Montana Adds Protections for Volunteer Emergency Service Providers

Montana has enacted legislation (House Bill 128), which provides employment protections for certain volunteer service providers and increases communication requirements between the volunteers and their employers. House Bill 128 takes effect on Oct. 1, 2025.

The Details

House Bill 128 prohibits an employer from terminating an employee who has completed their probationary period because the employee:

• Elects to serve as a volunteer firefighter or a volunteer emergency services provider and is not paid full-time by the entity for which their services are performed in the local service area; or
  
  
• Joins a volunteer emergency unit or organization, such as a municipal, rural, or subscription fire department.
  
  

Pay Requirements

Under the law, a non-exempt employee may not claim regular pay for the time they are absent for performing volunteer emergency service duties, and an employer may deduct regular pay for time not worked.

Employee Notice Requirements

An employee must provide notice to their employer of their status as a volunteer by the following timelines, based on their dates of service.

·       For volunteer service occurring before October 1, 2025, an employee must provide written notice within 30 days of Oct. 1, 2025.

·       After October 1, 2025, an employee who becomes a volunteer must provide written notice within 30 days of their change of status or within 30 days of hire.

An employee who will be absent or late to work due to performing their volunteer emergency service duties must provide notice to their employer as soon as possible.

Note: An employer may decide whether an employee may leave work to respond to emergencies.

Employer Notice Requirements

An employer may require a covered employee to:

• Request and receive prior authorization to respond to an emergency if the employee’s absence or delay would jeopardize public safety or prevent the employer from performing an essential function.
  
  
• Provide a written statement when they are absent from or late to work due to an emergency from the supervisor of the volunteer emergency service organization. The statement must include the date, time, duration and actuality of the emergency.

Nonretaliation

An employer that receives written notice cannot terminate an employee for being absent or late for performing volunteer emergency service duties if the employee’s probationary period is complete.

Note: Under the law, a probationary period is at least 12 months, but no more than 18 months, from when an employee starts working (depending on whether an employer decides to extend the probationary period).

Next Steps

Covered employers should review and update their pay, leave, and time off policies and procedures and train supervisors on the law by Oct. 1, 2025.