Summary — HB 4764 (2025)
Status & procedural history
- Bill: HB 4764 — amends section 405 of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act (1969 PA 317; MCL 418.405), as amended by 2021 PA 129.
- Filed: March 13, 2025. Committee hearings and consideration: April–May 2025 (public hearings 4/30 and 5/5; committee reported favorably 5/12). Bill text was electronically reproduced 08/13/2025; introduced/read again 08/13/2025 and referred to the House Committee on Insurance. Sponsor listed: Rep. Jason Woolford.
Purpose
- To extend statutory presumptions of work-related injury/disease and eligibility for benefits from the Christopher R. Slezak first responder presumed coverage fund to include county medical examiners and their investigators, in addition to the emergency responder classes already covered.
Key provisions
- Adds county medical examiners, deputy county medical examiners, and county medical examiner investigators (full-time, part-time, and on-call) to the list of employee categories for which certain disease presumptions apply under MCL 418.405.
- Respiratory and heart disease presumption: these conditions are included as “personal injury” for the newly added medical examiner categories when the disease develops or manifests during active service and results from the performance of duties.
- Cancer presumption & fund access (effective for cancers diagnosed on or after January 1, 2026): A county medical examiner, deputy, or investigator with 60 or more months of active service who was exposed to hazards incidental to fire suppression, rescue, emergency medical services, or subsequent incident investigation may:
- Suspend any workers’ compensation claim against the employer, and
- Apply for “like benefits” from the Christopher R. Slezak first responder presumed coverage fund for specified cancers (respiratory tract, bladder, skin, brain, kidney, blood, thyroid, testicular, prostate, lymphatic, ovarian, breast, and non‑HPV cervical cancers).
- Rebuttal and limitations:
- Presumption for cancers applies only for claims against the Fund and can be rebutted by scientific evidence showing the claimant was a substantial and consistent tobacco user within the 10 years before injury and that tobacco use was a significant causal factor.
- Mere evidence of a preexisting condition or an abstract medical opinion is insufficient to overcome the Fund presumption.
- A claimant may not receive overlapping benefits covering the same time period from both the Fund and the employer.
- If a redemption agreement between the Fund and the claimant is approved, suspension of employer claims continues indefinitely.
- Procedural prerequisite: Claimants must first apply for and exhaust or be ineligible for pension benefits to which they or their decedent may be entitled before applying for benefits under this section.
Who is affected
- Primary: county medical examiners, deputy medical examiners, and medical examiner investigators (full-time, part-time, on‑call), and their survivors/estates.
- Secondary: county employers (counties act as employers), the Christopher R. Slezak first responder presumed coverage fund, and the State workers’ compensation system (affecting claims routing and fund obligations).
Practical impact
- Extends presumptive coverage for certain occupational diseases to professionals who investigate deaths and scenes (medical examiners), recognizing exposure risks during incident investigation.
- Shifts some claims from employer-based workers’ compensation to the Christopher R. Slezak Fund when claimants elect suspension and meet eligibility criteria, with specified guardrails (service threshold, exposure, and rebuttal for tobacco use).
