Montana Law Provides Employment Protections for Volunteer Emergency Responders

Montana recently enacted legislation prohibiting employers from terminating employment of employees who are volunteer emergency service providers and are absent from work during an emergency. House Bill 128, which will be codified in Title 2 of the Montana Code Annotated (applicable to public employers) and Title 39 of the Montana Code Annotated (applicable to private employers), will take effect on October 1, 2025. 

Under the new law, an employer may not terminate the employment of an employee who has completed the probationary period¹ because the employee provides volunteer emergency services or has joined a volunteer emergency unit. A “volunteer emergency services provider” is defined as a person who is not paid full time by the emergency service provider and includes a volunteer firefighter, an enrolled member of a volunteer fire department, or a volunteer emergency medical technician. 

Employees must provide written notice to the employer of their status as a volunteer emergency services provider as follows:

• Current employee volunteers: Within 30 days of October 31, 2025;
• Current employees who volunteer after October 1, 2025: Within 30 days of volunteering; and
• New employee volunteers: Within 30 days of hire.

While an employer cannot terminate an employee who is absent or late to work because the employee is providing volunteer services during an emergency, the employer has discretion as to whether the employee may leave work to respond to an emergency. The employer may establish that any volunteer emergency response time be unpaid. Employers, however, should exercise caution with respect to policies on paid vs. unpaid time for exempt employees and consult counsel on potential implications of designating employees’ time responding to emergences as unpaid.

The new law does not mandate advance notice to an employer of an employee’s need to be absent from work to provide emergency services, but employees must notify the employer as soon as possible of the reason for the absence or lateness. The employer can request a written statement from the volunteer organization confirming the employee’s participation in an emergency, including the date, time, and duration of the event. 

Employees who believe their employment was terminated in violation of the new law may bring a civil action for wrongful termination within one year of the date of termination under the Montana Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act, M.C.A. § 39-2-901, et seq.

Key Takeaways:

• Employers with operations in Montana should audit their workforce and note any known employees providing volunteer emergency response services.
• Employers should review and revise their attendance and leave policies as necessary to account for situations where employees fail to report to work due to responding to an emergency in their volunteer capacity.