2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 11-AAA - Defined Benefit Service Award Program for Volunteer Ambulance Workers › 219-M - Participation, Vesting and Service Credit.

§  219-m.  Participation,  vesting  and service credit. 1. A volunteer
ambulance worker must be eligible to participate in  any  service  award
program  provided  under  this article if the volunteer ambulance worker
has reached the age of eighteen and has completed at least one  year  of
ambulance service.
2.  A participant shall have a nonforfeitable right to a service award
upon  completing  five  years  of   ambulance   service.   Any   amounts
attributable  to  forfeiture  of  a participant's service award shall be
used to  reduce  contributions  for  all  other  service  award  program
participants  and shall not in any case be used to increase benefits for
any other participants. The provisions of  this  subdivision  shall  not
preclude amendment of a service award program to provide for an increase
in benefits.
3. A year of ambulance service shall be credited under a service award
program  for  each  calendar  year, beginning with the year in which the
program is adopted, in which a volunteer ambulance worker accumulates at
least fifty points. Except as  provided  in  subdivision  five  of  this
section  and subdivision eight of section two hundred nineteen-l of this
article, points shall be granted  for  activities  performed  after  the
effective date of the program in accordance with a system adopted by the
sponsor  which  shall be applied on a consistent and uniform basis. Such
system shall  provide  that  points  shall  be  granted  for  activities
designated  by  the sponsor, which activities shall be selected from the
following:
(a) Training courses -- twenty-five points maximum.
(i) Courses under twenty hours duration -- one point per hour, with  a
maximum of five points.
(ii)  Courses  of twenty to forty-five hours duration -- one point per
hour for each hour over initial twenty hours,  with  a  maximum  of  ten
points.
(iii)  Courses  over  forty-five  hours duration -- fifteen points per
course.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "training course" shall mean  a
course of instruction having a prescribed topic and syllabus. Points for
a  training  course shall be awarded only upon the successful completion
of the course and only in the year in which the course  is  successfully
completed.
(b)  Drills  and  seminars  --  twenty  points  maximum. One point per
minimum two hour drill or seminar. For purposes of this  paragraph,  the
term  "drill"  shall  mean  a skills practice or skills training session
related to emergency medical service and the term "seminar" shall mean a
lecture on a topic relating to the emergency medical service.
(c) Sleep-in or stand-by -- twenty points maximum.
(i) Sleep-in -- one point each full night.
(ii) Stand-by -- one point each. A stand-by is defined as line of duty
activity of the volunteer ambulance company, lasting for four hours, not
falling under one of the other categories.
A service  award  program  may  not  provide  points  pursuant  to  this
paragraph  if  the program provides points for tours of duty pursuant to
paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
(d) Tours of duty. A maximum of twenty points may be  granted  serving
tours  of  duty at a rate equal to no more than one-sixth of a point per
hour  served  as  determined  by  the  sponsor.  For  purposes  of  this
paragraph,  the  term "tour of duty" shall mean a line of duty activity,
not falling under one of  the  other  paragraphs  of  this  subdivision,
involving a period of time scheduled or assigned by an ambulance company
during  which  a volunteer ambulance worker is responsible for providing
emergency  medical  service  or  general  ambulance  service,  including

sleep-ins, stand-bys and backup duty, by reason of being stationed at an
event,  as  part of a rostered duty crew or as otherwise provided by the
regular procedures of the ambulance company. A sponsor may  also  define
two  or  more activities included within the meaning of the term tour of
duty and provide for points to be granted for the  performance  of  such
activities at different rates, provided, that points for such activities
shall  not  be  granted  at a rate in excess of one-sixth of a point per
hour served and no more than twenty points shall be granted for all such
activities. A service award program may not provide points  pursuant  to
this paragraph if the program provides points for sleep-ins or stand-bys
pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
(e)  Elected  or appointed position, as defined in subdivision sixteen
of section two hundred nineteen-k of this article -- twenty-five  points
maximum.
