STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5039
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2025
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Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, SANTABARBARA, DeSTEFANO, MORINELLO,
TAGUE, MANKTELOW, STECK, EACHUS, BUTTENSCHON -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. BLANKENBUSH -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law and the volunteer fire-
fighters' benefit law, in relation to requiring the state to provide
reimbursement of certain costs and benefits incurred as a result of an
injury occurring during a mutual aid call
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 10 of the workers' compensation
2 law is renumbered subdivision 5 and a new subdivision 4 is added to read
3 as follows:
4 4. If a paid firefighter or paid fire truck driver in the course of
5 responding to a mutual aid call suffers an injury causally related to
6 such mutual aid call and incurs costs for medical treatment, lost time
7 from such person's position, reduced earnings or any other cost payable
8 under this chapter, the state shall reimburse the municipality employing
9 the firefighter or fire truck driver for all such costs. In addition,
10 should a municipality incur overtime costs due to a mutual aid call,
11 whether or not an injury occurs, the state shall reimburse the munici-
12 pality for such overtime costs. Reimbursement under this subdivision
13 shall not exceed the actual cost incurred. Each municipality that seeks
14 reimbursement pursuant to this subdivision shall submit its claims for
15 reimbursement on forms approved by and in accordance with rules and
16 regulations promulgated by the commissioners.
17 § 2. Section 30 of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law is amended
18 by adding a new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
19 13. If a volunteer firefighter in the course of responding to a mutual
20 aid call suffers an injury causally related to such mutual aid call and
21 incurs costs for medical treatment, lost time from such firefighter's
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01688-01-5
A. 5039 2
1 position, loss of earnings or any other cost payable under this chapter,
2 the state shall reimburse the fire department the firefighter volunteers
3 with for all such costs. Reimbursement under this subdivision shall not
4 exceed the actual cost incurred. Each fire department that seeks
5 reimbursement pursuant to this subdivision shall submit its claims for
6 reimbursement on forms approved by and in accordance with rules and
7 regulations promulgated by the commissioners of the state insurance fund
8 of the department of labor of the state of New York.
9 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
10 have become a law and shall apply to costs incurred during mutual aid
11 calls occurring on and after such effective date. Effective immediate-
12 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
13 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
14 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
