PRINTER'S NO. 2687
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1909
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY PHILLIPS-HILL, BARBIN, DAVIS, DRISCOLL, GROVE,
HILL-EVANS, KEEFER, KLUNK, KNOWLES, MALONEY, O'NEILL,
READSHAW AND RYAN, NOVEMBER 6, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), entitled "An
act defining the liability of an employer to pay damages for
injuries received by an employe in the course of employment;
establishing an elective schedule of compensation; providing
procedure for the determination of liability and compensation
thereunder; and prescribing penalties," in additional
coverages, further providing for the definition of "employe."
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 601(a) of the act of June 2, 1915
(P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act, is
amended to read:
Section 601. (a) In addition to those persons included
within the definition of the word "employe" as defined in
section 104, "employe" shall also include:
(1) officers, directors, firefighters and any other members
of volunteer fire departments or volunteer fire companies,
including any paid fireman who is a member of a volunteer fire
company and performs the services of a volunteer fireman during
off-duty hours, who shall be entitled to receive compensation in
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case of injuries received while actively engaged as firemen or
while going to or returning from a fire which the fire company
or fire department attended including travel from and the direct
return to a fireman's home, place of business or other place
where he shall have been when he received the call or alarm or
while participating in instruction fire drills in which the fire
department or fire company shall have participated or while
repairing or doing other work about or on the fire apparatus or
buildings and grounds of the fire company or fire department
upon the authorization of the chief of the fire company or fire
department or other person in charge or while answering any
emergency calls for any purpose or while riding upon the fire
apparatus which is owned or used by the fire company or fire
department or while performing any other duties of such fire
company or fire department as authorized by the municipality or
while performing duties imposed by section 15, act of April 27,
1927 (P.L.465, No.299), referred to as the Fire and Panic Act;
(2) [all] officers, directors, ambulance corpsmen and any
other members of volunteer ambulance corps of the various
municipalities who shall be and are hereby declared to be
employes of such municipality for the purposes of this act who
shall be entitled to receive compensation in the case of
injuries received while actually engaged as ambulance corpsmen
or while going to or returning from any fire, accident, or other
emergency which such volunteer ambulance corps shall attend
including travel from and the direct return to a corpsman's
home, place of business or other place where he shall have been
when he received the call or alarm; or while participating in
ambulance corps of which they are members; or while repairing or
doing other work about or on the ambulance apparatus or
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buildings and grounds of such ambulance corps upon the
authorization of the corps president or other person in charge;
or while answering any emergency call for any purpose or while
riding in or upon the ambulance apparatus owned by the ambulance
corps of which they are members at any time or while performing
any other duties of such ambulance corps as are authorized by
the municipality;
(3) officers, directors, rescue and lifesaving squad members
or any other members of volunteer rescue and lifesaving squads
of the various municipalities who shall be and are hereby
declared to be employes of such municipalities for the purposes
of this act and who shall be entitled to receive compensation in
the case of injuries received while actually engaged as a rescue
and lifesaving squad member attending to any emergency to which
that squad has been called or responded including travel from
and the direct return to a squad person's home, place of
business or other place where he shall have been when he
received the call or alarm or while participating in rescue and
lifesaving drills in which the squad is participating; while
repairing or doing other work about or on the apparatus,
buildings and grounds of such rescue and lifesaving squad upon
the authorization of the chief or other person in charge; or
while riding in or upon the apparatus of the rescue and
lifesaving squad and at any time while performing any other
duties authorized by the municipality;
(4) volunteer members of the State Parks and Forest Program,
who shall be declared to be employes of the Commonwealth for the
purposes of this act, shall be entitled to receive compensation
in case of injuries received while actually engaged in
performing any duties in connection with the volunteers in the
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State Parks and Forest Program;
(5) Pennsylvania Deputy Game Protectors are hereby defined
to be employes of the Commonwealth for all the purposes of this
act and shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of
injuries received while actually engaged in the performance of
duties as a Pennsylvania Deputy Game Protector whether employed
by the Game Commission or otherwise;
(6) all special waterways patrolmen are hereby declared to
be employes of the Commonwealth for all purposes of this act and
shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of injuries
received while actually engaged in the performance of their
duties as special waterways patrolmen whether actually receiving
compensation from the Pennsylvania Fish Commission or not;
(7) all forest firefighters are hereby declared to be
employes of the Commonwealth for the purposes of this act and
shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of injuries
received while actually engaged in the performance of their
duties as forest firefighters or forest fire protection employes
which duties shall include participation in the extinguishing of
forest fires or traveling to and from forest fires or while
performing any other duties relating to forest fire protection
as authorized by the Secretary of Environmental Resources or his
designee.
(8) All volunteer members of hazardous materials response
teams who shall be and are hereby declared to be employes of the
Commonwealth agency, county, municipality, regional hazardous
materials organization, volunteer service organization,
corporation, partnership or of any other entity which organized
the hazardous materials response team for the primary purpose of
responding to the release of a hazardous material. All such
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volunteer members of hazardous materials response teams shall be
entitled, under this act, to receive compensation in the case of
injuries received while actively engaged as hazardous materials
response team members or while going to or returning from any
emergency response incident or accident which the hazardous
materials response team attended, including travel from and
direct return to a team member's home, place of business or
other place where the member shall have been when the member
received the call or alarm to respond to the emergency incident
or accident; or while participating in hazardous materials
response drills or exercises in which the hazardous materials
response team is participating; or while repairing or doing
other work about or on the hazardous materials response team
apparatus or buildings and grounds of the hazardous materials
response team upon the authorization of the chief of the
hazardous materials response team or other person in charge; or
while answering any emergency calls for any purpose; or while
riding upon the hazardous materials response team apparatus
which is owned or used by the hazardous materials response team
in responding to an emergency or drill or with the express
permission of the chief of the team; or while performing any
other duties of such hazardous materials response team as
authorized by the Commonwealth agency, county, municipality,
regional hazardous materials organization, volunteer service
organization, corporation, partnership or any other entity which
duly organized the hazardous materials response team.
(9) All local coordinators of emergency management, as
defined in 35 Pa.C.S. ยง 7502 (relating to local coordinator of
emergency management), of the various municipalities who shall
be and are hereby declared to be employes of such municipalities
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for the purposes of this act and who shall be entitled to
receive compensation in the case of injuries received while
actually engaged as local coordinator of emergency management at
any emergency to which he has been called or responded,
including travel from and the direct return to his home, place
of business or other place where he shall have been when he
received the call or alarm or while performing any other duties
authorized by the municipality.
(10) An employe who, while in the course and scope of his
employment, goes to the aid of a person and suffers injury or
death as a direct result of any of the following:
(i) Preventing the commission of a crime, lawfully
apprehending a person reasonably suspected of having committed a
crime or aiding the victim of a crime. For purposes of this
clause, the terms "crime" and "victim" shall have the same
meanings as given to them in section 103 of the act of November
24, 1998 (P.L.882, No.111), known as the "Crime Victims Act."
(ii) Rendering emergency care, first aid or rescue at the
scene of an emergency.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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