H. B. 2017
(By Delegates Caputo, Linch and Prunty)
[Introduced January 13, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then Government Organization.]
A BILL 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 emergency medical service attendant; and
permitting the emergency medical service attendant to choose
whether lost time as an emergency medical service attendant
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 or emergency medical
service attendant.
No employer may terminate an employee who is a member of a
volunteer fire department or who is an emergency medical service
attendant and who, in the line of emergency duty as a volunteer
fireman or an emergency medical service attendant, responds to an
emergency call prior to the time he or she is due to report for
work and which emergency results in a loss of time from his or
her 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 or her employer with a statement
from the chief of the volunteer fire department or the supervisor
or other appropriate person in charge of the emergency medical
service entity stating that the employee responded to an
emergency call and the time thereof.
As used in this section, "emergency" shall mean means going
to, attending to or coming from: (1) A fire call; (2) a
hazardous or toxic materials spill and cleanup; (3) a motor
vehicle accident; or (3) (4) any other situation to which his or her fire department or emergency medical service entity 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 or her 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit emergency
medical service attendants to choose whether lost time that
results at work due to fulfilling duties as an emergency medical
service attendant is subtracted from regular pay or accumulated
annual leave, at the option of the employee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.