CT SB01426

Expands the Firefighters Cancer Relief Program to include state employers (state agencies, departments, and state college/university boards) in addition to municipal employers, effective October 1, 2025

Adds skin cancer to the list of covered cancer conditions affecting firefighters, alongside existing coverage for cancers of the brain, skeletal, digestive, endocrine, respiratory, lymphatic, reproductive, urinary, and hematological systems

Reclassifies covered cancer diagnoses from "personal injury" to "occupational disease" for purposes of determining compensation and benefits eligibility

Grants administrative law judges explicit authority to adjudicate denied claims under the program, following the same procedures as workers' compensation claims under chapter 568

Removes the requirement that firefighters prove their pre-employment physical showed no "propensity for" cancer, now only requiring the exam showed no evidence of cancer