House committee holds hearing on FLSA volunteer exemption clause
At a hearing held the end of October, the Worker Protection Subcommittee of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee heard oral and received written testimony for and against the National Firefighter and Rescue Squad Worker Protection Act (H.R. 94) and the 207(k) partial exemption clause of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). H.R. 94, introduced by Rep. Herbert H. Bateman (R-VA), would allow career firefighters to serve as volunteer firefighters in the same county or jurisdiction in which they work.
Bateman and Kimball Payne, county administrator for Spotsylvania County, Virginia, presented oral testimony in favor of the bill. Payne pointed out that the citizens lose when "career firefighters can no longer volunteer their skills when they are off the job." The National Volunteer Fire Council and the International Association of Fire Chiefs presented written testimony in favor of the bill.
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