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Emergency Law Inventory | Full Law Text

Law Number

Tenn. Code Ann. 50-1-309

Summary Title

Workers’ Benefits: Volunteer Firefighter

Summary

An employee who is a volunteer firefighter can obtain paid leave from their regular place of employment to respond to fire calls. They will not lose vacation time, sick leave, or earned overtime as a result of volunteering. If they volunteer for more than 4 hours, they can take off the next work period, within 12 hours of their last volunteer action, as a paid vacation day, sick day, or unpaid day off. The employer can require that the employee submit a written statement from the volunteer fire department chief to verify the employee’s volunteer service.

Full Title

Volunteer firefighters -- Permission to leave work -- Allowance for time off following response to fire call

Full Text

(a) (1) Notwithstanding § 50-1-307, any employee who is an active volunteer firefighter may be permitted to leave work in order to respond to fire calls during the employee's regular hours of employment without loss of pay, vacation time, sick leave or earned overtime accumulation. The employee may be permitted to take off the next scheduled work period within twelve (12) hours following the response as a vacation day or sick leave day without loss of pay, if the employee assisted in fighting the fire for more than four (4) hours. If the employee is not entitled to a vacation day or sick leave day, then the employee may be permitted to take off the work period without pay. (2) In addition to subdivision (a)(1), any employee who is an active volunteer firefighter and who worked for more than four (4) hours the prior day or night as a volunteer firefighter in an emergency may be permitted to take off the next scheduled work period within twelve (12) hours following the emergency as a vacation day or sick leave day without the loss of pay. If the employee is not entitled to a vacation day or sick leave day then the employee may be permitted to take off the work period without pay. (b) The employer may require the employee to submit a written statement from the chief of the volunteer fire department verifying that the employee responded to a fire or was on-call and specifying the date, time and duration of the response.

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