Emergency Responder Leave Handbook Statement: Rhode Island

Employees who are volunteer members of a fire department or ambulance department will be allowed time off to respond to an emergency that occurred prior to the time they are scheduled to report to work, as long as they have provided prompt notice.

For purposes of this policy, "volunteer member" means a volunteer, call, reserve or permanent-intermittent firefighter or emergency medical technician, but does not include any person who received compensation for over 975 hours of services rendered in such capacity during the preceding six months. "Responding to an emergency" means working at the scene of or returning from a fire, rescue emergency medical service call, hazardous materials incident or a natural or man-made disaster, where the emergency occurs during a period other than the employee's normal working hours.

Employees must inform their immediate supervisor [or insert name/contact details for appropriate company representative or department] of all