HB2 Summary

• Amends Alabama workers' compensation law to include cancer of a firefighter as an occupational disease.

• Establishes a rebuttable presumption that cancer in non-smoking paid firefighters arose from their employment if they passed a pre-employment physical exam without evidence of cancer and were exposed to a known carcinogen.

• Requires employers to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that cancer was caused by means other than employment to overcome the presumption for non-smoking firefighters.

• Firefighters who smoke or use tobacco products diagnosed with cancer must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that their cancer was caused by their occupation, rather than receiving the presumption.

• Becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and approval by the Governor.