§ 219-M — Participation, vesting and service credit

§ 219-m. Participation, vesting and service credit. 1. A volunteer\nambulance worker must be eligible to participate in any service award\nprogram provided under this article if the volunteer ambulance worker\nhas reached the age of eighteen and has completed at least one year of\nambulance service.\n 2. A participant shall have a nonforfeitable right to a service award\nupon completing five years of ambulance service. Any amounts\nattributable to forfeiture of a participant's service award shall be\nused to reduce contributions for all other service award program\nparticipants and shall not in any case be used to increase benefits for\nany other participants. The provisions of this subdivision shall not\npreclude amendment of a service award program to provide for an increase\nin benefits.\n 3. A year of ambulance service shall be credited under a service award\nprogram for each calendar year, beginning with the year in which the\nprogram is adopted, in which a volunteer ambulance worker accumulates at\nleast fifty points. Except as provided in subdivision five of this\nsection and subdivision eight of section two hundred nineteen-l of this\narticle, points shall be granted for activities performed after the\neffective date of the program in accordance with a system adopted by the\nsponsor which shall be applied on a consistent and uniform basis. Such\nsystem shall provide that points shall be granted for activities\ndesignated by the sponsor, which activities shall be selected from the\nfollowing:\n (a) Training courses -- twenty-five points maximum.\n (i) Courses under twenty hours duration -- one point per hour, with a\nmaximum of five points.\n (ii) Courses of twenty to forty-five hours duration -- one point per\nhour for each hour over initial twenty hours, with a maximum of ten\npoints.\n (iii) Courses over forty-five hours duration -- fifteen points per\ncourse.\nFor purposes of this paragraph, the term "training course" shall mean a\ncourse of instruction having a prescribed topic and syllabus. Points for\na training course shall be awarded only upon the successful completion\nof the course and only in the year in which the course is successfully\ncompleted.\n (b) Drills and seminars -- twenty points maximum. One point per\nminimum two hour drill or seminar. For purposes of this paragraph, the\nterm "drill" shall mean a skills practice or skills training session\nrelated to emergency medical service and the term "seminar" shall mean a\nlecture on a topic relating to the emergency medical service.\n (c) Sleep-in or stand-by -- twenty points maximum.\n (i) Sleep-in -- one point each full night.\n (ii) Stand-by -- one point each. A stand-by is defined as line of duty\nactivity of the volunteer ambulance company, lasting for four hours, not\nfalling under one of the other categories.\nA service award program may not provide points pursuant to this\nparagraph if the program provides points for tours of duty pursuant to\nparagraph (d) of this subdivision.\n (d) Tours of duty. A maximum of twenty points may be granted serving\ntours of duty at a rate equal to no more than one-sixth of a point per\nhour served as determined by the sponsor. For purposes of this\nparagraph, the term "tour of duty" shall mean a line of duty activity,\nnot falling under one of the other paragraphs of this subdivision,\ninvolving a period of time scheduled or assigned by an ambulance company\nduring which a volunteer ambulance worker is responsible for providing\nemergency medical service or general ambulance service, including\nsleep-ins, stand-bys and backup duty, by reason of being stationed at an\nevent, as part of a rostered duty crew or as otherwise provided by the\nregular procedures of the ambulance company. A sponsor may also define\ntwo or more activities included within the meaning of the term tour of\nduty and provide for points to be granted for the performance of such\nactivities at different rates, provided, that points for such activities\nshall not be granted at a rate in excess of one-sixth of a point per\nhour served and no more than twenty points shall be granted for all such\nactivities. A service award program may not provide points pursuant to\nthis paragraph if the program provides points for sleep-ins or stand-bys\npursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision.\n (e) Elected or appointed position, as defined in subdivision sixteen\nof section two hundred nineteen-k of this article -- twenty-five points\nmaximum.\n (i) Completion of one year term in an elected or appointed position.\n (ii) A volunteer ambulance worker elected to serve as a delegate to an\nambulance workers' convention shall also be eligible to receive one\npoint per meeting.\n (iii) A volunteer ambulance worker appointed to serve on the New York\nstate emergency medical services council, the state emergency medical\nadvisory committee, a regional emergency medical services council or a\nregional emergency medical advisory committee, established pursuant to\narticle thirty of the public health law shall also be eligible to\nreceive one point per meeting.\n (f) Attendance at meetings -- twenty points maximum.\n (i) Attendance at any official meetings of the ambulance company --\none point per meeting.\n (ii) Attendance at official meetings of a standing committee of the\nambulance company by a member of the committee -- one point per meeting.\n (g) Participation in ambulance company responses -- twenty-five points\nfor responding on the minimum number of calls, as outlined below:\nTotal number of calls 0 500 1000 1500\nambulance company responds to to to and\nto annually 500 1000 1500 over\nMinimum number of calls 10% 7.5% 5% 2.5%\nvolunteer\nambulance worker\nmust run annually in order to\nreceive twenty-five points credit\nA volunteer ambulance worker who is granted points toward a year of\nambulance service pursuant to this paragraph may not be granted points\ntoward the same year of ambulance service for alternative participation\ncompany responses pursuant to paragraph (h) of this subdivision.\n (h) Alternative participation in company responses. A maximum of\ntwenty-five points may be granted for participation in company responses\nat a rate equal to no more than one-half point per response as\ndetermined by the sponsor. A volunteer ambulance worker who is granted\npoints toward a year of ambulance service pursuant to this paragraph may\nnot be granted points toward the same year of ambulance service for\nparticipation in company responses pursuant to paragraph (g) of this\nsubdivision.\n (i) Miscellaneous activities -- maximum fifteen points. Participation\nin inspections and other activities covered by the volunteer ambulance\nworkers' benefit law and not otherwise listed -- one point per activity.\n (j) Activities; designation. The sponsor may designate less than all\nthe activities specified in this subdivision as activities for which\npoints may be earned.