Firefighter, Emergency Responder Bill Passes

Jan. 14--U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta praised the House's unanimous passage Monday of his legislation to protect volunteer firefighters and emergency responders.

The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act ensures that emergency services volunteers are not counted as full-time employees by the Internal Revenue Service under the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act.

The House passed the measure on a rare unanimous vote of 401-0. It now heads to the Senate for its approval.

Barletta authored the same legislation in the 113th Congress. It passed the House last March 11 by another unanimous vote of 410-0 before becoming bogged down in the Senate.

Under the employer mandate provision of the health-care law, employers with 50 or more employees must provide health insurance or pay penalties. If volunteers were considered employees, fire companies could exceed the 50-employee threshold.

Copyright 2015 - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.