Legislative Successes on Behavioral Health

Established in 2016 as a joint labor-management initiative, the California Fire Service Behavioral Health Task Force is dedicated to advancing behavioral health, wellness, and safety in the fire service. Since its founding, the Task Force has been working to transform the fire service culture by normalizing mental health conversations and providing the essential resources for support. Through legislative efforts, the Task Force has achieved significant breakthroughs, fostering a more supportive environment for addressing the mental and emotional toll of firefighting.

AB 1116 (Grayson, 2019) 

Firefighters: peer support

Peer support is a vital resource, providing critical counseling and emotional support to firefighters struggling with the emotional toll of their work. AB 1116 establishes important confidentiality protections for conversations between firefighters and peer supporters. This bill establishes statewide standards for peer support and ensures that these conversations can take place with the confidence that their contents will not be shared.

SB 542 (Stern, 2019) 

Workers’ compensation

Over the course of their careers, firefighters experience horrors that few can imagine. The accumulation of these experiences can lead to significant mental health effects, including post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI), directly caused by the nature of their work. SB 542 establishes a landmark presumption in the workers’ compensation system that declares PTSI a job-caused injury for firefighters and ensures that those suffering from its effects will have access to life-saving care. 

SB 623 (Laird, 2023)

Workers’ compensation: post-traumatic stress disorder

This measure extends the sunset for the workers’ compensation presumption for PTSI established by SB 542 to January 1, 2029. This means firefighters will continue to have access to this important protection. Additionally, this legislation directs the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) to complete a study on the occurrence of PTSI among public safety dispatchers and the difficulties faced by obstacles in accessing care under the current system. 

AB 1020 (Grayson, 2023)

County employees retirement law of 1937: disability retirement: medical conditions: employment-related presumption

This measure creates parity between the CalPERS and 1937 Act Retirement Systems with regards to industrial disability retirement by establishing that the burden of proof for that retirement is consistent with the findings of workers’ compensation. This ensures that firefighters who must retire early due to PTSI, found to be job-related, are not forced to re-litigate these painful experiences and can instead retire with dignity.