[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2399 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2399

 To prohibit termination of employment of volunteers firefighters and 
 emergency medical personnel responding to emergencies, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2006

Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. DeWine) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit termination of employment of volunteers firefighters and 
 emergency medical personnel responding to emergencies, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Volunteer Firefighter and EMS 
Personnel Job Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Emergency.--The term ``emergency'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 
        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).
            (2) Major disaster.--The term ``major disaster'' has the 
        meanings given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5122).
            (3) Qualified volunteer fire department.--The term 
        ``qualified volunteer fire department'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986.
            (4) Volunteer emergency medical services.--The term 
        ``volunteer emergency medical services'' means emergency 
        medical services performed on a voluntary basis for a fire 
        department or other emergency organization.
            (5) Volunteer firefighter.--The term ``volunteer 
        firefighter'' means an individual who is a member in good 
        standing of a qualified volunteer fire department.

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AND 
              EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL PROHIBITED.

    (a) Termination Prohibited.--No employee may be terminated, 
demoted, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and 
conditions of employment because such employee is absent from or late 
to the employee's employment for the purpose of serving as a volunteer 
firefighter or providing volunteer emergency medical services as part 
of a response to an emergency or major disaster.
    (b) Deployment.--The prohibition in subsection (a) shall apply to 
an employee serving as a volunteer firefighter or providing volunteer 
emergency medical services if such employee--
            (1) is specifically deployed to respond to the emergency or 
        major disaster in accordance with a coordinated national 
        deployment system such as the Emergency Management Assistance 
        Compact or a pre-existing mutual aid agreement; or
            (2) is a volunteer firefighter who--
                    (A) is a member of a qualified volunteer fire 
                department that is located in the State in which the 
                emergency or major disaster occurred;
                    (B) is not a member of a qualified fire department 
                that has a mutual aid agreement with a community 
                affected by such emergency or major disaster; and
                    (C) has been deployed by the emergency management 
                agency of such State to respond to such emergency or 
                major disaster.
    (c) Limitations.--The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply 
to an employee who--
            (1) is absent from the employee's employment for the 
        purpose described in subsection (a) for more than 14 days per 
        calendar year;
            (2) responds on the emergency or major disaster without 
        being officially deployed as described in subsection (b); or
            (3) fails to provide the written verification described in 
        subsection (e) within a reasonable period of time.
    (d) Withholding of Pay.--An employer may reduce an employee's 
regular pay for any time that the employee is absent from the 
employee's employment for the purpose described in subsection (a).
    (e) Verification.--An employer may require an employee to provide a 
written verification from the official of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency supervising the Federal response to the emergency or 
major disaster or a local or State official managing the local or State 
response to the emergency or major disaster that states--
            (1) the employee responded to the emergency or major 
        disaster in an official capacity; and
            (2) the schedule and dates of the employee's participation 
        in such response.
    (f) Reasonable Notice Required.--An employee who may be absent from 
or late to the employee's employment for the purpose described in 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) make a reasonable effort to notify the employee's 
        employer of such absence; and
            (2) continue to provide reasonable notifications over the 
        course of such absence.

SEC. 4. RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) Right of Action.--An individual who has been terminated, 
demoted, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and 
conditions of employment in violation of the prohibition described in 
section (3) may bring, in a district court of the United States of 
appropriate jurisdiction, a civil action against individual's employer 
seeking--
            (1) reinstatement of the individual's former employment;
            (2) payment of back wages;
            (3) reinstatement of fringe benefits; and
            (4) if the employment granted seniority rights, 
        reinstatement of seniority rights.
    (b) Limitation.--The individual shall commence a civil action under 
this section not later than 1 year after the date of the violation of 
the prohibition described in section 3.

SEC. 5. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Labor shall conduct a study on the 
impact that this Act could have on the employers of volunteer 
firefighters or individuals who provide volunteer emergency medical 
services and who may be called on to respond to an emergency or major 
disaster.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report on the study conducted 
under subsection (a).
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section, the 
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Small Business of the 
House of Representatives.
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