Firefighter Cancer Benefits: A Case for Prospective Application

In 2019, Florida passed a law giving benefits to firefighters diagnosed with certain types of cancer. A recent court decision awarded benefits to a firefighter diagnosed before the law took effect. This has caused local governments to defend their policies of only giving benefits for diagnoses after the law’s effective date. A study found that firefighters have a higher risk of cancer than the general population. It’s likely that local governments will be able to apply the law only to future cancer diagnoses based on past legal cases. In 2018, President Trump signed a law to create a registry to track cancer in firefighters. Florida and 44 other states have laws to help firefighters with cancer. In Florida, if a firefighter is diagnosed with cancer, it’s assumed to be work-related unless proven otherwise. If a firefighter is totally and permanently disabled due to cancer, they automatically get benefits. If a firefighter gets diagnosed with one of 21 specific types of cancer, their employer has to give them $25,000 and cover all their medical costs for the cancer treatment. The firefighter can’t also get workers’ compensation for the same cancer. The employer has to treat the cancer as a work-related injury and give the firefighter time off if they need it. This only applies to full-time firefighters who are responsible for fighting fires and enforcing fire codes. Volunteers, part-time firefighters, and other fire department employees are not eligible for these benefits. Full-time firefighters are eligible for a one-time payment and cancer treatment benefits if they have been employed for at least five years, have not used tobacco for the past five years, and have not been in any other high-risk job. They can receive the benefits for 10 years after leaving their job as long as they continue health coverage and meet other eligibility criteria. If a firefighter becomes disabled or dies from cancer, they or their beneficiaries can receive special retirement benefits without having to prove that their cancer was caused by their job. This does not apply to the five-year eligibility requirements for the one-time payment and treatment benefits. If a firefighter dies from cancer, their beneficiaries are entitled to a one-time payment of $75,000. A firefighter sued their employer for denying them this benefit after being diagnosed with cancer before the law took effect. The court ruled in favor of the firefighter, but it’s unclear if the law applies to cancer diagnosed before it took effect. If this issue comes up again in court, the ruling might be reversed. In Florida, a new law will not apply to past cases unless the legislature clearly intended it to. Substantive laws create new rights or obligations, while remedial laws further existing remedies. The courts in Florida have generally followed this rule. In a specific case about benefits for firefighters, the trial court applied the law retroactively, even though it creates new benefits and obligations. This goes against the usual approach in Florida courts. The distinction between substantive and remedial laws can be blurry, especially when a law creates a new benefit as an alternative to an existing one. But in general, in Florida, laws that affect substantive rights and impose new burdens are not applied retroactively. The Florida Supreme Court made a decision in Walker & LaBerge, Inc. v. Halligan about a law that changed how subcontractors could be sued for workplace injuries. The court said that the law didn’t apply to a case that happened before it was passed. They said that it’s important to use the workers’ compensation law that was in place at the time of the injury. This is different from another case called Francis, which said the new law could be used instead of workers’ compensation. The Florida Supreme Court had to decide whether a law about attorneys’ fees should apply to a case that was already in progress. The law originally said that attorneys’ fees were limited to 12.5% of the judgment, but it was changed while the case was going on. The court had to decide if the new law could be used in the case.

One district court said the new law was a big change and couldn’t be used in the case. Another district court said the new law was just fixing a problem and could be used in the case. The Florida Supreme Court agreed with the first district court, saying the new law was a big change and couldn’t be used in the case.

In another case about a different law, the court said that if a law doesn’t say it can be used in old cases, then it can only be used in new cases. The law about attorneys’ fees didn’t say it could be used in old cases, so it can only be used in new cases. The law in Florida heavily supports a rule that limits benefits for firefighters diagnosed with cancer after July 1, 2019. But some local governments may want to give benefits to firefighters diagnosed before that date. This could lead to more lawsuits and confusion about the law. The courts will probably have to decide if the law applies to firefighters who were diagnosed with cancer before July 1, 2019.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/firefighter-cancer-benefits-a-case-for-prospective-application/