I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1643 
To prohibit termination of employment of volunteer firefighters and emergency 
medical personnel responding to emergencies, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 22, 2007 
Mr. ANDREWS (for himself, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. PASCRELL, and Mr. KUHL of 
New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To prohibit termination of employment of volunteer fire-
fighters and emergency medical personnel responding to 
emergencies, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Volunteer Firefighter 
and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘emergency’’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 102 of the 
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Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 
(2) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis-
aster’’ has the meanings given such term in section 
102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 
(3) QUALIFIED
VOLUNTEER
FIRE
DEPART-
MENT.—The term ‘‘qualified volunteer fire depart-
ment’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
150(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(4) VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERV-
ICES.—The term ‘‘volunteer emergency medical serv-
ices’’ means emergency medical services performed 
on a voluntary basis for a fire department or other 
emergency organization. 
(5) 
VOLUNTEER
FIREFIGHTER.—The 
term 
‘‘volunteer firefighter’’ means an individual who is a 
member in good standing of a qualified volunteer 
fire department. 
SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEER 
FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL 
PERSONNEL PROHIBITED. 
(a) TERMINATION PROHIBITED.—No employee may 
be terminated, demoted, or in any other manner discrimi-
nated against in the terms and conditions of employment 
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because such employee is absent from or late to the em-
ployee’s employment for the purpose of serving as a volun-
teer firefighter or providing volunteer emergency medical 
services as part of a response to an emergency or major 
disaster. 
(b) DEPLOYMENT.—The prohibition in subsection (a) 
shall apply to an employee serving as a volunteer fire-
fighter or providing volunteer emergency medical services 
if such employee— 
(1) is specifically deployed to respond to the 
emergency or major disaster in accordance with a 
coordinated national deployment system such as the 
Emergency Management Assistance Compact or a 
pre-existing mutual aid agreement; or 
(2) is a volunteer firefighter who— 
(A) is a member of a qualified volunteer 
fire department that is located in the State in 
which the emergency or major disaster oc-
curred; 
(B) is not a member of a qualified fire de-
partment that has a mutual aid agreement with 
a community affected by such emergency or 
major disaster; and 
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(C) has been deployed by the emergency 
management agency of such State to respond to 
such emergency or major disaster. 
(c) LIMITATIONS.—The prohibition in subsection (a) 
shall not apply to an employee who— 
(1) is absent from the employee’s employment 
for the purpose described in subsection (a) for more 
than 14 days per calendar year; 
(2) responds on the emergency or major dis-
aster without being officially deployed as described 
in subsection (b); or 
(3) fails to provide the written verification de-
scribed in subsection (e) within a reasonable period 
of time. 
(d) WITHHOLDING OF PAY.—An employer may re-
duce an employee’s regular pay for any time that the em-
ployee is absent from the employee’s employment for the 
purpose described in subsection (a). 
(e) VERIFICATION.—An employer may require an em-
ployee to provide a written verification from the official 
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency super-
vising the Federal response to the emergency or major dis-
aster or a local or State official managing the local or 
State response to the emergency or major disaster that 
states— 
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