A legislator and the head of an Edmond-based law enforcement association support a proposed bill that would give reserve first responders National Guard-like job security.
In recent months and years, the Edmond area has experienced wildfires, flash flooding and a tornado. In some cases volunteer first responders, such as some firefighters at Deer Creek and Oak Cliff, peace officers, medical personnel and volunteer chaplains temporarily leave their regular jobs to help others.
Reserves work in all areas of the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, said agency spokesman Mark Myers. The agency has an all-reserve search team which operates on horseback and on all-terrain vehicles, Myers said.
“Reserves are very valuable to the sheriff’s office and our function,” Myers said.
As of December, Oklahoma had a total of 3,921 reserve peace officers and 9,777 full-time, active duty police officers, said Erica Vasquez, assistant to the director of the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.
Kenneth Wise, of Oklahoma City, a reserve peace officer and a chaplain, said he is seeking legislation that would protect these volunteers who respond to situations requiring them to leave their regular jobs before their scheduled time off.
Wise has drafted preliminary language, and said he has found an advocate in the Legislature.
“But our story still needs to be told,” he said.
Oklahoma Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association Executive Director Russ Higbie said he has not heard of many incidents in which reserve first responders were wrongfully terminated, but reservists serve the same community as guardsmen.
“I feel like they ought to have that,” said Higbie, who himself was a reservist after his active duty days in the Army.
The proposed bill is on the right track and the lawmaker has his support, said Higbie, a University of Central Oklahoma graduate and a lecturer in UCO’s School of Criminal Justice. Higbie said the association has more than 1,000 members.
State Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-McLoud, serves on the House Public Safety Committee. Wise said Cockroft has agreed to see what he can do about the issue, and had gone so far as to give the bill a preliminary name, “The Volunteer Service Act.”
Cockroft could not be reached for comment.
The proposed language states that the state is known for the “Oklahoma standard” of neighbors helping neighbors in times of crisis and volunteerism. And it states that most employers will not penalize them for responding.
However, some employers penalize their employees by either assessing points or through a reprimand or in some cases they are terminated, the proposed bill states.
The bill would ensure that these volunteers will be protected from any penalties that would prevent them from serving their communities. It would ensure that they could respond until they are relieved or the crisis is resolved without fear of losing their regular jobs.
Under the legislation, an employer would not be able to assess points, suspend, dock pay, demote or terminate any volunteer first responders who are called or respond en route to a situation.
Wise said the language is similar to National Guardsmen who are called to wildfires and are protected from termination from their employers because they are responding to an emergency.
Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act, an employee is protected from unlawful discrimination by an employer because of their military affiliation.
Oklahoma recognizes the “at will doctrine,” meaning either an employer or an employee may terminate the employment relationship at any time as long as it is not illegal, according to Lawyers.com. Illegal reasons typically fall into one of two broad categories — illegal discrimination or illegal termination in violation of a public policy.
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