HB 240

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AN ACT

RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT; PROHIBITING TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT

OF VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY RESPONDERS; PROVIDING A CAUSE OF

ACTION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the

"Volunteer Emergency Responder Job Protection Act".

Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Volunteer

Emergency Responder Job Protection Act:

A. "emergency or disaster" means an event so

declared by the governor or president of the United States;

and

B. "volunteer emergency responder" means a person

who is a member in good standing of a volunteer fire

department, an emergency medical service, a search and rescue

team or a law enforcement agency or who is enrolled by the

state or a political subdivision of the state for response to

an emergency or disaster.

Section 3. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF VOLUNTEER

EMERGENCY RESPONDER PROHIBITED--LIMITATION--NOTICE--

CERTIFICATION--WITHHOLDING PAY.--

A. An employee shall not be terminated, demoted or

in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and

conditions of employment because the employee, when serving as

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a volunteer emergency responder, is absent from the employee

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place of employment in order to respond to an emergency or

disaster.

B. Subsection A of this section shall not apply if

the employee, while acting as a volunteer emergency responder

to an emergency or disaster, is absent from the employee's

place of employment for a period of more than ten regular

business days in a calendar year.

C. An employee who will be absent from the

employee's place of employment while serving as a volunteer

emergency responder to an emergency or disaster shall make

reasonable efforts to notify the employer of that service and

shall continue to make those reasonable notification efforts

over the course of the absence.

D. An employer may request an employee to provide

to the employer a written verification from the office of

emergency management or a state or local official managing an

emergency or disaster of the dates and time that the employee

served as a volunteer emergency responder to an emergency or

disaster.

E. An employer may charge against an employee's

regular pay time that the employee is absent from employment

while serving as a volunteer emergency responder to an

emergency or disaster.

Section 4. CAUSE OF ACTION.--In addition to other

available remedies, an employee who has been terminated,

demoted or in any other manner discriminated against in the

terms and conditions of employment in violation of the

Volunteer Emergency Responder Job Protection Act may bring a

cause of action seeking reinstatement of the employee's former

position, payment of back wages, reinstatement of fringe

benefits or, where seniority rights are granted, reinstatement

of seniority rights; provided that an action for violation of

the Volunteer Emergency Responder Job Protection Act shall be

brought within one year from the date of the violation. HB 240

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