(i) Completion of one year term in an elected or appointed position.
(ii) A volunteer ambulance worker elected to serve as a delegate to an
ambulance  workers'  convention  shall  also  be eligible to receive one
point per meeting.
(iii) A volunteer ambulance worker appointed to serve on the New  York
state  emergency  medical  services council, the state emergency medical
advisory committee, a regional emergency medical services council  or  a
regional  emergency  medical advisory committee, established pursuant to
article thirty of the public  health  law  shall  also  be  eligible  to
receive one point per meeting.
(f) Attendance at meetings -- twenty points maximum.
(i)  Attendance  at  any official meetings of the ambulance company --
one point per meeting.
(ii) Attendance at official meetings of a standing  committee  of  the
ambulance company by a member of the committee -- one point per meeting.
(g) Participation in ambulance company responses -- twenty-five points
for responding on the minimum number of calls, as outlined below:
Total number of calls              0         500       1000      1500
ambulance company responds         to        to        to        and
to annually                        500       1000      1500      over
 
Minimum number of calls            10%       7.5%      5%        2.5%
volunteer
ambulance worker
must run annually in order to
receive twenty-five points credit
A  volunteer  ambulance  worker  who  is granted points toward a year of
ambulance service pursuant to this paragraph may not be  granted  points
toward  the same year of ambulance service for alternative participation
company responses pursuant to paragraph (h) of this subdivision.
(h) Alternative participation  in  company  responses.  A  maximum  of
twenty-five points may be granted for participation in company responses
at  a  rate  equal  to  no  more  than  one-half  point  per response as
determined by the sponsor. A volunteer ambulance worker who  is  granted
points toward a year of ambulance service pursuant to this paragraph may
not  be  granted  points  toward  the same year of ambulance service for
participation in company responses pursuant to  paragraph  (g)  of  this
subdivision.
(i)  Miscellaneous activities -- maximum fifteen points. Participation
in inspections and other activities covered by the  volunteer  ambulance
workers' benefit law and not otherwise listed -- one point per activity.
(j)  Activities;  designation. The sponsor may designate less than all
the activities specified in this subdivision  as  activities  for  which
points may be earned.
4.  Points  toward  a  year  of  ambulance  service may be granted for
activities performed after a participant reaches  entitlement  age,  but
shall  not  be  granted  for  activities  performed  after a participant
applies for a service award. The maximum number of  years  for  which  a
participant  may receive credit for a year of ambulance service shall be
forty years. The governing board of a political subdivision  may  extend
the  maximum  number of years for which a participant may receive credit
for a year of ambulance service for up to an additional ten years, to  a
maximum of fifty years, and such increases in the number of years may be
added  in  multiple  increments  or  in a single action, pursuant to the
adoption of the required resolution  or  resolutions  of  the  governing
board,  receiving  the affirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the
governing board of the political subdivision, and the  approval  of  any
mandatory  referendum or referenda authorizing the extension of benefits
under the program by eligible voters within such political subdivision.
5. A service award program which is to take effect on a day other than
the first day of January may provide for points to be granted  toward  a
year  of  ambulance  service  for  activities  performed  prior  to  the
effective date of the program and on or after the immediately  preceding
first  day of January, provided, the proposition authorizing adoption of
the program contains a statement authorizing points to  be  granted  for
such activities. Points attributable to such activities shall be granted
in  accordance  with the point system adopted by the sponsor pursuant to
subdivision three of this section.
6. In computing credit for those volunteer ambulance workers who  also
serve  as  paid  employees  within a political subdivision of the state,
credit  shall  not  be  given  for  activities  performed   during   the
individual's regularly assigned work periods.
7.  A  participant whose ambulance service is interrupted by full-time
extended obligatory military service or by a single voluntary enlistment
not to exceed four years in the armed forces of the United States  shall
be  considered  on military leave. During such period of military leave,
the participant shall  receive  fifty  points  for  each  full  year  of
military service, prorated for military service of less than a year.
