The bipartisan Federal Firefighters Fairness Act would improve access to injury and illness benefits for cancers and other diseases caused by hazardous conditions for America’s firefighters
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today voted to pass the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022, a bipartisan bill to make sure federal firefighters have access to workers’ compensation benefits for illness and disease that may result from their important work.
Currently, workers’ compensation laws in 49 states, including Michigan, provide firefighters with a presumption that certain diseases are work-related. However, no such law covers the approximately 15,000 firefighters employed by the federal government. The bill has been endorsed by: the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
“Michigan’s firefighters are constantly putting themselves at risk to keep our communities safe, and the challenges of the pandemic have made their job more challenging – and all the more important – over the last two years,” said Slotkin. “Right now, our state and local firefighters are entitled to important workers’ compensation if they get sick from the toxins they’re constantly exposed to on the job, but federal firefighters don’t have that same status. These brave men and women are our first responders when a crisis hits, and we owe them the same level of care as we do to the local firefighters in our own neighborhoods. I’m proud that the House has passed this bill and I hope the Senate will quickly do the same so we can fix this imbalance.”
“All firefighters are at a higher risk of certain cancers due to the exposures they face in their work environment,” said Brighton Area Fire Authority Chief Michael O’Brian. “The fire service is working hard to protect our firefighters and many states have worked to protect our local firefighters with presumptive care. Congress must act to protect our federal firefighters – their work should not cost them their lives.”
In Congress, Slotkin has been a staunch advocate for Michigan’s firefighters. In March of this year, she announced she had secured $1.3 million in a government funding package to help build a new headquarters for the Brighton Fire Authority.
Slotkin also led the charge on a number of amendments – signed into law by President Trump as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2020 – that restrict the military’s use of PFAS in firefighting foam. One of those amendments bans the Department of Defense from using that foam in military training exercises, while another requires the military to transition away from PFAS-laden foam altogether by 2024.
H.R. 2499, the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act, would:
- Establish an initial science-based list of diseases for which an automatic presumption of work-related illness would apply, provided the firefighter is employed in fire protection activities for five years. The initial list includes: Bladder cancer, Brain cancer, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Esophageal cancer, Kidney cancer Leukemias, Lung cancer, Mesothelioma, Multiple myeloma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Prostate cancer, Skin cancer (melanoma), Testicular cancer, Thyroid cancer, and sudden cardiac event or stroke not later than 24 hours after working in fire protection activities.
- Requires the Secretary of Labor to evaluate the latest science on breast cancer risks for firefighters and determine within 3 years of passage of the Act whether breast cancer should be added to the list.
- Enables any person to propose additions to the initial disease list. The Secretary of Labor would be directed to review and authorized to add additional diseases to the list if the science demonstrates that there is a significant risk to employees in fire protection activities of developing the disease.
Original source can be found here.
