ENROLLED
H. B. 2629
(By Delegates Caputo, Kuhn, Sparks, Linch,
Prunty, Fleischauer and Fragale)
[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact section seventeen, article five,
chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
time lost as volunteer firemen and permitting the volunteer
firemen to choose whether lost time as volunteer firemen is
subtracted from regular pay or accumulated annual leave at
the option of the employee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seventeen, article five, chapter twenty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. WAGE PAYMENT AND COLLECTION.
§21-5-17. Employers prohibited from discharging employees for
time lost as volunteer firemen.
No employer may terminate an employee who is a member of a
volunteer fire department and who, in the line of emergency duty
as a volunteer fireman, responds to an emergency call prior to
the time he is due to report for work and which emergency results
in a loss of time from his employment.
Any time lost from employment as provided in this section
may be charged against the employee's regular pay or against the
employee's accumulated leave, if any, at the option of the
employee.
At the request of an employer, any employee losing time as
provided herein shall supply his employer with a statement from
the chief of the volunteer fire department stating that the
employee responded to an emergency call and the time thereof.
As used in this section, "emergency" shall mean going to,
attending to or coming from: (1) A fire call; (2) a hazardous or
toxic materials spill and cleanup; or (3) any other situation to
which his or her fire department has been or later could be
dispatched. The term "employer" includes any individual,
partnership, association, corporation, business trust or any
person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the
interest of an employer in relation to any employee.
Any employer who willfully and knowingly violates the
provisions of this section shall be required to reinstate such
employee to his former position and shall be required to pay such
employee all lost wages and benefits for the period between
termination and reinstatement. Any action to enforce the
provisions of this section shall be commenced within a period of
one year after the date of violation and such action shall be
commenced in the circuit court of the county wherein the place of
employment is located.