Florida Senate Bill 330 was introduced, which would allow first responders to use a preemployment physical examination from a previous employer to qualify for the presumption that certain diseases arose from their work.

Under current law, tuberculosis, heart disease, and hypertension are presumptive occupational diseases for law enforcement officers, firefighters, correctional officers, and probation officers. To qualify, workers must have undergone a pre-employment physical that showed no evidence of these conditions. The bill would permit first responders to rely on an older preemployment exam if their current employer did not require one.

Allowing first responders to rely on older exams could expand access to the statutory presumption for certain occupational diseases. This may affect claim eligibility and increase the number of cases where the presumption applies, creating potential shifts in compensability and claim costs.