Bill Text: NJ A640 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Affords employment protection to certain volunteer emergency responders.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A640 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A640-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman JOHN J. BURZICHELLI
District 3 (Salem, Cumberland and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Albano, Scalera, Rible, Chivukula, Assemblywomen Greenstein, Riley and Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Affords employment protection to certain volunteer emergency responders.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act affording employment protections to volunteers responding to emergency alarms in certain cases, and supplementing chapter 14 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Emergency Responders Employment Protection Act."
2. a. As used in this act, "volunteer emergency responder" means an active member in good standing of a volunteer fire company, a volunteer member of a duly incorporated first aid, rescue or ambulance squad, or a member of any county or municipal volunteer Office of Emergency Management, provided the member's official duties include responding to a fire or emergency call.
b. No employer shall terminate, dismiss or suspend an employee who fails to report for work at his place of employment because he is serving as a volunteer emergency responder during a state of emergency declared by the President of the United States or the Governor of this State or is actively engaged in responding to an emergency alarm; provided the volunteer emergency responder provides his employer with (1) notice, at least one hour before he is scheduled to report to his place of employment, that he is rendering emergency services in response to a declared state of emergency or emergency alarm; and (2) upon returning to his place of employment, a copy of the incident report and a certification by the incident commander, or other official or officer in charge, affirming that the volunteer emergency responder was actively engaged in, and necessary for, rendering emergency services and setting forth the date and time the volunteer emergency responder was relieved from emergency duty by that officer or official, as the case may be. If the volunteer emergency responder is actively engaged in rendering emergency services for more than one consecutive work day, the incident commander, or other official or officer in charge, shall direct that appropriate notice be given the volunteer emergency responder's employer each day the volunteer is required to be absent from his employment.
c. No employer shall be required to pay any employee for any work time that the employee misses while serving as a volunteer emergency responder pursuant to this subsection; provided, however, a volunteer emergency responder may charge his absence as a vacation day or a sick day, if the volunteer has such days available.
d. The provisions of this act shall not apply to any employee who, by statute or contract, is deemed an essential employee.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill, the "Emergency Responders Employment Protection Act," provides certain employment protections for volunteer emergency responders who, because they are providing emergency services in response to a state of emergency or an emergency alarm, fail to report to work.
Under the bill, employers are prohibited from terminating, dismissing, or suspending an employee who fails to report to work because the employee is actively engaged in providing volunteer emergency services in response to a declared state of emergency or an emergency alarm. This protection is available, however, only if the employee provides his employer with (1) a notice, at least one hour prior to the time he is scheduled to report to work, that he is engaged in rendering emergency services; and (2) upon returning to work a copy of the official incident report and a certification from the incident commander, or other official or officer in charge, affirming that the employee was actively engaged in, and necessary for, rendering emergency services and setting forth the date and time the volunteer emergency responder was relieved from emergency duty by that officer or official.
The bill also provides that if an employee is actively engaged in rendering volunteer emergency services for more than one consecutive work day, the incident commander, or other official or officer in charge, is to provide appropriate notice to the employee's employer each day the volunteer is required to be absent from his employment.
The provisions of the bill do not require an employer to pay an employee who misses work because that employee is rendering emergency services. However, the bill permits an employee to charge his absence as a vacation or a sick day and in that way be paid for the day.
The protections afforded under the bill apply only to volunteer emergency responders whose official duties include responding to a fire or emergency call. Administrative and auxiliary personnel are not covered.
Similarly, employees who are designated as essential employees, either by statute or contract, are not entitled to these protections.
The provisions of this bill shall not require the disclosure of any individually identifiable health information protected under the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," Pub.L.104-191, and that any information that would identify an individual would be redacted from the incident report.
