48-101.01. Mental injuries and mental illness; first responder; frontline state employee; compensation; when.

(1) Personal injury includes mental injuries and mental illness unaccompanied by physical injury for an employee who is a first responder or frontline state employee if such first responder or frontline state employee:

(a) Establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the employee's employment conditions causing the mental injury or mental illness were extraordinary and unusual in comparison to the normal conditions of the particular employment; and

(b) Establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, the medical causation between the mental injury or mental illness and the employment conditions by medical evidence.

(2) For purposes of this section, mental injuries and mental illness arising out of and in the course of employment unaccompanied by physical injury are not considered compensable if they result from any event or series of events which are incidental to normal employer and employee relations, including, but not limited to, personnel actions by the employer such as disciplinary actions, work evaluations, transfers, promotions, demotions, salary reviews, or terminations.

(3) For purposes of this section:

(a) First responder means a sheriff, a deputy sheriff, a police officer, an officer of the Nebraska State Patrol, a volunteer or paid firefighter, or a volunteer or paid individual licensed under a licensure classification in subdivision (1) of section 38-1217 who provides medical care in order to prevent loss of life or aggravation of physiological or psychological illness or injury;

(b) Frontline state employee means an employee of the Department of Correctional Services or the Department of Health and Human Services whose duties involve regular and direct interaction with high-risk individuals;

(c) High-risk individual means an individual in state custody for whom violent or physically intimidating behavior is common, including, but not limited to, a committed offender as defined in section 83-170, a patient at a regional center as defined in section 71-911, and a juvenile committed to the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center-Kearney or the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center-Geneva; and

(d) State custody means under the charge or control of a state institution or state agency and includes time spent outside of the state institution or state agency.

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