An Act ensuring confidentiality for emergency service providers

This bill (HD 3039) protects the confidentiality of discussions during crisis counseling sessions for emergency service providers - including law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel. It ensures that information shared with certified counselors during critical incident stress management sessions cannot be disclosed without consent, except in specific safety-related circumstances (such as threats of self-harm, reports of misconduct, or violations of law). Certified counselors must be approved by the Massachusetts Peer Support Network or International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and employers must maintain their certification records. Violations by counselors result in decertification for five years.