As

2-41  used in this paragraph, the term “battery” includes, without limitation, the

2-42  intentional propelling or placing, or the causing to be propelled or placed,

2-43  of any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the person of an employee.

2-44    (d) The exposure of an employee who is not described in paragraph

2-45  (b) or (c) to a contagious, blood-borne disease, including, without

2-46  limitation, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis A, hepatitis B

2-47  and hepatitis C, in the course and scope of his employment shall be

3-1  deemed to be an injury by accident sustained by the employee arising out

3-2  of and in the course of his employment.

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

3-4    616C.160  If, after a claim for compensation is filed pursuant to NRS

3-5  616C.020:

3-6    1.  The injured employee seeks treatment from a physician or

3-7  chiropractor for a newly developed injury or disease; and

3-8    2.  The employee’s medical records for the injury reported do not

3-9  include a reference to the injury or disease for which treatment is being

3-10  sought, or there is no documentation indicating that there was possible

3-11  exposure to an injury described in paragraph (b) , [or] (c) or (d) of

3-12  subsection 2 of NRS 616A.265,

3-13  the injury or disease for which treatment is being sought must not be

3-14  considered part of the employee’s original claim for compensation unless

3-15  the physician or chiropractor establishes by medical evidence a causal

3-16  relationship between the injury or disease for which treatment is being

3-17  sought and the original accident.

3-18    Sec. 4.  The provisions of this act do not apply to an employee who,

3-19  before July 1, 2001, is receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions

3-20  of chapters 616A to 616D, or chapter 617 of NRS.

3-21    Sec. 5.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

3-22  H