Bill proposes presumptive coverage for volunteer police, firefighters
Respiratory illnesses and heart disease would be presumptive conditions for volunteer police and firefighters, under legislation introduced in the Michigan Senate.
Lawmakers on Wednesday introduced S.B. 877, a bipartisan bill with nine co-sponsors that proposes presumptive coverage for volunteers.
“It does not make sense that these brave individuals who work part time or volunteer be treated differently for simply not being full-time public servants,” Sen. Jon Bumstead, a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. “They put their lives on the line for our safety just the same, and they should be given the same workers compensation presumptions as their full-time colleagues.”
The senator said lawmakers amended the presumption law last year, “but a legislative oversight left part-time and voluntary first responders on the outside looking in.”
S.B. 877 would also add forest fire officers to the list of those covered by the presumption.
S.B. 877 was referred to the Senate Insurance and Banking Committee, where it awaits a hearing.
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