BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Date of Hearing: July 6, 2011 2011-2012 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:No
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 585
Author: Fong
Version: June 21, 2011
SUBJECT
Workers' compensation: cancer presumption.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature extend a disputable presumption of cancer
being an occupational injury for firefighters who work on U.S.
governmental installations?
PURPOSE
To extend a presumption, which may be disputed by evidence, that
an active firefighter who develops cancer did so in the course
of his or her employment.
ANALYSIS
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system that
provides benefits to an employee who suffers from an injury or
illness that arises out of and in the course of employment,
irrespective of fault. This system requires all employers to
secure payment of benefits by either securing the consent of the
Department of Industrial Relations to self-insure or by securing
insurance against liability from an insurance company duly
authorized by the state.
Existing law creates, through the William Dallas Jones Cancer
Presumption Act of 2010 , a disputable presumption that if a
firefighter, as defined, develops cancer, the cancer is
considered an occupational injury for the purposes of the
workers' compensation system. The compensation awarded for
occupationally-related cancer must include full hospital,
surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death
benefits, as provided by workers compensation law. This
presumption runs for 10 years, commencing on their last day of
employment. (Labor Code §3212.1 (b), (c), and (d))
Existing law provides that the presumptions listed above are
disputable and may be controverted by evidence. However, unless
controverted, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board must find
is accordance with the presumption. (Labor Code §3212.1 (d))
Existing law provides that the following firefighting members
are eligible for the above-discussed cancer presumption:
a) A fire department of a city, county, city and county,
district, or other public or municipal corporation or
political subdivision;
b) A fire department of the University of California and
the California State University;
c) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection;
d) A county forestry or firefighting department or unit;
and
e) Active firefighting members of a fire department that
serves a United States Department of Defense installation
and who are certified by the Department of Defense as
meeting its standards for firefighters.
(Labor Code § 3212.1 (a))
Existing law provides that the State Fire Marshal, with policy
guidance and advice from the State Board of Fire Services, must
manage and direct a comprehensive training and education program
for all of California's firefighting personnel. (Health and
Safety Code §§ 13155 to 13159.4)
This bill would extend the disputable presumption of cancer as
Hearing Date: July 6, 2011 AB 585
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
an occupational injury to active firefighting members of a fire
department that serve a United States government installation
and who adhere to training standards discussed above.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
The statutory provision for a rebuttable presumption of cancer
being an occupational injury dates back to 1982. When
originally created, the presumption was only extended to city,
county, city and county and municipal fire departments, as
well as the University of California and the California State
University fire departments. Over time, this exemption was
extended to additional groups of firefighters, including fire
departments on Department of Defense installations.
Several studies have suggested that firefighters have a higher
incidence of certain cancers. A May 2007 Study from the
School of Public Health at UC Berkeley found an increased
incidence of testicular cancer (odds ratio = 1.54, 95%
confidence interval: 1.18-2.02), melanoma (1.50, 1.33-1.70),
brain cancer (1.35, 1.06-1.72), esophageal cancer (1.48,
1.14-1.91), and prostate cancer (1.22, 1.12-1.33). While a
2008 RAND study disputed that there was a higher incidence of
cancer among firefighters, other studies done in
Massachusetts, Florida, and Seattle and Tacoma, Washington
found similar results to the UC Berkeley study.
AB 585 would extend the rebuttable presumption of cancer being
an occupational injury to active firefighting departments on
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
installations.
California currently has two NASA facilities; the Ames
Research Center in Mountain View and the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena. The sponsor and author note that both
facilities have large amounts of jet fuel and exotic metals
and materials; when combusted, these items can give off
significant carcinogens that the firefighters are exposed to
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
both through inhalation and skin exposure. The sponsor and
author also note that these firefighters are not employees of
the federal government, and are therefore within the purview
of California Labor Law.
2. Who was William "Dallas" Jones?
William "Dallas" Jones was a dedicated firefighter in Los
Angeles County for nearly 35 years. The passion and
professionalism with which he conducted his duties as
President for Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014 and
later as Secretary/Treasurer for California Professional
Firefighters made him highly qualified to lead the state
Office of Emergency Services (OES) as Director from 1999-2004.
During his time at OES, Dallas responded to and was on the
ground during a myriad of emergencies, including the
devastating fire storms in 2003 that engulfed Southern
California. After leaving that post, he continued his work by
returning as Secretary-Treasurer for the California
Professional Firefighters, even after he was diagnosed with
cancer in 2007. He ultimately succumbed to cancer in 2008.
3. Possible Amendments:
Currently, AB 585 references firefighters who work on federal
government installations and who are trained as per state law.
While the author and sponsor are specific that this bill is
for active firefighters at National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) installations, the language is currently
non-specific. For the sake of specificity, the Committee may
wish to consider the following amendment:
On page 3, line 2, strike "United States government" and
insert "National Aeronautics and Space Administration".
4. Proponent Arguments :
Proponents note that current law does not extend a cancer
presumption to active firefighters on National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) installations, despite the fact
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
that they are trained as per California requirements and
exposed to significant chemical hazards. Proponents note that
at Mountain View's NASA Ames Research Center and Pasadena's
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, firefighters are in constant
contact with exotic metals and carbon fiber, which are highly
toxic when involved in a fire. On a daily basis, these
firefighters are exposed to extremely hazardous chemicals and
thousands of gallons of jet fuel that are stored in these
facilities.
While protecting the civil and military personnel on these
facilities, these firefighters are exposed to the same
hazardous materials, fires, and dangers as their counterparts
in the public sector. Therefore, the proponents believe that
is important that the existing cancer presumption for
firefighting personnel be extended to NASA installation
firefighters.
5. Concerns :
The California Chamber of Commerce is concerned about AB 585.
The Chamber notes that existing law requires that the workers
compensation system is a no-fault system where judges are
required to construe the laws in a liberal manner in order to
protect persons injured through the course of employment. The
Chamber notes that they have traditionally opposed the
expansion of presumptions, as the Chamber believes that it
could be a bad precedent for the system. The Chamber argues
that the existing bill is written too broadly, and therefore
urges the author to specifically cite NASA facilities in order
to ensure that AB 585 doesn't open the door to other groups in
the future.
6. Prior Legislation :
AB 2253 (Coto), Chapter 672, Statutes of 2010, lengthens the
statute of limitations for a workers' compensation cancer
presumption for peace officers and firefighters from 5 years
to 10 years.
SB 1271 (Cedillo), Chapter 747, Statutes of 2008, extends the
rebuttable presumption of cancer as an occupational injury for
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
firefighters to firefighters on Department of Defense
installations.
AB 3011 (Torres), Chapter 1568, Statutes of 1982, created the
initial rebuttable presumption of cancer as an occupational
injury for firefighters.
SUPPORT
California Professional Firefighters (Sponsor)
Glendale Fire Fighters' Association Local 776
Los Angeles County Fire Fighters Local 1014
Moffett Field Firefighter's Association Local I-79
Palo Alto Professional Fire Fighters Local 1319
San Jose Fire Fighters Local 230
Santa Clara County Fire Fighters Local 1165
8 Individuals
CONCERNS
The California Chamber of Commerce
OPPOSITION
None on file.
Hearing Date: July 6, 2011 AB 585
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 6
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations