PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 452 PRINTER'S NO. 1702
No. 421 Session of 1979
INTRODUCED BY MESSRS. FREIND, CESSAR, WILT, BROWN, J. L. WRIGHT,
R. R. FISCHER, ZITTERMAN, DiCARLO, CLARK, LETTERMAN,
MANMILLER, BURNS, CIMINI, WEIDNER, MRS. ARTY, MESSRS.
MICOZZIE, GANNON, REED, L. E. SMITH, ZORD, MRKONIC, MRS.
KERNICK, MESSRS. GAMBLE, D. R. WRIGHT, GEESEY, SPITZ,
LASHINGER, ZELLER, PUNT, KNEPPER, YAHNER, GRABOWSKI, TRELLO,
GOODMAN, BOWSER, ITKIN, E. R. LYNCH, MUSTO, COCHRAN, VROON,
PETRARCA, SCHMITT, SPENCER, SERAFINI, SCHWEDER, COLE, D. S.
HAYES, HOEFFEL, KLINGAMAN, ZWIKL, YOHN, PRATT, PITTS,
SIEMINSKI, E. H. SMITH, POTT, MRS. E. Z. TAYLOR, MESSRS.
BURD, GLADECK, McVERRY, KOLTER AND LEWIS, MARCH 2, 1979
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 11, 1979
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), entitled, as
2 amended, "An act defining the liability of an employer to pay
3 damages for injuries received by an employe in the court of
4 employment; establishing an elective schedule of
5 compensation; providing procedure for the determination of
6 liability and compensation thereunder; and prescribing
7 penalties," further providing for volunteer firemen and
8 ambulance corpsmen.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. Section 601, act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736,
12 No.338), known as "The Pennsylvania Workmen's Compensation Act,"
13 reenacted and amended June 21, 1939 (P.L.520, No.281), amended
14 November 26, 1978 (No.322), is amended to read:
15 Section 601. In addition to those persons included within
16 the definition of the word "employe" as defined in section 104,
1 "employe" shall also include:
2 (1) members of volunteer fire departments or volunteer fire
3 companies who shall be entitled to receive compensation in case
4 of injuries received while actively engaged as firemen or while
5 going to or returning from a fire which the fire company or fire
6 department attended including travel from and THE DIRECT return <--
7 to a fireman's home, place of business or other place where he
8 shall have been when he received the call or alarm or while
9 participating in instruction fire drills in which the fire
10 department or fire company shall have participated or while
11 repairing or doing other work about or on the fire apparatus or
12 buildings and grounds of the fire company or fire department
13 upon the authorization of the chief of the fire company or fire
14 department or other person in charge or while answering any
15 emergency calls for any purpose or while riding upon the fire
16 apparatus which is owned or used by the fire company or fire
17 department or while performing any other duties of such fire
18 company or fire department as authorized by the municipality or
19 while performing duties imposed by section 15, act of April 27,
20 1927 (P.L.465, No.299), referred to as the Fire and Panic Act;
21 (2) all members of volunteer ambulance corps of the various
22 municipalities who shall be and are hereby declared to be
23 employes of such municipality for the purposes of this act who
24 shall be entitled to receive compensation in the case of
25 injuries received while actually engaged as ambulance corpsmen
26 or while going to or returning from any fire, accident, or other
27 emergency which such volunteer ambulance corps shall attend
28 including travel from and THE DIRECT return to a corpsman's <--
29 home, place of business or other place where he shall have been
30 when he received the call or alarm; or while participating in
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1 ambulance corps of which they are members; or while repairing or
2 doing other work about or on the ambulance apparatus or
3 buildings and grounds of such ambulance corps upon the
4 authorization of the corps president or other person in charge;
5 or while answering any emergency call for any purpose or while
6 riding in or upon the ambulance apparatus owned by the ambulance
7 corps of which they are members at any time or while performing
8 any other duties of such ambulance corps as are authorized by
9 the municipality;
10 (3) members of volunteer rescue and lifesaving squads of the
11 various municipalities who shall be and are hereby declared to
12 be employes of such municipalities for the purposes of this act
13 and who shall be entitled to receive compensation in the case of
14 injuries received while actually engaged as a rescue and
15 lifesaving squad member attending to any emergency to which that
16 squad has been called or responded including travel from and THE <--
17 DIRECT return to a squadperson's home, place of business or
18 other place where he shall have been when he received the call
19 or alarm or while participating in rescue and lifesaving drills
20 in which the squad is participating; while repairing or doing
21 other work about or on the apparatus, buildings and grounds of
22 such rescue and lifesaving squad upon the authorization of the
23 chief or other person in charge; or while riding in or upon the
24 apparatus of the rescue and lifesaving squad and at any time
25 while performing any other duties authorized by the
26 municipality;
27 (4) volunteer members of the State Parks and Forest Program,
28 who shall be declared to be employes of the Commonwealth for the
29 purposes of this act, shall be entitled to receive compensation
30 in case of injuries received while actually engaged in
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1 performing any duties in connection with the volunteers in the
2 State Parks and Forest Program;
3 (5) Pennsylvania Deputy Game Protectors are hereby defined
4 to be employes of the Commonwealth for all the purposes of this
5 act and shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of
6 injuries received while actually engaged in the performance of
7 duties as a Pennsylvania Deputy Game Protector whether employed
8 by the Game Commission or otherwise;
9 (6) all special waterways patrolmen are hereby declared to
10 be employes of the Commonwealth for all purposes of this act and
11 shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of injuries
12 received while actually engaged in the performance of their
13 duties as special waterways patrolmen whether actually receiving
14 compensation from the Pennsylvania Fish Commission or not;
15 (7) all forest firefighters are hereby declared to be
16 employes of the Commonwealth for the purposes of this act and
17 shall be entitled to receive compensation in case of injuries
18 received while actually engaged in the performance of their
19 duties as forest firefighters or forest fire protection employes
20 which duties shall include participation in the extinguishing of
21 forest fires or traveling to and from forest fires or while
22 performing any other duties relating to forest fire protection
23 as authorized by the Secretary of Environmental Resources or his
24 designee.
25 In all cases where an injury which is compensable under the
26 terms of this act is received by an employe as defined in this
27 section, there is an irrebuttable presumption that his wages
28 shall be at least equal to the Statewide average weekly wage for
29 the purpose of computing his compensation under sections 306 and
30 307.
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1 Whenever any member of a volunteer fire company, volunteer
2 fire department, volunteer ambulance corps, or rescue and
3 lifesaving squad is injured in the performance of duties in
4 State Parks and State Forest Land, they shall be deemed to be an
5 employe of the Department of Environmental Resources.
6 The term "municipality" when used in this article shall mean
7 all cities, boroughs, incorporated towns, or townships.
8 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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