Public Act 094-0599
 
HB0594 Enrolled LRB094 05165 AJO 36388 b

    AN ACT concerning volunteer emergency workers.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Volunteer Firefighter Job Protection Act is
amended by changing Sections 1, 3, 5, and 20 as follows:
 
    (50 ILCS 748/1)
    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Volunteer Emergency Worker Firefighter Job Protection Act.
(Source: P.A. 93-1027, eff. 8-25-04.)
 
    (50 ILCS 748/3)
    Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Volunteer emergency worker 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. "Volunteer
emergency worker" also means a person who does not receive
monetary compensation for his or her services as a volunteer
Emergency Medical Technician (licensed as an EMT-B, EMT-I, or
EMT-P under the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act),
a volunteer ambulance driver or attendant, or a volunteer
"First Responder", as defined in Sec. 3.60 of the Emergency
Medical Services (EMT) Systems Act, to a fire department, fire
protection district, or other governmental entity and who does
not work in one of these capacities for any other fire
department, fire protection district, or governmental entity
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.
(Source: P.A. 93-1027, eff. 8-25-04.)
 
    (50 ILCS 748/5)
    Sec. 5. Volunteer emergency worker firefighter; when
termination of employment prohibited.
    (a) No public or private employer may terminate an employee
who is a volunteer emergency worker firefighter because the
employee, when acting as a volunteer emergency worker
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 emergency
worker 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 emergency worker firefighter.
    (c) In the case of an employee who is a volunteer emergency
worker 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 emergency worker
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 or governmental entity that the volunteer emergency
worker serves stating that the employee responded to an
emergency and stating the time and date of the emergency.
    (d) An employee who is a volunteer emergency worker
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 emergency worker
firefighter must make a reasonable effort to notify his or her
employer that he or she may be absent or late.
(Source: P.A. 93-1027, eff. 8-25-04.)
 
    (50 ILCS 748/20)
    Sec. 20. Applicability. This Act does not apply to any
employer that is a municipality applies only to municipalities
with a population of 3,500 or more less.
(Source: P.A. 93-1027, eff. 8-25-04.)