Virginia lawmakers consider occupational disease bill

Virginia lawmakers are considering a bill that would provide employers a definition of occupational illness for workers who may be eligible for workers compensation.

S.B. 520, introduced Tuesday and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor, would further define occupational disease in the state’s workers compensation law to include “injuries or diseases from conditions resulting from repetitive and sustained physical stressors, including repetitive and sustained motions, exertions, posture stresses, contact stresses, vibrations or noises.”

The bill also states that “repetitive and sustained physical stress is not required to have occurred over a particular period of time, so long as the period of time over which such physical stress occurred can be reasonably identified.”