THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY REED, CARROLL, CAUSER, COHEN, DONATUCCI, EVANKOVICH, FARRY, FLECK, GEIST, GILLEN, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GROVE, HEFFLEY, HESS, HORNAMAN, M. K. KELLER, MARSHALL, MILLER, MILNE, PYLE, REICHLEY, ROCK, SCAVELLO, TALLMAN, J. TAYLOR AND WATSON, MARCH 15, 2011

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 15, 2011  

AN ACT

Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in Commonwealth services, providing

for volunteer emergency response personnel.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 35 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 7309.  Volunteer emergency response personnel.

(a)  Emergency assignments.--

(1)  Employees who are volunteer health or emergency

response personnel are entitled to a leave of absence from

their respective duties without loss of time or efficiency

rating on all days they are engaged in a declared emergency

response.

(2)  Any person whose employment with an employer is

interrupted by a period of service as a member of volunteer

health or emergency response personnel shall be permitted,

upon request of that person, to use during such period of

service any vacation, annual or similar leave with pay

accrued by the person before the commencement of such

service. No employer may require any such person to use

vacation, annual or similar leave during such period of

service.

(b)  Requirements.--

(1)  Employees who are volunteers must be members of a

bona fide health or emergency response organization

recognized by the Department of Health or the agency.

(2)  The organization or employee must be acting under a

declared emergency by the Federal, State or local government,

and all persons must be deemed responding under the

operational control of the requesting Federal, State or local

government.

(3)  It shall be the responsibility of the employee to

supply his employer with a statement from the head of the

responding organization or government stating that the

services of the employee are needed. If the employee is

unable to provide said statement prior to responding to an

emergency, then the employee shall make a good faith effort

to inform his employer at the earliest possible time.

(4)  The employer shall have the burden of proving that

an employee knowingly and willfully failed to provide notice.

(5)  An employee who takes a leave of absence as provided

for under this section shall be deemed to have notified the

employer of the employee's intent to return to his employment

when his services are no longer needed as determined by the

head of the responding organization or government.

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

up to 15 days.

(c)  Discretionary leave.--Nothing in this section shall be

construed to prohibit employers from providing paid leave or

other compensation or continued medical and other benefits to an

employee requesting a leave of absence under this section or for

any days in excess of those provided in subsection (b).

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