Fire protection employees are routinely exposed to occupational hazards. These toxins include diesel emissions, combustion emissions, and carcinogens released during fires. As a result, people involved in fire protection activities are more likely to suffer heart attacks, stroke, and cancers associated with these chemicals.
The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) compensates for injuries and diseases proximately caused by federal employment. Federal fire protection employees face challenges qualifying for FECA benefits for work-related illnesses because the program was primarily designed to address traumatic injuries. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 (NDAA), Section 5305 “Fairness for Federal Firefighters,” signed into law on December 23, 2022, established that certain illnesses and diseases are presumed to be caused by employment in federal fire protection activities.
Who are considered federal fire protection employees?
Fire protection employees include firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, rescue workers, ambulance personnel, and hazardous material workers. There are certain qualifications for fire protection persons:
- They must have fire suppression training
- They must have the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression;
- They must have engaged in the prevention, control, or extinguishment of fires or response to emergencies where life, property, or the environment is at risk
- They must have performed fire suppression activities as primary responsibilities of their jobs
The Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022
The Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022 amended FECA ensuring that federal firefighters are fairly compensated for work-related illnesses. The legislation established an initial science-based list of diseases presumed to occur from firefighting activities, provided the firefighter is employed in fire protection activities for five years. The amendment aimed at providing Federal firefighters the same protections as those used by state and local governments. Workers’ compensation laws across all states, provide firefighters with a presumption that certain diseases are work-related.
FECA compensation is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) Division of Federal Employees’, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation (DFELHWC). Injured federal employees are awarded the services, supplies, and appliances recommended by a qualified physician, which OWCP considers “likely to cure, give relief, reduce the degree or the period of disability, or aid in lessening the amount of the monthly compensation. The program also compensates employees for disability and death resulting from injury in the performance of duty. Affected federal employees also get wage-loss compensation, medical treatment, return-to-work assistance, and vocational rehabilitation to federal employees affected by work-related hazards.
Criteria for Firefighter FECA claim compensation:
- A claim must be filed within the FECA time limits
- The injured individual must meet the FECA employment requirements
- The employee must provide factual evidence confirming the exposure and supporting medical diagnosis evidence.
- The employee must have been performing duty when the exposure occurred.
- A physician should establish that the diagnosed illness was aggravated, accelerated, precipitated, or directly caused by work-related activities or exposure.
Special handling of presumed federal firefighter illnesses
Under the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act (FFA), certain high-risk federal firefighter employee claims are considered for expedited processing or special handling according to § 8143b. Those considered high-risk are employees who have been engaged in fire protection activities in federal employment for at least five years. If a high-risk federal fire protection employee is diagnosed with one or more of the specified illnesses within the specified periods of exposure, their claims are expedited without establishing causation. The employee is not required to submit additional evidence of specific exposures or medical evidence addressing a causal relationship.
OWCP allows the combination of Federal and non-federal employment to satisfy the five-year requirement of the FFA. For federal employees who have served in federal employment fire protection activities for less than five years but have worked in non-federal employment for a combined period of five years, their federal employment is considered to have contributed to their cancer risk and may be eligible for compensation.
A Special Claims Unit processes Federal Firefighter claims to help ensure consistency in the adjudication process. Claims that meet the specified conditions follow a specially streamlined adjudication.
All claimed illnesses should be diagnosed by a valid physician and must include the date of initial diagnosis. Illnesses the OWCP considers Firefighter High Risk (FHR) are added to the Employees Compensation and Management Portal (ECOMP). The causation of these specified conditions is based on the best available scientific evidence.
Fire protection employees’ specified illnesses include:
- Esophageal Cancer
- Colorectal Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Leukemia
- Kidney Cancer
- Bladder Cancer
- Brain Cancer
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Skin cancer or Melanoma
- Thyroid Cancer
- A sudden cardiac event or stroke that occurs not later than 24 hours after working in fire protection activities.
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Federal Firefighter Claim Adjudication Process
Claim examiners’ adjudication or disposition involves a review of the years of federal and non-federal fire protection employment, medical diagnosis, and the latency period (the number of years between the employee’s last date of engagement in Federal fire protection activities and the date of initial diagnoses of any qualifying medical conditions).
The employee must have been diagnosed, by a qualified physician, with a qualifying medical condition within ten years of the date of the last active date of employment in Federal fire protection activities. Cases of sudden cardiac events or strokes must occur while, or not later than 24 hours after, engaging in fire protection activities in the course of Federal employment. Claims that meet these requirements are accepted without going through the FECA case processing procedures.
Claim examiners review the medical evidence and the nature/extent of the employment history in relation to fire protection activities. If a claimant does not provide valid medical evidence upon request, their claim is denied. Where the medical evidence is from a valid physician but the established diagnosis is not among the specified conditions, the adjudication process follows the established FECA case processing procedures.
Claim examiners also ascertain the number of years the employee was actively engaged in fire protection activities in both Federal and non-federal employment. For a qualifying medical condition to be deemed proximately caused by employment and for streamlined processing of the claim, the employee must have at least five years of combined Federal and non-federal employment in which they were engaged in fire protection activities. The five-year period does not need to be consecutive.
Claims for Federal Firefighter death benefits are adjudicated like Federal Firefighter disability claims. The claimant must establish the essential elements of the claim, which include the existence of a causal relationship between an employee’s death and a qualifying medical condition. They must then establish that the qualifying medical condition hastened or caused the employee’s death. The qualifying medical condition need not be the sole cause of death; the employee may have had other non-work-related conditions.
Final Thoughts
Stephens and Stephens LLP helps federal firefighters file claims for compensation for work related illnesses. Contact us if you think your illness was caused by fire protection activities. As of February 2023, the special claims unit had accepted over 90% of the filed high-risk federal firefighter claims. Federal firefighters can voluntarily register with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Firefighter Registry to help research related occupational illnesses. OWCP, NIOSH, and CDC regularly review the best available scientific evidence and include additional conditions to the high-risk diagnoses list.