State to Consider Expanding PTSD Presumption to Jail Employees

Washington lawmakers could consider a bill that would broaden workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder among employees at local correctional facilities, extending presumptive benefits given to most first responders and registered nurses in the state. SB 5882, prefiled Monday, would presume that PTSD suffered by local correctional facility workers is an occupational disease if the condition develops after at least 90 consecutive days of employment in Washington. Employers could rebut the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, and claims tied directly...