7-a.  An active volunteer ambulance worker's service award program may
provide for the crediting of years of and points for volunteer ambulance
service for periods after  an  active  volunteer  ambulance  worker  has
reached the entitlement age and is receiving a service award.
8.   The  state  comptroller  may  promulgate  rules  and  regulations
prescribing procedures and forms for the compilation and maintenance  of
records  of  the  points accumulated by each volunteer ambulance worker.
Each ambulance company shall compile and maintain such  records  in  the
manner prescribed.
9.  The  president, secretary and chief or comparable officers of each
ambulance company shall submit to the governing board of the  sponsor  a
list  of  all  volunteer  members,  certified  under  oath,  which shall
identify those volunteer members who have qualified for credit under the
award program for the  previous  year.  Such  list  shall  be  submitted
annually by March thirty-first or otherwise as provided in the rules and
regulations  of  the  state comptroller and shall be accompanied by such
membership records and records of point accumulations as  the  governing
board   may   require   to   substantiate  the  accuracy  of  the  list.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision a volunteer ambulance
worker may request that  his  name  be  deleted  from  said  list  as  a
"participant".  Such  request for deletion shall be in writing and shall
remain effective until withdrawn in the same manner.
10. The governing board of the sponsor shall review the list  of  each
ambulance  company  and  may delete the name of any person who was not a

volunteer ambulance worker during the preceding  calendar  year  or  the
name  of  any  volunteer  ambulance worker who did not earn fifty points
during the preceding calendar year or whose point accumulation  has  not
been  adequately  documented.  Thereafter,  the  governing  board  shall
approve the list and return a copy of the list to the ambulance  company
and  forward  a  certified  copy  of  the  approved  list to the program
administrator.
11. Upon receipt of the approved list,  the  ambulance  company  shall
post  the list at its principal headquarters for at least thirty days. A
volunteer ambulance worker whose name does not appear  on  the  approved
list shall have the right to appeal within thirty days of posting of the
list.  The  appeal  shall  be  in  writing  and  mailed  to the clerk or
secretary of the governing board of the sponsor, which shall investigate
the appeal. The decision of the governing  board  shall  be  subject  to
judicial  review pursuant to article seventy-eight of the civil practice
law and rules.
12. A service award program may provide credit for years of  ambulance
service  rendered  by  a  participant  during  the  five  calendar years
immediately preceding the year in which the program is adopted, but only
if authorized  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  nineteen-l  of  this
article.  In  order  to  determine  eligibility  for  such  credit, each
ambulance company shall review its prior membership rosters and  service
records  to  determine the number of years for which each participant is
entitled to a contribution. In  making  such  determination,  the  point
system  established  pursuant to subdivision three of this section shall
be used. The president, secretary and chief or  comparable  officers  of
the ambulance company shall submit to the governing board of the sponsor
a certified list of participants who are entitled to such credit and the
number  of  years for which each participant is entitled to such credit,
and such membership and service  records  as  the  governing  board  may
require.  The  list  shall be submitted to and approved by the governing
board, and posted by the ambulance company, at the same time and in  the
same  manner  as  provided  in  subdivisions nine through eleven of this
section, and each person named on the list  approved  by  the  governing
board  shall be entitled to the credit indicated thereon. A person whose
name does not appear on the list as submitted  to  or  approved  by  the
governing  board shall have the administrative and judicial remedies set
forth in subdivision eleven of this section.
13. In the event that a volunteer ambulance worker is  either  totally
and  temporarily  disabled  or  partially  and  permanently  disabled as
certified  by  the  workers'  compensation  board  or  other   competent
authority  approved  by the state comptroller, and the disability occurs
during the course of service as a volunteer while  actively  engaged  in
providing  line-of-duty  services  as defined in the volunteer ambulance
workers benefit law, the volunteer shall be credited  with  five  points
for  each  full  month  of  such  disability;  provided,  however,  such
volunteer shall cease to be credited with such line of  duty  disability
points after attaining the entitlement age.