October 20, 2009, Introduced by Senator SWITALSKI and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Tourism.
A bill to grant employment protection rights to certain
volunteers; to specify the conditions giving rise to those rights;
to prohibit certain conduct by employers; and to provide remedies.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"emergency volunteers employment protection act".
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) "Employer" means a business, individual, proprietorship,
firm, partnership, joint venture, syndicate, business trust, labor
organization, company, corporation, association, committee, or any
other organization or group of persons acting jointly, including a
state agency or a political subdivision of this state, which person
or entity employs 1 or more persons in this state.
(b) "Volunteer EMT" means an individual who is licensed under
the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101 to 333.25211, to
provide basic life support and who is an officially recognized
volunteer member of a medical first responder team.
(c) "Volunteer firefighter" means a person who is a volunteer
member of a fire department.
Sec. 5. (1) An employer shall not terminate an employee who is
a volunteer EMT or a volunteer firefighter because the employee,
when acting as a volunteer EMT or a volunteer firefighter
responding to an emergency, is absent from or late to his or her
employment.
(2) An employer may charge any time that the employee is
absent from employment because the employee was responding to an
emergency in the course of performing his or her duties as a
volunteer EMT or a volunteer firefighter against the employee's
regular pay.
(3) An employer may require an employee to provide the
employer with 1 or more of the following:
(a) A written statement from the supervisor or acting
supervisor of the agency for which the employee is a volunteer EMT
or a volunteer firefighter verifying that the employee responded to
an emergency and indicating the date and time of the emergency.
(b) Reasonable notice that the employee is responding to an
emergency and may be absent or late.
Sec. 7. (1) An employee who is disciplined or terminated by
his or her employer in violation of this act may bring a civil
action seeking equitable relief or damages against the employer for
1 or more of the following:
(a) Reinstatement to his or her former position.
(b) Payment of back wages.
(c) Reinstatement of fringe benefits.
(d) Reinstatement of seniority rights.
(2) A civil action under this section shall be brought within
1 year after the date of the violation.