Through the magic combination of Obamacare and the IRS, volunteer firefighters may be considered “employees,” and their volunteer fire departments may be forced to give them healthcare. Or pay penalties that would force them to shut down.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs has asked the Internal Revenue Service, which has partial oversight of the law, to clarify if current IRS treatment of volunteer firefighters as employees means their hose companies or towns must offer health insurance coverage or pay a penalty if they don’t.
“It could be a huge deal,” said U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, Hazleton, who is seeking clarification from the IRS. “In Pennsylvania, 97 percent of fire departments are fully or mostly volunteer firefighters. It’s the fourth highest amount in the country.”The organization representing the fire chiefs has been working on the issue with the IRS and White House for months.So far, the IRS hasn’t decided what to do.Efforts to reach spokesmen for the IRS were unsuccessful.
One would think that since volunteer firefighters aren’t paid, usually belong to small fire departments that operate on a shoestring and don’t work more than 29 hours per week fighting fires, Obamacare wouldn’t touch them. But the IRS considers all volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel to be employees. So the IRS could well rule that they must be extended healthcare, or their fire departments face penalties. The IRS hasn’t decided if it’s going to continue that thinking applied to Obamacare.
If it does, then volunteer fire departments will face a world of hurt. They could go away, leaving rural communities vulnerable.
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