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                                                 (Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 16, 2003)

 

Senate Bill No. 184–Senator Mathews

 

February 20, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

 

SUMMARY—Revises certain provisions governing occupational diseases contracted by police officers. (BDR 53‑851)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                           Effect on the State: Yes.

 

~

 

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

 

AN ACT relating to public employees; expanding the definition of “accident benefits” for purposes of industrial insurance to include preventative treatment for hepatitis administered as a precaution to a police officer employed in this state; creating a statutory presumption that hepatitis is an occupational disease for a police officer; 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

1-2  follows:

1-3  616A.035  1.  “Accident benefits” means medical, surgical,

1-4  hospital or other treatments, nursing, medicine, medical and surgical

1-5  supplies, crutches and apparatuses, including prosthetic devices.

1-6  2.  The term includes:

1-7  (a) Medical benefits as defined by NRS 617.130;

1-8  (b) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to an

1-9  employee who is exposed to a contagious disease while providing

1-10  medical services, including emergency medical care, in the course

1-11  and scope of his employment;

1-12      (c) Preventive treatment administered as a precaution to a police

1-13  officer or a salaried or volunteer fireman who:

1-14          (1) Was exposed to a contagious disease:

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

2-2           (II) While performing the duties of a police officer or

2-3  fireman,

2-4  if the exposure is documented by the creation and maintenance of a

2-5  report concerning the exposure pursuant to paragraph (a) of

2-6  subsection 1 of NRS 616C.052; or

2-7       (2) Tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis under the

2-8  circumstances described in NRS 616C.052; and

2-9  (d) Preventive treatment for hepatitis administered as a

2-10  precaution to a police officer, full-time salaried fireman or [an]

2-11  emergency medical attendant employed in this state.

2-12      3.  The term does not include:

2-13      (a) Exercise equipment, a hot tub or a spa for an employee’s

2-14  home;

2-15      (b) Membership in an athletic or health club;

2-16      (c) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616C.245, a motor

2-17  vehicle; or

2-18      (d) The costs of operating a motor vehicle provided pursuant to

2-19  NRS 616C.245, fees related to the operation or licensing of the

2-20  motor vehicle or insurance for the motor vehicle.

2-21      4.  As used in this section:

2-22      (a) “Battery” includes, without limitation, the intentional

2-23  propelling or placing, or the causing to be propelled or placed, of

2-24  any human excrement or bodily fluid upon the person of an

2-25  employee.

2-26      (b) “Emergency medical attendant” means a person licensed as

2-27  an attendant or certified as an emergency medical technician,

2-28  intermediate emergency medical technician or advanced emergency

2-29  medical technician pursuant to chapter 450B of NRS, whose

2-30  primary duties of employment are the provision of emergency

2-31  medical services.

2-32      (c) “Hepatitis” includes hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and

2-33  any additional diseases or conditions that are associated with or

2-34  result from hepatitis A, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

2-35      (d) “Preventive treatment” includes, without limitation:

2-36          (1) Tests to determine if an employee has contracted hepatitis

2-37  or any other contagious disease to which he was exposed; and

2-38          (2) If an employee tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis

2-39  under the circumstances described in NRS 616C.052, such

2-40  medication and chest X rays as are recommended by the Centers for

2-41  Disease Control and Prevention of the United States Department of

2-42  Health and Human Services.

2-43      Sec. 2.  NRS 617.485 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-44      617.485  1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

2-45  chapter and except as otherwise provided in this section, if an

3-1  employee has hepatitis, the disease is conclusively presumed to have

3-2  arisen out of and in the course of his employment if the employee

3-3  has been continuously employed for 5 years or more as a police

3-4  officer, full-time salaried fireman or emergency medical attendant in

3-5  this state before the date of any temporary or permanent disability or

3-6  death resulting from the hepatitis.

3-7  2.  Compensation awarded to a police officer, fireman or [an]

3-8  emergency medical attendant, or to the dependents of such a person,

3-9  for hepatitis pursuant to this section must include:

3-10      (a) Full reimbursement for related expenses incurred for medical

3-11  treatments, surgery and hospitalization; and

3-12      (b) The compensation provided in chapters 616A to 616D,

3-13  inclusive, of NRS for the disability or death.

3-14      3.  A police officer, salaried fireman or [an] emergency medical

3-15  attendant shall [submit] :

3-16      (a) Submit to a blood test to screen for hepatitis C upon

3-17  employment, upon the commencement of coverage and thereafter on

3-18  an annual basis during his employment.

