A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT PROVIDING THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, AND Emergency Management services personnel are entitled to workers' compensation BENEFITS FOR MENTAL OR NERVOUS INJURIES WHETHER OR NOT SUCH INJURIES ARE ACCOMPANIED BY PHYSICAL INJURIES UNDER SPECIFIED CIRCUMSTANCES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 97‑53 reads as rewritten:
"§ 97‑53.  Occupational diseases enumerated; when due to exposure to chemicals.
The following diseases and conditions only shall be deemed to be occupational diseases within the meaning of this Article:
…
(30)	Special provisions for employment‑related occupational diseases of first responders. – The following provisions apply in determining eligibility of a first responder for compensation benefits under this Article:
a.	The term "first responder," as used in this section, means a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic employed by State or local government. The term also includes a volunteer firefighter meeting the requirement of G.S. 58‑84‑5(3a).
b.	For the purposes of this section, posttraumatic stress disorder, as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, suffered by a first responder without other injury is a compensable occupational disease that arises out of employment as a first responder and is due to causes and conditions that are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment if (i) the posttraumatic stress disorder resulted from the first responder acting within the course of his or her employment and (ii) the first responder is examined and subsequently diagnosed with such disorder by a licensed psychiatrist who establishes within a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the posttraumatic stress disorder is a result of employment activities.
c.	The disorder must be demonstrated by a preponderance of medical evidence demonstrated by the licensed psychiatrist.
d.	The time for notice of injury or death in cases of compensable posttraumatic stress disorder under this subsection shall be measured in accord with this Article, but must, in any instance, be filed within 52 weeks of diagnosis.
e.	An employing agency of a first responder, including volunteer first responders, must provide educational training related to mental health awareness, prevention, mitigation, and treatment."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.