Assembly Bill No. 628–Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

(On Behalf of Department of Administration—Risk Management)

 

March 26, 2001

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY— Revises provisions governing benefits for industrial insurance for certain police officers and firemen. (BDR 53‑625)

 

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; expanding the circumstances under which certain police officers and firemen are entitled to receive compensation for exposure to tuberculosis; 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] :

1-13      (1) Was exposed to a contagious disease:

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

1-15      [(2)] (II) 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[.] ; or

1-18      (2) Tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis under the

1-19  circumstances described in NRS 616C.052.

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] :

2-13      (1) Tests to determine if an employee has contracted [the] a

2-14  contagious disease to which he was exposed[.] ; and

2-15      (2) If an employee tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis under

2-16  the circumstances described in NRS 616C.052, such medication and

2-17  chest X-rays as are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and

2-18  Prevention of the Department of Health and Human Services.

2-19    Sec. 2.  NRS 616A.265 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-20    616A.265  1.  “Injury” or “personal injury” means a sudden and

2-21  tangible happening of a traumatic nature, producing an immediate or

2-22  prompt result which is established by medical evidence, including injuries

2-23  to prosthetic devices. Any injury sustained by an employee while engaging

2-24  in an athletic or social event sponsored by his employer shall be deemed

2-25  not to have arisen out of or in the course of employment unless the

2-26  employee received remuneration for participation in the event.

2-27    2.  For the purposes of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS:

2-28    (a) Coronary thrombosis, coronary occlusion, or any other ailment or

2-29  disorder of the heart, and any death or disability ensuing therefrom, shall

2-30  be deemed not to be an injury by accident sustained by an employee arising

2-31  out of and in the course of his employment.

2-32    (b) The exposure of an employee to a contagious disease while

2-33  providing medical services, including emergency medical care, in the

2-34  course and scope of his employment shall be deemed to be an injury by

2-35  accident sustained by the employee arising out of and in the course of his

2-36  employment.

2-37    (c) [The] Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (d), the exposure

2-38  to a contagious disease of a police officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman

2-39  who was exposed to the contagious disease:

2-40      (1) Upon battery by an offender; or

2-41      (2) While performing the duties of a police officer or
fireman,

2-42  shall be deemed to be an injury by accident sustained by the police officer

2-43  or fireman arising out of and in the course of his employment if the

2-44  exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a report

2-45  concerning the exposure pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 616C.052. As

2-46  used in this paragraph, the term “battery” includes, without limitation, the

2-47  intentional propelling or placing, or the causing to be propelled or placed,

2-48  of any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the person of an employee.

3-1    (d) If, regardless of whether the circumstance of the exposure is

3-2  documented or known, a police officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman

3-3  tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis under the circumstances

3-4  described in subsection 2 or 3 of NRS 616C.052, he shall be deemed to

3-5  have sustained an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of

3-6  his employment.

3-7    Sec. 3.  NRS 616C.052 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-8    616C.052  1.  If a police officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman is

3-9  exposed to a contagious disease:

3-10    (a) Upon battery by an offender; or

3-11    (b) While performing the duties of a police officer or
fireman,

3-12  the employer of the police officer or fireman shall create and maintain a

3-13  report concerning the exposure that includes, without limitation, the name

3-14  of each police officer or fireman, as applicable, who was exposed to the

3-15  contagious disease and the name of each person, if any, to whom the police

3-16  officer or fireman was exposed.

3-17    2.  If the results of a physical examination administered pursuant to

3-18  NRS 617.455 or 617.457 to a police officer or a salaried or volunteer

3-19  fireman after the commencement of his employment reveal that the

3-20  police officer or fireman tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis, the

3-21  police officer or fireman is eligible, during his lifetime, to receive

3-22  compensation pursuant to chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS for

3-23  tuberculosis and any additional diseases or conditions that are associated

3-24  with or result from tuberculosis.

3-25    3.  If the employment of a police officer or a salaried or volunteer

3-26  fireman is terminated, voluntarily or involuntarily, the employer of the

3-27  police officer or fireman shall[, at] :

3-28    (a) At the time of termination and at 3 months after the date of

3-29  termination, provide to the police officer or fireman a purified protein

3-30  derivative skin test to screen for exposure to tuberculosis, unless the

3-31  police officer or fireman previously submitted to such a test and tested

3-32  positive for exposure to tuberculosis. If a skin test administered pursuant

3-33  to this paragraph and provided to the employer reveals that the police

3-34  officer or fireman tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis, the police

3-35  officer or fireman is eligible, during his lifetime, to receive compensation

3-36  pursuant to chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS for tuberculosis and

3-37  any additional diseases or conditions that are associated with or result

3-38  from tuberculosis.

3-39    (b) At the time of termination and at 6 and 12 months after the date of

3-40  termination, provide to the police officer or fireman a blood test to screen

3-41  for other contagious diseases, including, without limitation, hepatitis A,

3-42  hepatitis B, hepatitis C [, tuberculosis] and human immunodeficiency virus.

3-43  If a blood test administered pursuant to this [subsection] paragraph and

3-44  provided to the employer reveals that [a former] the police officer or [a

3-45  former salaried or volunteer] fireman has [a] any other contagious disease

3-46  or the antibodies associated with a contagious disease, the police officer or

3-47  fireman is eligible, during his lifetime, to receive compensation pursuant

3-48  to chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS for such a disease and any

4-1  additional diseases or conditions that are associated with or result from the

4-2  contagious disease . [pursuant to chapters 616A to 617, inclusive, of NRS.]

4-3    4.  The former employer of a police officer or a salaried or volunteer

4-4  fireman shall pay all the costs associated with providing skin and blood

4-5  tests required pursuant to [this subsection.

4-6    3.] subsection 3.

4-7    5.  As used in this section, the term “battery” includes, without

4-8  limitation, the intentional propelling or placing, or the causing to be

4-9  propelled or placed, of any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the

4-10  person of an employee.

4-11    Sec. 4.  NRS 616C.160 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-12    616C.160  If, after a claim for compensation is filed pursuant to NRS

4-13  616C.020:

4-14    1.  The injured employee seeks treatment from a physician or

4-15  chiropractor for a newly developed injury or disease; and

4-16    2.  The employee’s medical records for the injury reported do not

4-17  include a reference to the injury or disease for which treatment is being

4-18  sought, or there is no documentation indicating that there was possible

4-19  exposure to an injury described in paragraph (b) , [or] (c) or (d) of

4-20  subsection 2 of NRS 616A.265,

4-21  the injury or disease for which treatment is being sought must not be

4-22  considered part of the employee’s original claim for compensation unless

4-23  the physician or chiropractor establishes by medical evidence a causal

4-24  relationship between the injury or disease for which treatment is being

4-25  sought and the original accident.

4-26    Sec. 5.  NRS 617.454 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-27    617.454  1.  Any physical examination administered pursuant to NRS

4-28  617.455 or 617.457 must include [a] :

4-29    (a) A thorough test of the functioning of the hearing of the employee[.

4-30  The test] ; and

4-31    (b) A purified protein derivative skin test to screen for exposure to

4-32  tuberculosis.

4-33    2.  The tests required by this section must be paid for by the employer.

4-34    Sec. 6.  The provisions of this act do not apply to an employee who,

4-35  before July 1, 2001, is receiving compensation pursuant to the provisions

4-36  of chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, or chapter 617 of NRS.

4-37    Sec. 7.  This act becomes effective on July 1, 2001.

 

4-38  H