§ 65-01-15.1 — Presumption of compensability for certain conditions of full-time paid firefighters and law enforcement officers

North Dakota § 65-01-15.1

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 65: Workforce Safety and Insurance
• Ch. 65-01: General Provisions

Text

firefighters and law enforcement officers.
1. Any condition or impairment of health of a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement
officer caused by lung or respiratory disease, hypertension, heart disease, or an
exposure to a bloodborne pathogen as defined by section 23-07.5-01 occurring in the
course of employment, or occupational cancer in a full-time paid firefighter, is
presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty. The presumption may be rebutted
by clear and convincing evidence the condition or impairment is not work-related.
2. As used in this section, an occupational cancer is one which arises out of employment
as a full-time paid firefighter and is due to injury due to exposure to smoke, fumes, or
carcinogenic, poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in the performance of
active duty as a full-time paid firefighter.
3. A full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer is not eligible for the benefit
provided under this section unless that full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement
officer has completed five years of continuous service and has successfully passed a
medical examination which fails to reveal any evidence of such a condition. The five
years of continuous service requirement may include full-time paid service outside the
state. An employer shall provide at no expense a medical examination upon
employment, for any employee subject to this section.
a. After the initial medical examination, an employer shall provide at no expense at
least a periodic medical examination as follows: for one to ten years of service,
every five years; for eleven to twenty years of service, every three years; and for
twenty-one or more years of service, every year. The periodic medical
examination, at a minimum, must consist of a general medical history of the
individual and the individual's family; an occupational history including contact
with and an exposure to hazardous materials, toxic products, contagious and
infectious diseases, and to physical hazards; a physical examination including
measurement of height, weight, and blood pressure; and laboratory and

diagnostic procedures indicating cardiovascular health to a reasonable degree of
medical certainty.
b. If the medical examination reveals that an employee falls into a recognized risk
group, the employee must be referred to a qualified health professional for future
medical examination.
c. If a medical examination produces a false positive result for a condition covered
under this section, the organization shall consider the condition to be a
compensable injury. In the case of a false positive result, neither the coverage of
the condition nor the period of disability may exceed fifty-six days. This section
does not affect an employee's responsibility to document that the employee has
not used tobacco as required under section 65-01-15. Results of the examination
must be used in rebuttal to a presumption afforded under this section.
4. For purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" means an individual who is
licensed to perform peace officer law enforcement duties under chapter 12-63 and is
employed full time by the bureau of criminal investigation, the game and fish
department, the state highway patrol, the parole and probation division, the North
Dakota state university police department, the North Dakota state college of science
police department, the university of North Dakota police department, the Bismarck
state college police department, a county sheriff's department, a city police
department, or the parks and recreation department pursuant to section 55-08-04.
5. The presumption does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time
paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed for ten years or
less, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than two years after the
employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends. The
presumption also does not include a condition or impairment of health of a full-time
paid firefighter or law enforcement officer, who has been employed more than ten
years, if the condition or impairment is diagnosed more than five years after the
employment as a full-time paid firefighter or law enforcement officer ends.