3-19      (b) Submit to a blood test to screen for hepatitis A and hepatitis

3-20  B upon employment, upon the commencement of coverage and

3-21  thereafter on an annual basis during his employment, except that

3-22  a police officer, salaried fireman or emergency medical attendant

3-23  is not required to submit to a blood test to screen for hepatitis A

3-24  and hepatitis B on an annual basis during his employment if he

3-25  has been vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B upon

3-26  employment or at other medically appropriate times during his

3-27  employment. Each employer shall provide a police officer, salaried

3-28  fireman or emergency medical attendant with the opportunity to

3-29  be vaccinated for hepatitis A and hepatitis B upon employment

3-30  and at other medically appropriate times during his employment.

3-31      4.  All blood tests required pursuant to this section and all

3-32  vaccinations provided pursuant to this section must be paid for by

3-33  the employer.

3-34      [4.] 5. The provisions of this section:

3-35      (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), do not apply

3-36  to a police officer, fireman or emergency medical attendant who is

3-37  diagnosed with hepatitis upon employment.

3-38      (b) Apply to a police officer, fireman or emergency medical

3-39  attendant who is diagnosed with hepatitis upon employment if,

3-40  during the employment or within 1 year after the last day of the

3-41  employment, he is diagnosed with a different strain of hepatitis.

3-42      (c) Apply to a police officer, fireman or emergency medical

3-43  attendant who is diagnosed with hepatitis after the termination of the

3-44  employment if the diagnosis is made within 1 year after the last day

3-45  of the employment.

4-1  [5.] 6. A police officer, fireman or [an] emergency medical

4-2  attendant who is determined to be:

4-3  (a) Partially disabled from an occupational disease pursuant to

4-4  the provisions of this section; and

4-5  (b) Incapable of performing, with or without remuneration, work

4-6  as a police officer, fireman or [an] emergency medical

4-7  attendant,

4-8  may elect to receive the benefits provided pursuant to NRS

4-9  616C.440 for a permanent total disability.

4-10      [6.] 7. As used in this section:

4-11      (a) “Emergency medical attendant” means a person licensed as

4-12  an attendant or certified as an emergency medical technician,

4-13  intermediate emergency medical technician or advanced emergency

4-14  medical technician pursuant to chapter 450B of NRS, whose

4-15  primary duties of employment are the provision of emergency

4-16  medical services.

4-17      (b) “Hepatitis” includes hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and

4-18  any additional diseases or conditions that are associated with or

4-19  result from hepatitis A, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

4-20      Sec. 3.  1.  Notwithstanding any provision of NRS 617.485, a

4-21  person who submits to a blood test to screen for hepatitis on or after

4-22  October 1, 2003, but on or before September 30, 2004, and who, on

4-23  October 1, 2003:

4-24      (a) Is employed as a police officer in this state; or

4-25      (b) Had at any time been continuously employed for 5 years or

4-26  more as a police officer in this state,

4-27  shall be deemed to be in compliance with all blood testing that

4-28  would otherwise be required by subsection 3 of NRS 617.485

4-29  through the date of the blood test.

4-30      2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of NRS 617.485, a person

4-31  who, on October 1, 2003, is employed as a police officer in this state

4-32  shall submit to a blood test to screen for hepatitis on or before

4-33  September 30, 2004. The blood test must be paid for by the

4-34  employer of the person. If a person fails to submit to a blood test

4-35  required by this subsection, the conclusive presumption relating to

4-36  hepatitis otherwise created by NRS 617.485 shall be deemed with

4-37  regard to that person and for the purposes of NRS 617.485 to be a

4-38  rebuttable presumption that may only be rebutted by clear and

4-39  convincing evidence that the hepatitis was not contracted during the

4-40  period in which the person was employed as a police officer.

4-41      3.  If:

4-42      (a) A blood test taken pursuant to this section indicates that a

4-43  person has hepatitis; and

5-1  (b) Before taking the blood test, the person had at any time been

5-2  continuously employed for 5 years or more as a police officer in this

5-3  state,

5-4  the person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the hepatitis

5-5  arose out of and in the course of his employment and is

5-6  compensable in accordance with NRS 617.485 if he, before

5-7  January 1, 2005, files a claim for compensation pursuant to chapter

5-8  617 of NRS. The presumption may only be rebutted by clear and

5-9  convincing evidence that the hepatitis was not contracted during the

5-10  period in which the person was employed as a police officer in this

5-11  state.

5-12      4.  As used in this section:

5-13      (a) “Hepatitis” includes hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and

5-14  any additional diseases or conditions that are associated with or

5-15  result from hepatitis A, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

5-16      (b) “Police officer” has the meaning ascribed to it in

5-17  NRS 617.135.

5-18      Sec. 4.  The amendatory provisions of this act do not apply to

5-19  any person who, on October 1, 2003, is receiving compensation for

5-20  hepatitis pursuant to chapters 616A to 616D, inclusive, of NRS. As

5-21  used in this section, “hepatitis” includes hepatitis A, hepatitis B,

5-22  hepatitis C and any additional diseases or conditions that are

5-23  associated with or result from hepatitis A, hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

 

5-24  H