Public Act 093-1027
 
HB4851 Enrolled LRB093 15018 MKM 40589 b

    AN ACT in relation to employment.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Volunteer Firefighter Job Protection Act.
 
    Section 3. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Volunteer firefighter" means a firefighter who does not
receive monetary compensation for his or her services to a fire
department or fire protection district and who does not work
for any other fire department or fire protection district for
monetary compensation.
    "Monetary compensation" does not include a monetary
incentive awarded to a firefighter by the board of trustees of
a fire protection district under Section 6 of the Fire
Protection District Act.
 
    Section 5. Volunteer firefighter; when termination of
employment prohibited.
    (a) No public or private employer may terminate an employee
who is a volunteer firefighter because the employee, when
acting as a volunteer firefighter, is absent from or late to
his or her employment in order to respond to an emergency prior
to the time the employee is to report to his or her place of
employment.
    (b) An employer may charge, against the employee's regular
pay, any time that an employee who is a volunteer firefighter
loses from employment because of the employee's response to an
emergency in the course of performing his or her duties as a
volunteer firefighter.
    (c) In the case of an employee who is a volunteer
firefighter and who loses time from his or her employment in
order to respond to an emergency in the course of performing
his or her duties as a volunteer firefighter, the employer has
the right to request the employee to provide the employer with
a written statement from the supervisor or acting supervisor of
the volunteer fire department stating that the employee
responded to an emergency and stating the time and date of the
emergency.
    (d) An employee who is a volunteer firefighter and who may
be absent from or late to his or her employment in order to
respond to an emergency in the course of performing his or her
duties as a volunteer firefighter must make a reasonable effort
to notify his or her employer that he or she may be absent or
late.
 
    Section 10. Employer's violation; civil action. An
employee who is terminated in violation of this Act may bring a
civil action against his or her employer who violated this Act.
The employee may seek reinstatement to his or her former
position, payment of back wages, reinstatement of fringe
benefits, and, where seniority rights are granted,
reinstatement of seniority rights. The employee must commence
such an action within one year after the date of the employer's
violation.
 
    Section 15. Home rule powers. A home rule unit may not
regulate employment in a manner inconsistent with the
regulation by the State of employment under this Act. This
Section is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of
Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent
exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised
by the State.
 
    Section 20. Applicability. This Act applies only to
municipalities with a population of 3,500 or less.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.