MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Should volunteer firefighters and EMTs be able to miss work to respond to an emergency? Lawmakers from across Vermont support legislation offering protection to employees after some reported they were not allowed to leave their jobs for a 911 call.
Dorieann Chesbrough is a career firefighter with the Vermont Air National Guard. She’s also an EMT and volunteers at three different fire departments. She says it’s a big job and she can’t always leave when she’s called upon.
“If I had an emergency call on another department or another volunteer department, I would stay at my full-time job, as with many people who work their regular full-time jobs. When you get off of work, you would respond to calls when you can,” Chesbrough said.
Lawmakers are trying to create a solution to get more volunteers for more emergencies. A bill in the House proposes to prohibit employers from discriminating or retaliating against employees who are absent from work while performing duties as a volunteer firefighter or EMT. It would also provide a tax credit of $500 to the employer per volunteer they have on their staff.
The number of first responders is dwindling in the state and nationally. Essex Fire Chief Charles Cole says the bill could create more incentives for new volunteers. “Vermont is still covered by primarily volunteer fire services. A lot of those companies are seeing the need to hire some or full-time staff to help make calls. We ourselves here have to hire per diem staff to help make some of the calls because we don’t have available volunteers,” he said.
But there are concerns that some could take advantage of the opportunity to leave work. John “Peeker” Heffernan of the Vermont State Firefighters’ Association says there needs to be protections in place for employers to ensure volunteers aren’t milking the clock. “UTC out of Vergennes used to pay all their volunteers. They used to keep them on the clock. There was some abuse that led to them ending that policy. They still allow their employees to leave but no longer pay them while they are gone. That is one of our concerns,” he said
The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Woodman Page, R-Newport, says he’s given testimony and isn’t sure how far the legislation will go.
The Vermont State Firefighters’ Association says if local departments are struggling with recruits, open houses and more education to the public are a good way to attract volunteers.
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