Firefighter Presumption Takes Effect May 12

Utah firefighters with at least eight years of tobacco-free experience will be entitled to a rebuttable presumption that certain cancers were contracted in the course of employment beginning May 12. Senate Bill 135, by Sen. Karen Mayne, D-Salt Lake, creates a presumption that pharynx, esophagus, lung and mesothelioma cancer are occupational in nature for the state's firefighters who regularly responded to emergency calls for an eight-year period and underwent annual physical examinations. An employer could rebut the presumption by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that ...