AB 1283: Mutual aid: reimbursements: volunteer firefighters.

(1)Existing law, enforced by the Labor Commissioner, regulates the terms and conditions of employment, including wages. Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging, or in any manner discriminating against, an employee for taking time off to perform emergency duty as a volunteer firefighter. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to willfully refuse to pay wages due, as specified, or to falsely deny an amount or validity of an amount owed, as specified. the California Emergency Services Act, requires the Governor to coordinate the State Emergency Plan and any programs necessary for the mitigation of the effects of an emergency in this state, as specified. The act authorizes the Governor, with advice of the Office of Emergency Services, to divide the state into mutual aid regions for the more effective application, administration, and coordination of mutual aid and other emergency-related activities. The act requires the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with relevant local and state agencies, to develop and adopt a state fire service and rescue emergency mutual aid plan as an annex to the State Emergency Plan.

This bill would require a nonprofit or public fire department with that has volunteer firefighters that receives federal, state, or local reimbursement through a fire agreement for personnel costs associated with firefighting performed on an occasional or sporadic basis in which its volunteer firefighters have participated to pass through to those volunteers an amount equivalent to 20% of the annual amount that otherwise would be required to hire a permanent employee for the same services. The bill would set timelines for issuing the reimbursements to the volunteer firefighters and would require the fire departments utilizing volunteer firefighters to maintain records of those reimbursements, as specified. and receives reimbursement from the federal, state, or local government through a mutual aid request, if the applicable fire agreement is intended to reimburse for personnel costs for work performed associated with firefighting in which the volunteer firefighters of the fire department have participated, to pass through to those volunteers specific reimbursement. The bill would require a fire department that utilizes the services of volunteer firefighters to maintain documentation of reimbursements and allow access to those records as prescribed. The bill would require a fire department to cease using the services of any volunteer firefighter to provide mutual aid response pursuant to the fire agreement who has received pass-through reimbursements that exceed during the fiscal year 20% of the statewide average amount that otherwise would be required to hire a permanent employee to provide the same services and would prohibit such a volunteer from engaging in mutual aid response for the fire department until the following fiscal year. The bill would authorize a volunteer to pursue reimbursement in a civil action if the fire department fails to reimburse the volunteer firefighter in accordance with the bill. By increasing the duties of local officials, and expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.