The Utah House of Representatives and Senate both passed a bill during a special legislative session on Thursday that would amend the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act to include coverage for volunteer first responders and health care providers who contract COVID-19.
Under House Bill 3007, sponsored by House Majority Leader Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, it would be presumed that “a first responder who claims to have contracted COVID-19 during the performance of the first responder’s duties as a first responder” is eligible for a workers’ compensation claim.
According to the bill, first responders claiming to have contracted COVID-19 would have to “provide a copy of the positive laboratory test or the written documentation of a physician’s diagnosis to the first responder’s employer or insurer.”
The bill passed through the House unanimously on Monday morning and through the Senate later in the evening on a 25-3 vote.