BILL NUMBER: AB 1994	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 23, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2010

   An act to add Section 3212.13 to the Labor Code, relating to
workers' compensation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1994, as amended, Skinner. Hospital employees: presumption.
   Existing law provides that an injury of an employee arising out of
and in the course of employment is generally compensable through the
workers' compensation system. Existing law provides that, in the
case of certain public employees, the term "injury" includes heart
trouble, hernia, pneumonia, human immunodeficiency virus, lower back
impairment, and other injuries and diseases.
   This bill would provide, with respect to hospital employees 
who provide direct patient care in an acute care hospital  ,
that the term "injury" includes a blood-borne infectious disease,
neck or back impairment, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), or H1N1 influenza virus that develops or manifests itself
during the period of the person's employment with the hospital.
   This bill would further create a rebuttable presumption that the
above injury arises out of and in the course of the person's
employment if it develops or manifests as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) A person's risk of developing a variety of work-related
illnesses and injuries is influenced by the physical nature of his or
her work and high risk exposure to diseases in the workplace.
   (b) By the nature of their profession, health care workers are in
constant danger of being directly exposed to many infectious diseases
and indirectly exposed through contact with various pieces of
equipment and clothing.
   (c) According to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development, in 1999 there were 13,000 MRSA-infected patients at
hospitals across the state. By 2007, that number had grown fourfold,
to about 52,000 cases. 
   (d) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care
workers, 95 percent of whom are women, lead the nation in the highest
musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) injury rates. As a whole, the health
care sector suffered 66,060 MSDs.  
   (d) Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as back
strains and damage to spinal discs in nurses and other health care
workers persist as the leading and most costly occupational health
problem in the United States.  
   (e) In 2007, direct-care registered nurses ranked seventh among
all occupations for the number of cases of MSDs resulting in days
away from work in the United States. Furthermore, the rate of MSDs in
health care workers exceeds that of workers in construction, mining,
and manufacturing.  
   (e) 
    (f)  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) has estimated that 600,000 to 800,000 needlestick and
other percutaneous injuries occur annually in hospitals in the United
States. 
   (f) 
    (g)  Public safety employees, such as police officers
and firefighters, already have guaranteed access to the workers'
compensation system for MRSA, HIV, cancer, leukemia, meningitis, back
injuries, and other work-related illnesses and injuries. However,
presumptive eligibility for workers' compensation is nonexistent for
health care workers. 
   (g) 
    (h)  Due to the rise in work-related illnesses and
injuries, including MSD, MRSA, H1N1 influenza virus, and other
blood-borne diseases, it is most appropriate to protect health care
workers by ensuring access to workers' compensation for health care
workers who suffer workplace injuries or contract infectious
diseases.
  SEC. 2.  Section 3212.13 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   3212.13.  (a) In the case of a hospital employee  who provides
direct patient care in an acute care hospital, referred to in this
section as hospital employee,  , the term "injury," as used in
this section, includes a blood-borne infectious disease, neck or back
impairment, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or
H1N1 influenza virus that develops or manifests itself during a
period of the person's employment with the hospital. The compensation
awarded for that injury shall include full hospital, surgical,
medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits, as
provided by this division.
   (b) (1) The blood-borne infectious disease, neck or back
impairment, MRSA, or H1N1 influenza virus so developing or
manifesting itself shall be presumed to arise out of and in the
course of employment. This presumption is disputable and may be
controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted, the
appeals board shall so find.
   (2) The blood-borne infectious disease  and neck or back
impairment presumptions   presumption  shall be
extended to a hospital employee following termination of service for
a period of  three calendar months for each full year of the
requisite service, but not exceed 60 months in any circumstance,
commencing with the last date   180 days, commencing
with the last date  actually worked.
   (3) The  MRSA   neck or back impairment,
MRSA,  and H1N1 influenza presumptions shall be extended to a
hospital employee following termination of service for a period of 90
days, commencing with the last day actually worked.
   (c) A blood-borne infectious disease so developing or manifesting
itself in these cases shall not be attributed to any disease existing
prior to that development or manifestation.