H. B. 2313
(By Delegates Caputo and Prunty)
[Introduced
February 19, 2001
; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small
Business then the Judiciary.]
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.