Part-Time Firefighters Allowed to Organize in Pennsylvania
A hearing examiner for the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has concluded that part-time firefighters for the Borough of Emmaus are not volunteers and eligible to organize.
The ruling by Hearing Examiner John Pozniak allows full and part-time firefighters up to an including the deputy chief to vote in an election to decide whether they want to organize.
The case began last October on the petition of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. The Borough challenged the petition on two grounds. First the Borough claimed the part-time firefighters are volunteers and not eligible to organize. Second the Borough claimed the fire fighters are employees of the fire department (at one time a separate legal entity) not the Borough. Pozniak easily disposed of both arguments. As for the first one:
- “there is little doubt that the petitioned-for fire fighters are employees… and not volunteers”
- “Indeed, the fire fighters work for the Borough and they provide their services in return for financial compensation in the form of hourly wages.”
- “the fire fighters certainly do not give their services without any express or implied promise of remuneration, which would classify them as volunteers”
- “the Borough does not even contend that the hourly wages are intended as some sort of reimbursement for expenses”
As for the argument that the fire fighters serve the fire department not the Borough, Pozniak concluded:
- “The Borough Manager has the power to discipline anyone in the Fire Department for violating policies issued by the Borough”
- “the final say on discipline rests with the Borough”
- “the borough issues monthly checks directly to the fire fighters, based on their hourly rates”
- “The borough deducts taxes… and the fire fighters receive a W-2 from the Borough”
- “a fire fighter wishing to work for the Fire Department must fill out an application, which is ultimately reviewed by the Chief and then must be approved by the Borough”
Here is a copy of the ruling: Emmaus Borough PF-R-13-100-E
How would this decision affect other recent decisions holding that volunteer FFs are NOT employees for the purposes of the ACA? It would seem to me that if one is an employee for the purpose of union organizing and collective bargaining, one must also be an employee for the purposes of benefits including health care.
Andrew – these firefighters are paid an hourly wage. The only one calling them volunteers is the mayor (and his legal team). A decision by the labor board that certain employees are not volunteers would have little if any impact on what other agencies will decide in other cases… such as the IRS for Obamacare, OSHA for OSH compliance, tort immunity, etc. A person can be considered a volunteer for one purpose (eg Obamacare) and an employee for others (workers comp purposes). My books use a good case out of PA where a firefighter from a volunteer fire company is considered to be an employee of the municipality for workers comp purposes but not for civil service protection. Those kinds of things happen all the time. However, it would appear that part time firefighters who are paid by the hour can organize in PA.
Is the Pennsylvania Professional FireFighters Association an IAFF affiliate? I know the IAFF stance is not to organize part-time so I find it funny that they pushed this lawsuit. Maybe we will see the IAFF change their stance since other Unions(Teamsters and AFSME) are organizing part-timers.
Jim – I believe they are an IAFF affiliate – and I am not aware of an IAFF policy against organizing part-timers. I would think most labor organizations do not want to see part-timers used to circumvent providing full-time benefits to full time employees – but where part-time employees makes sense and do not cost full-time employees a job, why wouldn’t a labor organization want to organize them?