CT SB00313

Joint Counsel of Connecticut Fire Services Organization must develop a plan for maintenance and remediation of toxic substances on turnout gear by July 1, 2023, with each fire department required to adopt the plan within ninety days of commission approval.

Workers' Compensation Commission must maintain records of all firefighter cancer-related workers' compensation claims and submit annual reports to the labor committee by January 1st of each year.

Establishes a firefighters cancer relief subcommittee with five members representing firefighter and fire service organizations to review and approve wage replacement benefits up to 24 months, with maximum weekly benefit capped at 100% of average state weekly earnings.

Wage replacement benefits cannot be used as evidence of work-related causation in workers' compensation proceedings and do not create presumption that cancer was work-related; employers must maintain equivalent insurance coverage during benefit period.

Effective January 1, 2024, municipalities must contribute $10 per firefighter annually to the cancer relief account, limited to firefighters meeting physical examination, tobacco use, and five-year service requirements.

Comptroller must study feasibility of providing pension benefits for firefighters who retire early due to work-related cancer and report findings to the labor committee.