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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
firefighters; occupational disease; cancers
Purpose
Clarifies the conditions presumed to have arisen out of employment as a peace officer, firefighter or fire investigator for the purposes of workers' compensation coverage.
Background
Injured employees, and dependents of deceased employees, are entitled to receive workers' compensation from accidents arising out of and in the course of employment (A.R.S. § 23-1021). Accidents arising out of employment include occupational diseases that are due to conditions of a particular trade, occupation, process or employment and not the ordinary diseases to which the general public is exposed (A.R.S. § 23-901).
Under current statute, a firefighter's, fire investigator's or peace officer's disability or death is presumed to have resulted from a compensable occupational disease if caused by specified conditions. The conditions presumed to have arisen out of employment for firefighters, fire investigators and peace officers currently include any disease, infirmity or impairment to health caused by brain, bladder, rectal or colon cancer, lymphoma, leukemia or adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory tract. The conditions presumed to have arisen out of employment for firefighters and fire investigators also includes any disease, infirmity or impairment to health caused by buccal cavity, pharynx, esophagus, large intestine, lung, kidney, prostate, skin, stomach, ovarian, breast or testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma or malignant melanoma (A.R.S. §§ 23-901.01 and 23-901.09).
In January 2025, the Industrial Commission of Arizona, responsible for implementing the workers' compensation system, produced a substantive policy statement, which clarifies that adenocarcinoma, in the scope of firefighter workers’ compensation claims, is to be interpreted as a standalone condition and does not need to be of the respiratory tract to qualify under the workers’ compensation statutes (ICA Policy Statement).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Clarifies the conditions presumed to have arisen out of employment for peace officers, firefighters and fire investigators.
2. Makes technical and conforming changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Removes, from the conditions presumed to have arisen out of employment, any disease, infirmity or impairment of a peace officer's health caused by:
a) breast cancer;
b) buccal cavity cancer;
c) esophageal cancer;
d) kidney cancer;
e) large intestine cancer;
f) lung cancer;
g) malignant melanoma;
h) multiple myeloma;
i) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma;
j) ovarian cancer;
k) pharynx cancer;
l) prostate cancer;
m) skin cancer;
n) stomach cancer; or
o) testicular cancer.
Senate Action
FIN 2/2/26 DPA 6-1-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 3, 2026
MG/SJ/hk