On Monday, May 14, 2012 Tennessee Governor Bill Haslem signed a statewide presumption law which covers HIV.  The new law specifies that the contraction of HIV by any firefighter, paramedic, or EMT is presumed job related.  The TPFFA introduced the bill four years ago.  In 2011 it passed the Tennessee Senate with a unanimous vote of 33-0.  Near the end of the 2012 legislative session after numerous delays, the TPFFA was successful in getting the bill to the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives where it passed with an astounding vote of 90-0.  “I believe that we were able to accomplish this great victory because of the TPFFA’s policy of bipartisan support of candidates”, Commented TPFFA President Eddie Mitchell.  President Mitchell went on to say that, “We worked extremely hard to gain the support of the leadership in the Senate and House and with their help it made the unanimous vote possible”.  Firefighters and emergency medical responders are currently required to document known exposures to infectious diseases including HIV, but they respond daily to emergencies where they have no knowledge of the medical history of a patient.  In the past, if an emergency responder contracted HIV on the job and didn’t know the exact time of exposure it was impossible to prove that it was job related.  The new law will change that by transferring the burden of proof from the employee to the employer when a firefighter, paramedic, or EMT contracts HIV and the claim is that it is job related. With the Governor’s signature the law will officially go into effect on July 1, 2012.