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1997 SESSION
978013378Patrons-- Quayle (By Request) and Lucas; Delegates: Barlow, Councill and Moore
WHEREAS, the services provided by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) employees play a critical role in protecting the lives and health of citizens throughout the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, EMS employees work and live alongside their firefighter counterparts in fire stations on a 24-hour, 365-day-a-year basis and are an integral part of the emergency service delivery system; and
WHEREAS, providing effective and cost-efficient emergency medical services is best achieved by scheduling EMS employees to work 24-hour shifts rather than traditional eight-hour shifts; and
WHEREAS, a majority of EMS employees support the 24-hour shift versus the eight-hour shift; and
WHEREAS, the provisions of current federal law (29 USCS § 207) require that employers pay overtime compensation equal to one and one-half times the regular rate of compensation when an employee works longer than 40 hours in one week. The federal statute does provide an overtime exemption for the employers of fire, police and corrections personnel. The exemption allows employers of these employees to calculate overtime pay by averaging the number of hours worked over a period of 28 days rather than on a weekly basis, thereby reducing overtime costs for localities. This exemption permits localities to schedule employees in a more productive, economical, and efficient manner; and
WHEREAS, a recent judicial decision has resulted in the federal government interpreting 29 USCS § 207 in a manner that precludes a similar overtime exemption for EMS employers; and
WHEREAS, the lack of an overtime exemption for EMS personnel results in increased operating costs for localities and a reduction in operating efficiency; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby urge the Congress of the United States to implement legislation providing an overtime exemption for EMS employees similar to that provided for fire, police and corrections employees; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the the President of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly in this matter.