A 978: Prohibits an employer from terminating an employee who is also a volunteer firefighter or an enrolled member of a volunteer ambulance service when such employee misses or is late to work because of an emergency to which the employee was dispatched.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 978 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ANGELINO, BENDETT, DeSTEFANO, DURSO, GIGLIO, LEMONDES, McDONOUGH, MILLER, MORINELLO, TAGUE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to job protection for emer- gency services volunteers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 202-m to 2 read as follows: 3 § 202-m. Authorized absence. 1. If an employee is absent from or late 4 to their employment in order to respond to an emergency prior to the 5 time the employee is to report to their employment due to them engaging 6 in the actual performance of their duties as (a) a volunteer firefight- 7 er, or (b) an enrolled member of a volunteer ambulance service pursuant 8 to article thirty of the public health law, an employer shall be prohib- 9 ited from terminating such employee on the basis of such absence or 10 lateness. 11 2. The entire period of the authorized absence granted pursuant to 12 this section may be charged against any other leave such employee is 13 otherwise entitled to, and such authorized absence shall include travel 14 both to and from such duties performed in their capacity as a volunteer. 15 At the employer's request, the employee must provide the employer with a 16 statement from the head of the volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambu- 17 lance service, as applicable, stating the employee responded to an emer- 18 gency and the time of such response. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02659-01-5