TO REQUIRE A PUBLIC EMPLOYER TO OFFER AND PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR LICENSED COUNSELING FOR A PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE WHO HAS EXPERIENCED A TRAUMATIC EVENT; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

Counseling coverage for public safety workers

Arkansas public employers must cover counseling for eligible public safety workers after qualifying on-duty trauma. Covered workers include probation, surveillance, and adult or juvenile detention officers, plus covered police officers and firefighters. Police officers and firefighters must be paid, full-time workers; certain National Guard personnel and fire academy instructors also qualify. Qualifying trauma includes exposure to extraordinary bodily injury or death; serious injury, death, abuse, or exploitation of a minor; an immediate threat to life; or a mass-casualty event. Coverage provides up to 12 visits in the event's calendar year, regardless of how many qualifying events occur. If counseling starts on or after July 1, unused visits can carry into the next calendar year. Total coverage cannot exceed 18 visits in any calendar year. A licensed mental health professional specializing in trauma and crisis must provide evidence-based care; telehealth is allowed. Employees must document billed amounts, and employer payments cannot exceed the deductibles and conditions of their current health plan. Employees may select their provider, but employers need not secure a chosen provider who declines. Employers can use a counseling program that meets these coverage requirements. Employer payment does not establish that a workers' compensation claim qualifies for benefits.