An Act To Prohibit Employer Disciplinary Action against Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services Persons Responding to an Emergency
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1319
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: GROHOSKI, LUCHINI, ALLEY, GRIFFIN, JAVNER, PEBWORTH, SCHNECK
Amends: 26 MRSA §809

Legislative Document
No. 1319
H.P. 954
House of Representatives, March 19, 2019
An Act To Prohibit Employer Disciplinary Action against 
Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services Persons Responding 
to an Emergency
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GROHOSKI of Ellsworth.
Cosponsored by Senator LUCHINI of Hancock and
Representatives: ALLEY of Beals, GRIFFIN of Levant, JAVNER of Chester, PEBWORTH of 
Blue Hill, SCHNECK of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §809, as amended by PL 2013, c. 477, §§1 to 6, is further 
amended to read:
§809.  Absence for emergency response
1.  Definitions.  As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
the following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Employer" means any private or public employer, including the State and 
political subdivisions of the State.
A-1.  "Firefighter" has the same meaning as "municipal firefighter" and "volunteer 
firefighter" in Title 30-A, section 3151, subsections 2 and 4.
A-2.  "Emergency medical services person" has the same meaning as in Title 32, 
section 83, subsection 12 and includes a volunteer emergency medical services 
person.
B.  "Responding to an emergency" means responding to, working at the scene of or 
returning from a fire or emergency medical services call, a hazardous or toxic 
materials spill and cleanup or any other situation to which the fire department or 
emergency medical services provider has been dispatched.
2.  Prohibition against discharge or disciplinary action.  An employer may not 
discharge or take any other disciplinary action against or otherwise discriminate against 
an employee because of the employee's failure to report for work at the beginning of the 
employee's regular working hours or the employee's absence during the employee's 
regular working hours if the employee failed to do so or was absent because the employee 
was responding to an emergency in the employee's capacity as a firefighter or emergency 
medical services person and the employee reported for work as soon as reasonably 
possible after being released from the emergency.  An employer may charge the lost time 
against the employee's regular pay or against the employee's available leave time.  This 
subsection does not apply to the absence of a firefighter or emergency medical services 
person from the firefighter's that person's regular employment as a law enforcement 
officer, a utility worker or medical personnel when the services of that person are 
essential to protect public health or safety or if the employee has been designated as 
essential by the employer pursuant to subsection 6.
3.  Notification; verification.  If time permits, when an employee is responding as a 
firefighter to an emergency, the An employee responding to an emergency under 
subsection 2 shall make every effort to immediately notify the employer that the 
employee may be late arriving to work or absent from work as a result of responding to 
an emergency prior to or during the employee's regular working hours.  Notification may 
be provided by the employee, the employee's designee or the fire department supervisor 
shall notify the employer that the employee will not report to work at the appointed time 
or the emergency medical services provider.  At the request of an employer, an employee 
losing work time as provided in subsection 2 shall provide the employer with a statement 
from the chief of the fire department or emergency medical services provider or the 
chief's designee stating that the employee was responding to an emergency call and the 
time of release from the call verifying that the employee was responding to an emergency 
and specifying the date, time and duration of the response.
4.  Enforcement; penalty for violation.  If an employer has violated subsection 2, 
the employee may bring an action in Superior Court in the county in which the employee 
resides or in the county in which the employer's place of business is located.  The action 
must be brought within one year of the date of the alleged violation.  If the court finds 
that the employer violated subsection 2, and if the employee so requests, the court shall 
order the employer to reinstate the employee in the employee's former position without 
reduction of pay, seniority or other benefits. The court also shall order any other 
appropriate remedy necessary to return the employee to the position the employee would 
have been in had the employer not violated subsection 2, including payment of back pay 
and reinstatement of any other benefits lost during the period in which the discharge or 
disciplinary action was in effect.
5.  Impact on individual agreements.  This section does not apply if the employer 
and the employee have entered into a written agreement, signed by the employer and the 
employee, that governs procedures to be followed when the employee is called to respond 
to an emergency as a firefighter or emergency medical services person.  This subsection 
applies only if:
A.  The local official in charge of calling out firefighters has a written policy that:
(1)  Specifies the circumstances under which firefighters will be ordered to 
remain at an emergency; and
(2)  Affirms that firefighters will be released as soon as practicable; and
B.  The employee presents a copy of the policy to the employer upon notifying the 
employer of the employee's status as a firefighter.
6.  Designation as essential.  Upon receiving notice of an employee's firefighter 
status, an employer may designate the employee essential to the employer's operations 
when the absence of the employee would cause disruption of the employer's business.
7.  Information to be filed by employee with employer.  This section applies only 
if:
A.  The chief of the fire department or emergency medical services provider has a 
written policy that:
(1)  Specifies the circumstances under which firefighters or emergency medical 
services persons are needed to respond to an emergency; and
(2)  Affirms that firefighters or emergency medical services persons will be 
released as soon as practicable; and
B.  The employee presents a copy of the policy described in paragraph A to the 
employer upon notifying the employer of the employee's status as a firefighter or 
emergency medical services person within 30 days of employment or within 180 days 
of the effective date of this subsection.
An employee shall notify the employer of any change to the employee's status as a 
firefighter or emergency medical services person, including the termination of that status, 
within 30 days of the change.
Sec. 2.  Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause.  In the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, chapter 7, subchapter 4-C, in the subchapter headnote, 
the words "firefighter; absence from work" are amended to read "firefighter or emergency 
medical services person; absence from work" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement 
this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.
SUMMARY
Current law protects a firefighter from disciplinary action by an employer when the 
firefighter is absent from work at the beginning of the work day because the firefighter is 
responding to an emergency.  This bill extends the protection to a firefighter who leaves 
work during regular working hours to respond to an emergency and provides the same 
protections to an emergency medical services person.  The bill revises provisions 
regarding employer notification regarding absences and employee status as a firefighter 
or emergency medical services person and removes an employer's ability to designate an 
employee as essential.