Workers' compensation; extend eligibility for first responders to 5 years.

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To: Insurance
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hill

SENATE BILL NO. 2739

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 71-3-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE THAT FOR FIRST RESPONDERS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER NOTICE 2
WAS RECEIVED, IF NO PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION IS MADE AND NO 3
APPLICATION FOR BENEFITS FILED WITH THE COMMISSION WITHIN FIVE 4
YEARS FROM THE DATE OF THE INJURY OR DEATH, THE RIGHT TO 5
COMPENSATION THEREFOR SHALL BE BARRED; TO AMEND SECTION 71-3-3, 6
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE THE TERM "FIRST RESPONDER," 7
"FIREFIGHTER" AND "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER"; AND FOR RELATED 8
PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. Section 71-3-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 11
amended as follows: 12
71-3-35. (1) (a) No claim for compensation shall be 13
maintained unless, within thirty (30) days after the occurrence of 14
the injury, actual notice was received by the employer or by an 15
officer, manager, or designated representative of an employer. If 16
no representative has been designated by posters placed in one or 17
more conspicuous places, then notice received by any superior 18
shall be sufficient. Absence of notice shall not bar recovery if 19
it is found that the employer had knowledge of the injury and was 20
not prejudiced by the employee's failure to give notice. 21
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(b) For persons other than first responders, regardless 22
of whether notice was received, if no payment of compensation 23
(other than medical treatment or burial expense) is made and no 24
application for benefits filed with the commission within two (2) 25
years from the date of the injury or death, the right to 26
compensation therefor shall be barred. 27
(c) For first responders, regardless of whether notice 28
was received, if no payment of compensation (other than medical 29
treatment or burial expense) is made and no application for 30
benefits filed with the commission within five (5) years from the 31
date of the injury or death, the right to compensation therefor 32
shall be barred. 33
(2) If a person who is entitled to compensation under this 34
chapter is mentally incompetent or a minor, the limitation for 35
filing application for benefits shall not be applicable so long as 36
such person has no guardian or other authorized representative, 37
but shall be applicable in the case of a person who is mentally 38
incompetent or a minor from the date of appointment of such 39
guardian or other representative, or in the case of a minor, if no 40
guardian is appointed before he becomes of age, from the date he 41
becomes of age. 42
(3) Where recovery is denied to any person, in a suit 43
brought at law or admiralty to recover damages in respect of 44
injury or death, on the ground that such person was an employee 45
and that the defendant was an employer within the meaning of this 46
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chapter and that such employer had secured compensation to such 47
employee under this chapter, the limitation upon filing 48
application for benefits shall begin to run only from the date of 49
termination of such suit. 50
SECTION 2. Section 71-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 51
amended as follows: 52
71-3-3. Unless the context otherwise requires, the 53
definitions which follow govern the construction and meaning of 54
the terms used in this chapter: 55
(a) "Person" includes an individual, firm, voluntary 56
association or a corporation. 57
(b) "Injury" means accidental injury or accidental 58
death arising out of and in the course of employment without 59
regard to fault which results from an untoward event or events, if 60
contributed to or aggravated or accelerated by the employment in a 61
significant manner. Untoward event includes events causing 62
unexpected results. An untoward event or events shall not be 63
presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, 64
except in the case of an employee found dead in the course of 65
employment. This definition includes injuries to artificial 66
members, and also includes an injury caused by the willful act of 67
a third person directed against an employee because of his 68
employment while so employed and working on the job, and 69
disability or death due to exposure to ionizing radiation from any 70
process in employment involving the use of or direct contact with 71
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radium or radioactive substances with the use of or direct 72
exposure to roentgen (X-rays) or ionizing radiation. In radiation 73
cases only, the date of disablement shall be treated as the date 74
of the accident. Occupational diseases, or the aggravation 75
thereof, are excluded from the term "injury," provided that, 76
except as otherwise specified, all provisions of this chapter 77
apply equally to occupational diseases as well as injury. 78
(c) "Death," when mentioned as a basis for the right to 79
compensation, means only death resulting from such an injury. 80
(d) "Employee" means any person, including a minor 81
whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, in the service of an 82
employer under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, written or 83
oral, express or implied, provided that there shall be excluded 84
therefrom all independent contractors and especially any 85
individual performing service in, and at the time of, the sale of 86
newspapers or magazines to ultimate consumers under an arrangement 87
under which the newspapers or magazines are to be sold by the 88
individual at a fixed price, the individual's compensation being 89
based on the retention of the excess of such price over the amount 90
at which the newspapers or magazines are charged to the 91
individual, whether or not the individual is guaranteed a minimum 92
amount of compensation for such service or is entitled to be 93
credited with the unsold newspapers or magazines returned. A 94
student of an educational institution who, as a part of such 95
educational institution's curriculum, is receiving practical 96
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training at any facility, who is under the active and direct 97
supervision of the personnel of the facility and/or an instructor 98
of the educational institution, and who is not receiving wages as 99
