Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act Receives January 2027 Amendment

The Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act protects Illinois employees who also serve as volunteer firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and first responders. Beginning January 1, 2027, those protections will be expanded by Public Act 104-0581.

Specifically, the amendment extends the law to required training and prevents employers from forcing workers to use vacation time. In addition, the Act broadens the remedies available to employees and brings more municipal workers under the law.

What the Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act Covers

The Act, codified at 50 ILCS 748, applies to employees who serve as volunteer emergency workers in specific public safety roles. Under the Act, covered roles include:

• Members of a fire department of a fire protection district, municipality, or other unit of government

• Emergency medical technicians (EMT, EMT-I, A-EMT, and EMT-P)

• Ambulance drivers and attendants

• First responders

• Members of county or municipal emergency services and disaster agencies

• Auxiliary police officers and deputies

In addition, each worker must meet the volunteer status requirements of 29 C.F.R. § 553.106 and U.S. Department of Labor opinion letters FLSA 2006-28 and FLSA 2005-51.

Under Section 5 of the Act, no public or private employer may terminate an employee for missing work or arriving late after responding to an emergency before a shift. Similarly, an employee may not be disciplined for answering an emergency phone call or text message during work hours. However, that protection does not override an employer’s written policies, collective bargaining agreements, or cell phone rules. It also does not apply to employees of private vehicle service providers who perform Emergency Medical Services duties on the job.

At the same time, the Act places certain obligations on employees. For example, workers must make a reasonable effort to notify their employer that they may be absent or late. After the absence, the employee may be asked to provide a written statement from the volunteer agency’s supervisor confirming the emergency's date and time. Employers may also charge the lost time against the employee’s regular pay.

Finally, Section 10 allows an employee who is terminated in violation of the Act to sue for reinstatement, back wages, fringe benefits, and seniority rights. The employee must file the lawsuit within one year of the violation. Under Section 20, the Act currently does not apply to municipal employers with a population of 7,500 or more.

How Public Act 104-0581 Amends the Law

House Bill 1353 amends Sections 5, 10, and 20 of the Act, and it passed the House 102-0 and the Senate 58-0. As a result, five key changes take effect on January 1, 2027.

Required training is now protected.

Previously, the Act addressed only emergency responses. Now, the Act also covers absences and late arrivals caused by training an employee must complete as a volunteer emergency worker. Likewise, the notice and documentation provisions apply to training in the same way they apply to emergencies.

Penalties are prohibited alongside termination.

Under the amended Section 5(a), an employer may not terminate or penalize a covered employee for an emergency response or required training.

Vacation time is protected.

Employers may still charge lost time against regular pay. However, an employer may not require an employee to use vacation or other compensatory time to respond to an emergency or attend training.

Civil remedies are expanded.

Under the amended Section 10, an employee who is terminated, penalized, or disciplined in violation of the Act may bring a civil action. By contrast, the prior version of Section 10 referenced only terminated employees.

Municipal coverage widens.

Specifically, the population threshold for the municipal exemption increases from 7,500 to 15,000. As a result, the Act now covers employees of municipalities with populations between those two figures.

What the Changes Mean for Illinois Employees

For volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and first responders, the amendment broadens job protection in several practical ways. First, the Act treats time spent in required volunteer training the same as time spent responding to an emergency. As a result, an employee cannot be terminated or penalized for attending that training, provided the notice requirement is met.

Second, the protection now extends beyond termination to include penalties, although the statute does not define what qualifies as a penalty. Third, employees retain control over their vacation and compensatory time, even if the time away from work remains unpaid.

In addition, employees who respond to emergency calls during work hours have a clearer path to enforcement. Before the amendment, Section 5(a-5) prohibited discipline for those responses, but Section 10 provided a civil action only for terminated employees. Now, a disciplined employee has an express right to sue, and the one-year filing deadline still applies.

Meanwhile, the Act protects employees of municipalities with 7,500 to 14,999 residents for the first time. The Act still excludes employees of municipalities with 15,000 or more residents.

Several existing limits also remain in place. For instance, written workplace policies, collective bargaining agreements, and cell phone rules still govern responses to emergency calls received during work hours. Employers also keep the right to request written verification of the emergency or training from the volunteer agency.

Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act Rights Starting in 2027

Beginning January 1, 2027, the Volunteer Emergency Worker Job Protection Act will cover required training, protect vacation time, and prohibit penalties and termination. In addition, disciplined employees can file a civil action, and coverage will extend to more municipal workers. At the same time, employees must continue to notify their employers and provide documentation when requested.

If your employer has terminated, penalized, or disciplined you for volunteer emergency service, contact the employment and civil rights law firm of O’Malley & Madden, P.C.