Presumptive Disability Law in North Dakota

Presumptive Health Initiative

CODE PART:
North Dakota Century Code
TITLE 65 WORKFORCE SAFETY AND INSURANCE
CHAPTER 65-01 GENERAL PROVISIONS
TITLE 23 HEALTH AND SAFETY
CHAPTER 23-07.5 BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN TESTING

North Dakota Legislative Website

DESCRIPTION:
65-01-15.
Yearly documentation required for firefighter and law enforcement officer. Except for benefits for an exposure to a bloodborne pathogen as defined by section 23-07.5-01 occurring in the course of employment, a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer who uses tobacco is not eligible for the benefits provided under section 65-01-15.1, unless the full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer provides yearly documentation from a physician which indicates that the full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer has not used tobacco for the preceding two years.

23-07.5-01. Definitions.
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Bloodborne pathogen” means a microorganism that is present in human blood or in
    other bodily fluid or tissue which can cause a disease in humans, including the
    hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus, and the human immunodeficiency virus, and for which testing is recommended by the United States public health service.

65-01-15.1. Presumption of compensability for certain conditions of full-time paid firefighters and law enforcement officers.

  1. Any condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer caused by lung or respiratory disease, hypertension, heart disease, or an exposure to a bloodborne pathogen as defined by section 23-07.5-01 occurring in the course of employment, or occupational cancer in a full-time paid firefighter, resulting in total or partial disability or death is presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty. The condition or impairment of health may not be attributed to any disease existing before that total or partial disability or death unless the contrary is shown by competent evidence.
  2. As used in this section, an occupational cancer is one which arises out of employment as a full-time paid firefighter and is due to injury due to exposure to smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic, poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in
    the performance of active duty as a full-time paid firefighter.
  3. A full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer is not eligible for the benefit provided under this section unless that full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer has completed five years of continuous service and has successfully passed a medical examination which fails to reveal any evidence of such a condition. The five years of continuous service requirement may include full-time paid service outside the state. An employer shall provide at no expense a medical examination upon employment, for any employee subject to this section.
    1. After the initial medical examination, an employer shall provide at no expense at least a periodic medical examination as follows: for one to ten years of service, every five years; for eleven to twenty years of service, every three years; and for twenty-one or more years of service, every year. The periodic medical examination, at a minimum, must consist of a general medical history of the individual and the individual’s family; an occupational history including contact with and an exposure to hazardous materials, toxic products, contagious and infectious diseases, and to physical hazards; a physical examination including measurement of height, weight, and blood pressure; and laboratory and diagnostic procedures indicating cardiovascular health to a reasonable degree of medical certainty and papanicolaou smear for women.
    2. If the medical examination reveals that an employee falls into a recognized risk group, the employee must be referred to a qualified health professional for future medical examination.
    3. If a medical examination produces a false positive result for a condition covered under this section, the organization shall consider the condition to be a compensable injury. In the case of a false positive result, neither the coverage of the condition nor the period of disability may exceed fifty-six days. This section does not affect an employee’s responsibility to document that the employee has not
      used tobacco as required under section 65-01-15. Results of the examination must be used in rebuttal to a presumption afforded under this section.
  4. For purposes of this section, “law enforcement officer” means an individual who is licensed to perform peace officer law enforcement duties under chapter 12-63 and is employed full time by the bureau of criminal investigation, the game and fish department, the state highway patrol, the parole and probation division, the North Dakota state university police department, the North Dakota state college of science police department, the university of North Dakota police department, a county sheriff’s department, or a city police department.
  5. The presumption does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed for ten years or less, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than two years after the employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends. The presumption also does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed more than ten years, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than five years after the employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends.

65 – 01 – 15.2. Presumption of compensability for cardiac events of full-time paid firefighters and law enforcement officers.

  1. A heart attack, stroke, vascular rupture, or other similar cardiac event, is presumed to be a compensable injury when a full – time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer:
    1. Engages in a situation involving strenuous physical law enforcement activity, fire suppression activity, or emergency response activity, or participates in a training exercise involving strenuous physical activity; and
    2. The heart attack, stroke, vascular rupture, or other similar cardiac event occurs no later than forty – eight hours after the full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer engaged or participated in the activity listed under subdivision a.
  2. The presumption under subsection 1 may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence the condition or impairment was not work related.