HB51 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Randy WoodRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Workers' compensation, occupational disease further defined, Sec. 25-5-110 am'd.

Summary

HB 51 would let mental health conditions like PTSD count as occupational disease in workers' compensation for certain public-safety and emergency workers, even without a physical injury.

What This Bill Does

Currently, Alabama law only recognizes mental illness as an occupational disease if there is a concurrent physical injury. If passed, the bill would add mental disease or disorder, including PTSD, to the occupational disease definition for paid law enforcement officers, paid firefighters, and paid emergency medical workers. It would apply regardless of whether there is a physical injury, so these workers could pursue workers' compensation for mental health conditions that arise from their work.

Who It Affects

• Paid law enforcement officers, paid firefighters, and paid emergency medical workers would be eligible to file for workers' compensation for work-related mental health conditions (e.g., PTSD) even without an accompanying physical injury.
• Public sector employers and workers' compensation insurers that administer or pay these claims would handle and fund such mental-health-related workers' compensation claims.

Key Provisions

• Expands the definition of occupational disease to include mental disease or disorder (including PTSD) for paid law enforcement officers, paid firefighters, and paid emergency medical workers.
• Requires mental health conditions to arise out of and in the course of employment for these workers, without regard to an accompanying physical injury.
• Amends Section 25-5-110, Code of Alabama 1975, to implement this change.
• Effective date: becomes law on the first day of the third month after passage and governor's approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Workers' Compensation