LCO No. 3472 1 of 3 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6477 January Session, 2021 LCO No. 3472 Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES Introduced by: (LAB) AN ACT CONCERNING VO LUNTEER FIRE DEPARTM ENTS AND AMBULANCE COMPANIES AND THE DEFINITION OF EMPLOYER UNDER THE STATE OCCU PATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Subsection (d) of section 31-367 of the general statutes is 1 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2 passage): 3 (d) "Employer" means the state and any political subdivision thereof, 4 and, except as provided in section 31-369, as amended by this act, any 5 volunteer fire department and any volunteer ambulance company; 6 Sec. 2. Section 31-369 of the general statutes is repealed and the 7 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 8 (a) This chapter applies to all employers, employees and places of 9 employment in the state except the following: (1) Employees of the 10 United States government; [and] (2) working conditions of employees 11 over which federal agencies other than the United States Department of 12 Labor exercise statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or 13 Raised Bill No. 6477 LCO No. 3472 2 of 3 regulations affecting occupational safety and health; and (3) any 14 volunteer fire department or volunteer ambulance company that can 15 demonstrate such department or company is regulated by the 16 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 15 USC 651 et seq. 17 (b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or in any 18 manner affect any workers' compensation law or to enlarge, diminish or 19 affect in any manner common law or statutory rights, duties or liabilities 20 of employers or employees, under any law with respect to injuries, 21 diseases or death of employees arising out of and in the course of 22 employment. 23 Sec. 3. Subsection (c) of section 31-382 of the general statutes is 24 repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 25 passage): 26 (c) Any employer who has received a citation for a violation of the 27 requirements of sections 31-369, as amended by this act, and 31-370, of 28 any standard or order promulgated pursuant to section 31-372, or of 29 regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter, which violation is 30 specifically determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed a 31 civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars for each such violation, 32 however, any volunteer fire department and any volunteer ambulance 33 company shall, for the first such violation, only be issued a written 34 warning. 35 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 from passage 31-367(d) Sec. 2 from passage 31-369 Sec. 3 from passage 31-382(c) Statement of Purpose: To clarify the definition of employer regarding volunteer fire departments and ambulance companies under the State Occupational Safety and Health Act. Raised Bill No. 6477 LCO No. 3472 3 of 3 [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]