By FireRescue1 Staff
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A proposed Arkansas bill would give firefighters who are battling cancer more sick leave.
KATV reported that HB 1299, also known as “Crump’s Law,” was proposed by Rep. Nicole Clowney in honor of firefighter Nathaniel Crump, who lost his battle against cancer in 2017.
Crump was diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and did not have enough sick days for his treatment.
“We started treatment,” Crump’s wife Jessica said. “He started losing some time. He eventually lost all of his sick days while we were in the hospital. We had to face making decisions of him losing his job and his insurance.”
Clowney said Crump was forced to return to duty just weeks before he died.
“It was so frustrating because Nathaniel’s one passion and the one thing that kept him going was being a firefighter,” Jessica said.
Clowney said the bill is meant to close a “gap in Arkansas law.” Current legislation does not give firefighters with cancer any kind of special leave, but the bill would give them one year of leave.