a consequence of participation in such practical training shall 100
not be considered an employee of such facility on account of 101
participation in such practical training. 102
(e) "Employer," except when otherwise expressly stated, 103
includes a person, partnership, association, corporation and the 104
legal representatives of a deceased employer, or the receiver or 105
trustee of a person, partnership, association or corporation. 106
(f) "Carrier" means any person authorized in accordance 107
with the provisions of this chapter to insure under this chapter 108
and includes self-insurers. 109
(g) "Self-insurer" is an employer who has been 110
authorized under the provisions of this chapter to carry his own 111
liability on his covered employees without insuring in a stock or 112
mutual carrier. 113
(h) "Commission" means the Workers' Compensation 114
Commission. 115
(i) "Disability" means incapacity because of injury to 116
earn the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of 117
injury in the same or other employment, which incapacity and the 118
extent thereof must be supported by medical findings. 119
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(j) "Compensation" means the money allowance payable to 120
an injured worker or his dependents as provided in this chapter, 121
and includes funeral benefits provided therein. 122
(k) "Wages" includes the money rate at which the 123
service rendered is recompensed under the contract of hiring in 124
force at the time of injury, and also the reasonable value of 125
board, rent, housing, lodging or similar advantage received from 126
the employer and gratuities received in the course of employment 127
from others than the employer. The term "wages" shall not include 128
practical training received by students of an educational 129
institution as a part of such educational institution's 130
curriculum. 131
(l) "Child" shall include a posthumous child, a child 132
legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee, a child in 133
relation to whom the deceased employee stood in the place of a 134
parent for at least one (1) year prior to the time of injury and a 135
stepchild or acknowledged illegitimate child dependent upon the 136
deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly 137
dependent on him. "Grandchild" means a child as above defined of 138
a child as above defined. "Brother" and "sister" include 139
stepbrothers and stepsisters, half brothers and half sisters, and 140
brothers and sisters by adoption, but does not include married 141
brothers nor married sisters unless wholly dependent on the 142
employee. "Child," "grandchild," "brother" and "sister" include 143
only persons who are under eighteen (18) years of age, and also 144
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persons who, though eighteen (18) years of age or over, are wholly 145
dependent upon the deceased employee and incapable of self-support 146
by reason of mental or physical disability, and also a child 147
eighteen (18) years of age or older, until his twenty-third 148
birthday, who is dependent upon the deceased and is pursuing a 149
full-time education. 150
(m) "Parent" includes stepparents and parents by 151
adoption, parents-in-law or any person who for more than three (3) 152
years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the 153
place of a parent to him, or her, if dependent on the injured 154
employee. 155
(n) The term "surviving spouse" includes the decedent's 156
legal wife or husband, living with him or her or dependent for 157
support upon him or her at the time of death or living apart for 158
justifiable cause or by reason of desertion at such time, 159
provided, however, such separation had not existed for more than 160
three (3) years without an award for separate maintenance or 161
alimony or the filing of a suit for separate maintenance or 162
alimony in the proper court in this state. The term "surviving 163
spouse" shall likewise include one not a legal wife or husband but 164
who had entered into a ceremonial marriage with the decedent at 165
least one (1) year prior to death and who, on the date of the 166
decedent's death, stood in the relationship of a wife or husband, 167
provided there was no living legal spouse who had protected her or 168
his rights for support by affirmative action as hereinabove 169
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required. The term "surviving spouse" as contemplated in this 170
chapter shall not apply to any person who has, since his or her 171
separation from decedent, entered into a ceremonial marriage or 172
lived in open adultery with another. 173
(o) The term "adoption" or "adopted" means legal 174
adoption prior to the time of the injury. 175
(p) The singular includes the plural and the masculine 176
includes the feminine and neuter. 177
(q) It is expressly provided, agreed and understood in 178
determining beneficiaries under this section that a surviving 179
spouse suffering a mental or physical handicap and children under 180
the age of eighteen (18) years are presumed to be dependent. 181
(r) "Independent contractor" means any individual, firm 182
or corporation who contracts to do a piece of work according to 183
his own methods without being subject to the control of his 184
employer except as to the results of the work, and who has the 185
right to employ and direct the outcome of the workers independent 186
of the employer and free from any superior authority in the 187
employer to say how the specified work shall be done or what the 188
laborers shall do as the work progresses, one who undertakes to 189
produce a given result without being in any way controlled as to 190
the methods by which he attains the result. 191
(s) "Average weekly wage for the state" means an amount 192
determined by the commission as of October 1 of each year based 193
upon wage and employment statistics reported to the commission by 194
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ST: Workers' compensation; extend eligibility
for first responders to 5 years.
the Mississippi Employment Security Commission. Such amount shall 195
be based upon data for the preceding twelve-month period and shall 196
be effective from and after January 1 of the following year. 197
(t) "Firefighter" has the meaning assigned under 198
Section 45-2-21(1)(c). 199
(u) "Law enforcement officer" has the meaning assigned 200
under Section 45-2-21(1)(d). 201
(v) "First responder" means a firefighter or law 202
enforcement officer. 203
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 204
and after July 1, 2026. 205