Comp bill aims to cover PTSD for correctional officers
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One year after Florida lawmakers passed a hard-won law to allow first responders to access workers compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder, lawmakers are considering a bill that would offer the same benefits to correctional officers.
S.B. 816, introduced Wednesday by state Sen. Victor Torres, D-Kissimmee, would provide that, “under certain circumstances, posttraumatic stress disorder suffered by a correctional officer is an occupational disease compensable by workers’ compensation benefits,” according to a draft of the bill.
The benefits would “not require a physical injury and are not subject to certain apportionment or limitations; providing a time for notice of injury or death,” according to the bill.
The officer would have to be diagnosed with PTSD after witnessing a number of events listed in the bill, including death or deceased individuals with special attention to having witnessed such events occurring to a child.
The bill was referred to the Oversight, Transparency and Public Management Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee within the State Affairs Committee and would go into effect Oct. 1, 2020.
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