1Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
2Consolidated Statutes, in Commonwealth services, providing
3for volunteer emergency response personnel.

4The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5hereby enacts as follows:

6Section 1. Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

8§ 7309. Volunteer emergency response personnel.

9(a) Emergency assignments.--

10(1) Employees who are volunteer health or emergency
11response personnel are entitled to a leave of absence from
12their respective duties without loss of time or efficiency
13rating on all days they are engaged in a declared emergency
14response.

15(2) Any person whose employment with an employer is
16interrupted by a period of service as a member of volunteer
17health or emergency response personnel shall be permitted,

1upon request of that person, to use during such period of
2service any vacation, annual or similar leave with pay
3accrued by the person before the commencement of such
4service. No employer may require any such person to use
5vacation, annual or similar leave during such period of
6service.

7(b) Requirements.--

8(1) Employees who are volunteers must be members of a
9bona fide health or emergency response organization
10recognized by the Department of Health or the agency.

11(2) The organization or employee must be acting under a
12declared emergency by the Federal, State or local government,
13and all persons must be deemed responding under the
14operational control of the requesting Federal, State or local
15government.

16(3) It shall be the responsibility of the employee to
17supply his employer with a statement from the head of the
18responding organization or government stating that the
19services of the employee are needed. If the employee is
20unable to provide said statement prior to responding to an
21emergency, then the employee shall make a good faith effort
22to inform his employer at the earliest possible time.

23(4) The employer shall have the burden of proving that
24an employee knowingly and willfully failed to provide notice.

25(5) An employee who takes a leave of absence as provided
26for under this section shall be deemed to have notified the
27employer of the employee's intent to return to his employment
28when his services are no longer needed as determined by the
29head of the responding organization or government.

30(6) The leave authorized under this section shall be for

1up to 15 days.

2(c) Discretionary leave.--Nothing in this section shall be
3construed to prohibit employers from providing paid leave or
4other compensation or continued medical and other benefits to an
5employee requesting a leave of absence under this section or for
6any days in excess of those provided in subsection (b).

7Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.