A.(1) In order for any applicant to be eligible for membership in the Firefighters’ Retirement System, such applicant shall complete the enrollment process, including the completion of the applicant form prescribed by the system, and shall have a physical examination which shall be evidenced by a physical examination form prescribed by the system.

            (2) National Fire Protection Association code 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, is the governing standard of physical evaluations required for membership in the system. The version of the code in effect on an employee‘s date of hire is applicable for purposes of his membership in the system. An employee shall not be enrolled as a member in the system until his employer provides the system with a written statement certifying that he has successfully completed a physical examination that meets or exceeds this standard. The board of trustees may waive the provisions of this Paragraph for any employee or employer.

            (3) The cost of the physical examination shall be paid by the employer. If the current physical or mental condition or medical history of an applicant, as reflected on the physical examination form, is outside the guidelines established by the board physician, said applicant shall be required to execute a waiver for any condition reflected thereon.

            B. The enrollment process, including the completion of the applicant forms, the physical examination, and the completion of any waivers of preexisting conditions, shall be completed and all documents received by the fund within six months after July 1, 1995, or the date of employment, whichever is later, for the applicant to become a member eligible to begin vesting for regular and disability benefits from the date of employment. If the enrollment process is not completed within six months from July 1, 1995, or the date of employment, whichever is later, the applicant will be a member eligible to begin vesting for regular benefits from the date of employment, but not eligible to begin vesting for disability benefits until the completion of the enrollment process.

            C. It shall be the responsibility of the employer to insure that the enrollment process is timely completed, or to provide the Firefighters’ Retirement System with notification of noncompliance by the applicant. Should any member who has not completed the enrollment process be injured in the line of duty and apply for disability benefits, that member shall be required to prove that the disabling condition was not preexisting.

            D. Should the physical examination not be completed because the employer refused to pay for the physical examination, the employer shall be liable for any disability benefit to which the member would be entitled.

            Acts 1995, No. 599, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 2019, No. 254, §1.