The Ranks Of The First Responder Special Class Is Growing

Legislative bills in Montana and Idaho that will grant certain benefits and presumptions for first responders appear to be headed to a successful result, bringing those states in line with many others who have recently followed the same path. The Montana proposal would provide automatic presumptions for certain medical diseases and illnesses, while the Idaho effort will establish psychiatric and mental health benefits for first responders who experience mental trauma without a correlated physical injury (mental-mental). In other words, first responders in those states will become a special class of employee, granted benefits denied to other people who lack the appropriate job title.