\n 4. Points toward a year of ambulance service may be granted for\nactivities performed after a participant reaches entitlement age, but\nshall not be granted for activities performed after a participant\napplies for a service award. The maximum number of years for which a\nparticipant may receive credit for a year of ambulance service shall be\nforty years. The governing board of a political subdivision may extend\nthe maximum number of years for which a participant may receive credit\nfor a year of ambulance service for up to an additional ten years, to a\nmaximum of fifty years, and such increases in the number of years may be\nadded in multiple increments or in a single action, pursuant to the\nadoption of the required resolution or resolutions of the governing\nboard, receiving the affirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the\ngoverning board of the political subdivision, and the approval of any\nmandatory referendum or referenda authorizing the extension of benefits\nunder the program by eligible voters within such political subdivision.\n 5. A service award program which is to take effect on a day other than\nthe first day of January may provide for points to be granted toward a\nyear of ambulance service for activities performed prior to the\neffective date of the program and on or after the immediately preceding\nfirst day of January, provided, the proposition authorizing adoption of\nthe program contains a statement authorizing points to be granted for\nsuch activities. Points attributable to such activities shall be granted\nin accordance with the point system adopted by the sponsor pursuant to\nsubdivision three of this section.\n 6. In computing credit for those volunteer ambulance workers who also\nserve as paid employees within a political subdivision of the state,\ncredit shall not be given for activities performed during the\nindividual's regularly assigned work periods.\n 7. A participant whose ambulance service is interrupted by full-time\nextended obligatory military service or by a single voluntary enlistment\nnot to exceed four years in the armed forces of the United States shall\nbe considered on military leave. During such period of military leave,\nthe participant shall receive fifty points for each full year of\nmilitary service, prorated for military service of less than a year.\n 7-a. An active volunteer ambulance worker's service award program may\nprovide for the crediting of years of and points for volunteer ambulance\nservice for periods after an active volunteer ambulance worker has\nreached the entitlement age and is receiving a service award.\n 8. The state comptroller may promulgate rules and regulations\nprescribing procedures and forms for the compilation and maintenance of\nrecords of the points accumulated by each volunteer ambulance worker.\nEach ambulance company shall compile and maintain such records in the\nmanner prescribed.\n 9. The president, secretary and chief or comparable officers of each\nambulance company shall submit to the governing board of the sponsor a\nlist of all volunteer members, certified under oath, which shall\nidentify those volunteer members who have qualified for credit under the\naward program for the previous year. Such list shall be submitted\nannually by March thirty-first or otherwise as provided in the rules and\nregulations of the state comptroller and shall be accompanied by such\nmembership records and records of point accumulations as the governing\nboard may require to substantiate the accuracy of the list.\nNotwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision a volunteer ambulance\nworker may request that his name be deleted from said list as a\n"participant". Such request for deletion shall be in writing and shall\nremain effective until withdrawn in the same manner.\n 10. The governing board of the sponsor shall review the list of each\nambulance company and may delete the name of any person who was not a\nvolunteer ambulance worker during the preceding calendar year or the\nname of any volunteer ambulance worker who did not earn fifty points\nduring the preceding calendar year or whose point accumulation has not\nbeen adequately documented. Thereafter, the governing board shall\napprove the list and return a copy of the list to the ambulance company\nand forward a certified copy of the approved list to the program\nadministrator.\n 11. Upon receipt of the approved list, the ambulance company shall\npost the list at its principal headquarters for at least thirty days. A\nvolunteer ambulance worker whose name does not appear on the approved\nlist shall have the right to appeal within thirty days of posting of the\nlist. The appeal shall be in writing and mailed to the clerk or\nsecretary of the governing board of the sponsor, which shall investigate\nthe appeal. The decision of the governing board shall be subject to\njudicial review pursuant to article seventy-eight of the civil practice\nlaw and rules.\n 12. A service award program may provide credit for years of ambulance\nservice rendered by a participant during the five calendar years\nimmediately preceding the year in which the program is adopted, but only\nif authorized pursuant to section two hundred nineteen-l of this\narticle. In order to determine eligibility for such credit, each\nambulance company shall review its prior membership rosters and service\nrecords to determine the number of years for which each participant is\nentitled to a contribution. In making such determination, the point\nsystem established pursuant to subdivision three of this section shall\nbe used. The president, secretary and chief or comparable officers of\nthe ambulance company shall submit to the governing board of the sponsor\na certified list of participants who are entitled to such credit and the\nnumber of years for which each participant is entitled to such credit,\nand such membership and service records as the governing board may\nrequire. The list shall be submitted to and approved by the governing\nboard, and posted by the ambulance company, at the same time and in the\nsame manner as provided in subdivisions nine through eleven of this\nsection, and each person named on the list approved by the governing\nboard shall be entitled to the credit indicated thereon. A person whose\nname does not appear on the list as submitted to or approved by the\ngoverning board shall have the administrative and judicial remedies set\nforth in subdivision eleven of this section.\n 13. In the event that a volunteer ambulance worker is either totally\nand temporarily disabled or partially and permanently disabled as\ncertified by the workers' compensation board or other competent\nauthority approved by the state comptroller, and the disability occurs\nduring the course of service as a volunteer while actively engaged in\nproviding line-of-duty services as defined in the volunteer ambulance\nworkers benefit law, the volunteer shall be credited with five points\nfor each full month of such disability; provided, however, such\nvolunteer shall cease to be credited with such line of duty disability\npoints after attaining the entitlement age.\n