BILL NUMBER: S7272
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to benefits for
police officers, correction officers, firefighters, and other emergency
personnel diagnosed with PTSD
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that New York's first responders are rightfully compensated
for their service, specifically when they suffer from post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their duty to the people of New
York, this bill adds PTSD to the list of eligible medical conditions for
§ 207-a and 207-c benefits.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 1 of Section 207-a of General
Municipal Law (GML) to provide that a diagnosis of PTSD from a psychol-
ogist or psychiatrist for certain firefighter titles outlined in this
section shall be compensable for the workplace injury benefits provided
in GML § 207-a unless it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence
that the PTSD was caused by non-service connected risk factors/exposure.
Sections two and three of this bill creates this same PTSD presumption
for certain police titles who receive the same workplace injury benefits
under § 207-c of General Municipal Law.
Section four of this bill provides that this act shall take effect imme-
diately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
According to a publication in May 2018 by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, more than 50 percent of firefighter
deaths are from stress or exhaustion in the United States and about 30
percent of firefighters report having depression or PTSD compared to 20
percent of the general population.
In addition, countless studies and research have been conducted and
published regarding the increase in reported PTSD by police officers
following the 9/11 attacks in NYC.
This bill justly adds the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder to
the list of eligible medical conditions eligible for workplace injury
benefits provided to firefighters and police officers under Sections
207-a and 207-c of General Municipal Law (GML). These 207-a/207-c bene-
fits are similar to workers compensation in that they are meant to cover
wages and medical care for workplace-related injuries.
This bill builds upon Ch. 79 of 2025, which made it vastly easier for a
range of first responders to access workers compensation for PTSD inju-
ries by prohibiting the Workers Compensation Board from rejecting PTSD
workers comp claims so long as the first responder could point to a
specific work-related event that led to the PTSD and was able to submit
an accompanying diagnosis with sufficient medical evidence. As many
firefighters and police officers receive GML § 207-a or 207-c benefits
in lieu of workers comp, this bill aims to extend this same ability to
access workers comp-like benefits for PTSD injuries to these valuable
first responders.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S7272: 207-a general municipal law, 207-a(1) general municipal law, 207-c general municipal law, 207-c(1) general municipal law