Provides total disability benefits for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers for injuries sustained on or after July 1, 2016

3 Co-sponsors

• Rich Funke
• William J. Larkin Jr.
• James L. Seward

Title of bill

An act to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law and the volunteer ambulance workers' law, in relation to updating benefits and modernizing coverage for services provided in the line of duty

Purpose

This legislation updates and modernizes certain provisions of law relating to the volunteer fire service. The purpose of the legislation is to more accurately reflect current emergency response practices and to bring the state of the law for volunteers into greater parity with other segments of the response community.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the volunteer firefighters' benefit law (VFBL) to provide a weekly benefit of $650 for volunteers that sustain total permanent disability or partial permanent disability while in the line of duty.

Section 2 amends the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law (VAWBL) to provide a weekly benefit of $650 for volunteers that sustain total permanent disability or partial permanent disability while in the line of duty.

Section 3 establishes effective date.

Justification

Awards under the volunteer firefighters benefit law and the volunteer benefits laws have not been increased since 1992. The workers compensation law, on the other hand, was amended in 2007 to provide an employee who is totally disabled to receive an award equal to two thirds of the New York State average wage; an award that amounted to $775 in 2011. This bill seeks to narrow the gap between the workers compensation law and VFBL and VABL by increasing awards to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers who are totally disabled to six hundred fifty dollars per week.

Legislative history

S.2719 OF 2015 - Local Government Committee

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

Immediate.