HB 4096 — Summary (Workers’ Compensation: Presumption for Heart & Respiratory Diseases)
Status & source
- Bill number: HB 4096 (amends Sec. 405 of the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act, 1969 PA 317; MCL 418.405).
- Electronic reproduction: 02/20/2025. Introduced (filed) in February–March 2025; first readings and committee referrals completed (see “Procedural timeline” below).
Main purpose
- To expand the statutory presumption that certain illnesses "arise out of and in the course of employment" for public safety personnel by expressly including respiratory and heart diseases (and illnesses resulting therefrom) in the definition of “personal injury” for specified classes of law enforcement and fire/public safety members.
Key provisions
- Adds respiratory and heart diseases (and resulting illnesses) to Sec. 405’s definition of “personal injury” when those conditions:
- Develop or manifest while the member is in active service, and
- Result from performance of duties for the department.
- Applies to full‑time, part‑time, and paid on‑call members of specified public safety entities, including (but not limited to):
- Fully paid fire departments (including airport fire departments operated by counties, public airport authorities, or state universities/colleges),
- Full‑time/part‑time/paid on‑call members of municipal fire, police or public safety departments and public fire authorities,
- County sheriffs and deputies,
- State police members,
- Conservation officers, forest fire officers, and motor carrier enforcement officers of the State Police.
- Presumption rule: respiratory and heart diseases described in the bill are presumed to arise out of employment “in the absence of evidence to the contrary” (i.e., it lowers the claimant’s initial burden to establish work causation).
- Existing related provisions (e.g., the first‑responder cancer presumptions, requirements to seek pension benefits first, and interactions with the Christopher R. Slezak fund) remain in the statute; the bill’s principal change is the added disease categories and the presumption for covered members.
Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: first responders and law‑enforcement personnel listed above (full‑time, part‑time, paid on‑call; active service). These workers would find it easier to establish workers’ compensation eligibility for covered heart and respiratory conditions.
- Secondary impacts: municipal employers, public fire authorities, state agencies, and their workers’ compensation insurers — potentially increased claims, higher benefit payouts, and actuarial/insurance cost effects.
- Workers’ compensation adjudicators and courts will apply the revised presumption standard in claims involving covered conditions and personnel.
Procedural / timeline notes
- Introduced and electronically reproduced in February 2025; filed again in March 2025. Readings and committee referrals occurred in late Feb–March 2025 (first reading, referral to Committee on Government Operations; subsequent referral activity recorded to Public Education). The bill remains at the legislative committee/consideration stage per available actions.
Potential policy impacts (concise)
- Lowers claimant burden of proof for covered heart/respiratory conditions, likely increasing approved claims among covered first responders and officers.
- May increase employer/insurer liabilities or premiums unless offset by other legislative or funding measures.
- Aligns compensation law with concerns about occupational exposures and cardiovascular/respiratory health risks among emergency responders.
If you want, I can:
- Extract and compare the exact statutory language changes to MCL 418.405, or
- Produce a short fiscal/claims‑impact briefing estimating likely claim volume/cost effects based on comparable presumption expansions.
