State Rep. Eli Evankovich, R-Allegheny, issued a memo proposing legislation that would waive the 300-week limitation from last exposure for bringing a claim of occupational diseases when the disease has a latency period of more than 300 weeks, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Evankovich cited the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Tooey v. AK Steel, which held that employees with asbestos-related diseases may file a civil action against their employer if symptoms of the disease didn't manifest until more than 300 weeks after the last work-related exposure, and the employee couldn't recover via a workers' compensation claim.
According to Evankovich, those claims were historically declined by workers' compensation insurers because of a provision that prohibited similar claims after 300 weeks.

Under Evankovich's proposed measure, the 300-week limitation would be waived for bringing a claim for a work-related disease when that disease has a latency period of more than 300 weeks. Claims could be filed based on the date when the claimant is diagnosed with the disease, or when the diseases is detectable.