North Dakota Governor Signs Law Expanding Workers’ Comp for Police Officers, Firefighters

Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill this week that will expand workers’ compensation coverage for full-time firefighters and law enforcement officers.

Currently, a full-time firefighter or law enforcement officer who is injured must have worked continuously for five years in North Dakota before it is presumed that their injury is a result of their work. Previous service in another state or another profession does not count toward meeting the five-year requirement.

House Bill 1279 still require five years of service, but it counts the years of service from other states. It also adds a new section that provides workers’ compensation coverage for heart attacks, strokes, vascular rupture or other similar cardiac events that occur within 48 hours after a full-time firefighter or law enforcement officer engages in a strenuous activity related to their job – regardless of how long the individual has served in North Dakota.

“In North Dakota, we truly mean it when we say that we back the blue,'” said Burgum, who called for the legislation in his State of the State address last month and held a bill signing ceremony today at the Capitol. “House Bill 1279 lets every full-time firefighter and law enforcement officer in North Dakota – and every prospective officer and firefighter from across the country – know that if you serve in North Dakota, from the first day on the job we will stand with you, your family and all of your brothers and sisters in uniform. We’re grateful to the Legislature for its decisive action on this bill, which will provide the coverage these officers and firefighters deserve while helping to address our workforce challenges and ensure our police and fire departments are fully staffed to keep the public safe.”

The bipartisan bill, which passed both chambers unanimously, has a retroactive clause to cover the case of West Fargo Police Officer Tim Brown and two firefighters who were previously denied coverage due to the length-of-service requirement.

“The signing of this bill is historic,” said Art Thompson, director of North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance, the state’s worker’s compensation agency. “Currently 30 states of 52 jurisdictions in the United States provide presumption clause coverage for full-time law enforcement and firefighters – all require a years-of-service trigger ranging from 2 years to 12 years. North Dakota will now be the only state in the country to provide this level of coverage.”

House Bill 1279 was introduced by Rep. Shannon Roers Jones of Fargo and co-sponsored by Reps. Pat Heinert of Bismarck, Jim Jonas of West Fargo, Scott Louser of Minot, Austen Schauer of West Fargo and Paul Thomas of Velva, and Sens. Jeff Barta of Grand Forks, Diane Larson of Bismarck and Judy Lee of West Fargo.

Source: Office of Governor Doug Burgum

Photo: Firefighter using Chemical foam fire extinguisher to fighting with the fire flame from oil tanker truck accident. Firefighter safety disaster accident and public service concept.

Topics Workers' Compensation Law Enforcement