The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation on Wednesday made public a notice of a proposed change to its rules on post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by first responders who witness “grievous bodily harm of a nature that shocks the conscience” to include correctional officers.

Current law identifies eight separate injuries that qualify as “grievous bodily harm of a nature that shocks the conscience for first responders to receive workers' compensation benefits for PTSD under certain circumstances.” Such injuries include decapitation and exposure to various internal organs.

The proposed change circumvents the Legislature “based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs,” the notice states, including that the division “has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule.”

If requested within 21 days of the date of the notice, a hearing can be scheduled and announced in the Florida Administrative Register, the notice states.

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