STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6213
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2014
___________
Introduced by Sen. MAZIARZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to a leave of absence for
volunteer emergency responder training
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 202-1 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 202-l. Leave of absence for volunteer emergency responder training
4 granted to employees. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following
5 terms shall have the following meanings:
6 (a) "Employee" means a person who performs services for hire for an
7 employer, for an average of twenty or more hours per week, and includes
8 all individuals employed at any site owned or operated by an employer
9 but shall not include an independent contractor.
10 (b) "Employer" means a person or entity that employs twenty or more
11 employees at at least one site and includes an individual, corporation,
12 partnership, association, nonprofit organization, group of persons,
13 state, county, town, city, school district, public authority or other
14 governmental subdivision of any kind.
15 (c) "Volunteer emergency responder" means an active member of a volun-
16 teer fire company and/or a voluntary ambulance service as such terms are
17 defined in section one hundred of the general municipal law.
18 2. An employer must either, at its option: (a) grant six hours of
19 leave of absence in any twelve month period to an employee that is an
20 active volunteer emergency responder who seeks to obtain volunteer fire-
21 fighter or volunteer ambulance worker training; provided that the leave
22 of absence may not exceed six hours, unless otherwise agreed to by the
23 employer, and must comply with the requirements established by the
24 commissioner under subdivision five of this section; or (b) allow its
25 employees without use of accumulated leave time to obtain volunteer
26 firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker training during work hours at
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13398-01-3
S. 6213 2
1 least two times per year at a convenient time and place set by the
2 employer.
3 3. An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting
4 or obtaining a leave of absence under this section.
5 4. This section shall not prevent an employer from providing leave for
6 volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance worker training in addition
7 to leave allowed under any other provision of law. This section shall
8 not affect an employee's rights with respect to any other employee bene-
9 fit otherwise provided by law.
10 5. The commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to establish any
11 necessary guidelines, including requirements for notice, request and
12 approval of leave, and documentation, for the timely implementation of
13 the program.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
15 have become a law.
