39-2-308. Termination of volunteer emergency services provider prohibited -- conditions -- definition.
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39-2-308 . Termination of volunteer emergency services provider prohibited -- conditions -- definition.
(1)An employer may not terminate the employment of an employee who has completed the employee's probationary period because the employee has elected to serve as a volunteer emergency services provider or joined a volunteer emergency unit or organization, including but not limited to a municipal, rural, or subscription fire department.
(2)An employee who serves as a volunteer emergency services provider before October 1, 2025, shall provide the employer with a written notification of the service within 30 days of October 1, 2025. An employee who joins a volunteer emergency unit or organization after October 1, 2025, shall provide the employer with written notification within 30 days of joining the unit or organization. An employee hired by an employer shall provide the employer with written notification that the employee is a volunteer emergency services provider within 30 days of hire.
(a)Except as provided in subsection (1), after written notification is provided, the employer may not terminate the employment of a volunteer emergency services provider if the employee is absent or late to work while performing volunteer emergency service duties during an emergency and the provisions in this subsection
(3)are fulfilled.
(b)An employee who is a volunteer emergency services provider and is absent from or late to work while performing volunteer emergency service duties during an emergency shall notify the employer as soon as possible that the employee may be absent or late because of volunteer emergency service. If an employee's absence or delay would imperil public safety or prevent the employer from performing an essential function, the employer may require the employee to request and receive authorization prior to responding to an emergency.
(c)An employer may request that an employee who is a volunteer emergency service provider and is absent from or late to work provide a written statement from a supervisor of the volunteer emergency service organization that the employee responded to an emergency and provide the date, time, and duration of the emergency.
(d)An employee may not claim regular pay for the time that the employee is absent from or late to work while performing volunteer emergency service duties. If the pay was claimed, the employer may deduct that amount of regular pay for the time the employee was not present at work.
(4)An employer shall determine whether an employee may leave work to respond to an emergency as a part of the employee's volunteer emergency service.
(5)An employee whose employment is terminated in violation of this section may bring a civil action against the employer under 39-2-904 . If the employee prevails in a civil action, the employee is entitled to the remedies in 39-2-905 . The action must be commenced within 1 year after the date of termination of employment.
(6)For the purposes of this section, "volunteer emergency services provider" means a volunteer firefighter as defined in 7-33-4510 , a volunteer who is an enrolled member of a volunteer fire department established under 7-33-4109 , or a volunteer emergency medical technician as defined in 50-6-202 , and who is not paid full-time by the entity for which the services are performed in the local service area.