2004 Minnesota Statutes

     424A.01 Membership in a volunteer firefighters' relief 
  association. 

    Subdivision 1.    Minors.  It is unlawful for any 
 municipality or independent nonprofit firefighting corporation 
 to employ a minor as a volunteer firefighter or to permit a 
 minor to serve in any capacity performing any firefighting 
 duties with a volunteer fire department.  

    Subd. 2.    Status of substitute volunteer firefighters. 
  No person who is serving as a substitute volunteer 
 firefighter shall be deemed to be a firefighter for purposes of 
 chapter 69 or this chapter nor shall be authorized to be a 
 member of any volunteer firefighters' relief association 
 governed by chapter 69 or this chapter.  

    Subd. 3.    Status of nonmember volunteer firefighters.  
 No person who is serving as a firefighter in a fire department 
 but who is not a member of the applicable firefighters' relief 
 association shall be entitled to any service pension or 
 ancillary benefits from the relief association.  

    Subd. 3a. Repealed, 1989 c 319 art 10 s 8 

    Subd. 4.    Exclusion of persons constituting an 
 unwarranted health risk.  The board of trustees of every 
 relief association may exclude from membership in the relief 
 association all applicants who, due to some medically 
 determinable physical or mental impairment or condition, would 
 constitute a predictable and unwarranted risk of imposing 
 liability for an ancillary benefit at any age earlier than the 
 minimum age specified for receipt of a service pension.  
 Notwithstanding any provision of section 363A.25, it shall be a 
 good and valid defense to a complaint or action brought under 
 chapter 363A that the board of trustees of the relief 
 association made a good faith determination that the applicant 
 suffers from an impairment or condition constituting a 
 predictable and unwarranted risk for the relief association if 
 the determination was made following consideration of:  (a) the 
 person's medical history; and (b) the report of the physician 
 completing a physical examination of the applicant completed at 
 the expense of the relief association. 

    Subd. 5.    Fire prevention personnel.  (a) If the fire 
 department is a municipal department and the applicable 
 municipality approves, or if the fire department is an 
 independent nonprofit firefighting corporation and the 
 contracting municipality or municipalities approve, the fire 
 department may employ or otherwise utilize the services of 
 persons as volunteer firefighters to perform fire prevention 
 duties and to supervise fire prevention activities. 

    (b) Personnel serving in fire prevention positions are 
 eligible to be members of the applicable volunteer firefighter 
 relief association and to qualify for service pension or other 
 benefit coverage of the relief association on the same basis as 
 fire department personnel who perform fire suppression duties. 

    (c) Personnel serving in fire prevention positions also are 
 eligible to receive any other benefits under the applicable law 
 or practice for services on the same basis as personnel employed 
 to perform fire suppression duties. 

    HIST: 1979 c 201 s 11; 1981 c 224 s 274; 1982 c 460 s 7; 1983 
 c 219 s 5; 1989 c 319 art 10 s 2; 1996 c 438 art 8 s 3