Quote of the day
“Cancer is horrific. It ravages your life, your family, your community and all efforts should be focused on that, not fighting bureaucracy to get the benefits we though we put in place for you.”
Arizona state Sen. Sen. Heather Carter
Arizona Senate committee advances bill to bolster firefighter cancer claims
The Arizona Senate has unanimously passed a bill that targets a loophole that has resulted in the denial of firefighters’ workers’ compensation claims for work-related cancer. The bill clarifies a 2017 law that listed more than a dozen cancers caused by carcinogens to which firefighters are routinely exposed while working. It also would add breast and ovarian cancer to the list of covered cancers. Arizona Public Media
Change would allow Ohio PTSD workers’ comp claims without injury for first responders
Proposed legislation would make Ohio first responders eligible for workers’ compensation if diagnosed with work-related post-traumatic stress disorder, even without an accompanying physical injury. The proposal, however, is drawing opposition from associations that represent the state’s manufacturers, businesses and local governments. If approved, the legislation would increase annual PTSD claims and costs to the workers’ compensation system by an estimated $44 million in the first year, according to one estimate. Center Square
Michigan nurses may be gaining ground on protection against violent patients
A 2014 study by the American Nurses Association found 21 percent of registered nurses and nursing students reported being physically assaulted, and more than 50 percent verbally abused, in a 12-month period. Unlike assaulting a police officer or firefighter, assaulting a nurse is not an automatic felony in Michigan, where nurses have been fighting for better protection from workplace violence for at least a decade. WWMT
Tennessee law not preempted by federal immigration act: Court
In a case on remand from the Sixth Circuit, the Western District of Tennessee has ruled federal immigration law does not interfere with state labor law protections over an illegal employee of a torque converter manufacturing company who was injured on the job. The court found the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 does not preempt Tennessee workers’ compensation law for a retaliatory discharge claim. Bloomberg Law [may require registration]