Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law (VFBL)
Injured while volunteering? You’ll get less than unemployment pays!
Volunteer firefighters and EMTs injured on duty receive benefits less than those currently out of work. That’s not just unfair — it’s outrageous!
The VFBL (Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law) is a program that was created to support volunteers who get injured. It has not kept pace with the cost of living, while unemployment is updated regularly. The result: unemployed New Yorkers are receiving more than injured firefighters recouping from serious injuries — right now — across the state. The state needs to hear from you — give injured volunteers the dignity and support they deserve.
Please sign the support letter below — and if you’ve been hurt while volunteering, send us your story, which is below the letter.
Sign the Letter!
Governor Kathy Hochul
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Hochul,
I write to you not only as a volunteer first responder, but as a proud New Yorker who has chosen to serve my community. I do this without compensation other than the satisfaction of being able to help my neighbors in their moments of greatest need. However, I am asking for something for my family: fairness.
Currently, when a volunteer first responder is injured in the line of duty they receive benefits under the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law (VFBL) or the Volunteer Ambulance Workers’ Benefit Law (VAWBL). The current levels amount to less than Workers’ Comp or unemployment benefits in New York across the board.
Under your leadership, New York has been a national leader in protecting workers and standing up for equity in the workplace. But somehow, volunteer first responders have been left behind. Raising VFBL / VAWBL levels is not about politics. It’s about dignity and equity. It’s a recognition that when a volunteer first responder is disabled or killed in the line of duty, they and their families deserve the same protections as any other New Yorker who are injured on the job or find themselves without employment.
Our disability benefits amount to less than half of the maximum benefit under Workers’ Compensation. All levels are below New York’s current unemployment rates. The fire service urges your leadership to raise weekly benefits for volunteers who sustain total or permanent disabilities in the line of duty to, at minimum, what unemployed New Yorkers take home to ensure a basic quality of life. Due to the relatively low prevalence of cases, the financial impact would be minimal while the positive human impact would be immeasurable.
When we are injured while volunteering, we don’t have an employer to turn to. We only have our communities and the State. Right now, the State is failing us. We urge you to stand with New York’s volunteer first responders and help us close this shameful gap in protection. We don’t want a parade. We don’t need a ceremony. We just need the same basic support that every other worker in this state has when tragedy strikes.
Respectfully,
Lawmakers need to hear your story!