Governor Expands Traumatic-Event Counseling Requirements

Friday, July 20, 2018 | 1

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey held a ceremony Wednesday to celebrate a bill he signed in April that expanded the traumatic-event counseling program for first responders.

In 2016, Ducey signed legislation requiring employers to create counseling programs and pay for 12 counseling sessions when first responders are exposed to potentially negative events.

The program is required to provide counseling to cops who were exposed to the use of deadly force; firefighters who witness the death of another firefighter; all public safety workers who witness death or maiming of another person; any public safety officer involved in an investigation of a dangerous crime against a child; and anyone requiring rescue while working.

In April, Ducey signed HB 2502 creating more conditions that trigger the requirement for employers to pay for counseling and tripled the number of counseling sessions employers have to provide.

A peace officer who witnesses the death of another officer is now entitled to employer-provided counseling, under HB 2502. Firefighters who are subjected to the use of deadly force, regardless of whether they are actually injured, are entitled to counseling. And any peace officer or firefighter who responds to a call for the drowning of a child is also entitled to counseling.

HB 2502 also states that the first responders have the freedom to choose a treating mental health care professional. And, the bill requires employers to pay for up to 24 additional sessions if the mental health professional determines after the initial 12 sessions that more counseling could be beneficial.

The bill also requires employers to ensure that a first responder deemed unfit to return to work by the treating mental health professional does not have any loss of pay or benefits for up to 30 calendar days.

HB 2502 appears to be what lawmakers settled on after a proposal to require workers’ compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder fizzled out in the Senate.

HB 2501, by Rep. Paul Boyer, R-Phoenix, would have created a presumption that certain types of traumatic events result in a compensable mental health injury for first responders. Events such as witnessing the use of force, or the death or injury of a co-worker — the same things that trigger the mandatory counseling under the program created in 2016 and expanded by HB 2502 — would have triggered the presumption.

While the House passed the bill 57-2 in February, the Senate never called a vote on the bill before the session adjourned in March.