Section 16-A. Volunteer members of fire companies

1. Except as otherwise
  provided in a city charter or other  special  or  local  law,  volunteer
  members  of a fire company shall be elected and appointed as provided in
  this section.
    2. The board of fire commissioners or other  body  or  officer  having
  control  of  the  fire department shall appoint residents of the city as
  the volunteer members of any newly organized fire  company.  Thereafter,
  the  fire  company  may  elect  other  eligible  persons, including city
  officers, as volunteer members. The election shall be  pursuant  to  the
  by-laws, if any, of the fire company; otherwise, by a three-fourths vote
  of  the  members  of the fire company present and voting at a regular or
  special meeting thereof. The membership of any person so  elected  shall
  become  effective  when  approved  by  resolution  of  the board of fire
  commissioners or such other body or officer. Membership shall be  deemed
  to  have been approved pursuant to this subdivision in the event that no
  action is taken by such board, body  or  officer,  either  approving  or
  disapproving,  within  thirty  days  after  service of written notice of
  election to membership shall have been made by the secretary of the fire
  company upon the chairman of such board or body, or upon  such  officer,
  either personally or by mail.
    3.  Any  person  elected to membership as a volunteer member of a fire
  company shall be a resident of the city or of territory outside the city
  which is afforded fire protection by the fire department of the city, or
  any fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract  for  fire  protection,
  except as otherwise provided in subdivision six.
    4.  The  membership  of  a  volunteer  member  of a fire company shall
  terminate when he ceases to  be  a  resident  of  the  city  or  of  any
  territory outside the city which is afforded fire protection by the fire
  department  of  the  city,  or  any  fire company thereof, pursuant to a
  contract  for  fire  protection,  except  as   otherwise   provided   in
  subdivision five.
    5.  Any  fire  company  may  authorize the continued membership of any
  volunteer member where such member notifies the secretary  of  his  fire
  company  (a) that he plans to change his residence to territory which is
  not in the city and is not protected by the fire department of the city,
  or any fire company thereof, pursuant to a contract for fire protection,
  and (b) that by reason of his residence in the vicinity  and  his  usual
  occupation  he will be available to render active service as a volunteer
  fireman in the city or in territory outside the city which  is  afforded
  fire  protection  pursuant to a contract for fire protection by the fire
  department of the city, or a fire company  thereof.  Such  authorization
  shall  be  pursuant to the by-laws, if any, of the fire company of which
  he is a member, otherwise by a three-fourths vote of the members of such
  fire company present and voting at a regular or special meeting thereof.
  Such  authorization  shall  not  become  effective  unless  approved  by
  resolution  of  the board of fire commissioners or other body or officer
  hereinabove  mentioned.  Any  membership  continued  pursuant   to   the
  provisions  of  this  subdivision shall terminate when the member cannot
  meet either the  requirements  of  this  subdivision  or  the  residence
  requirements  of  subdivision three. In the case of a city which adjoins
  another state,  the  term  "vicinity",  as  used  in  this  subdivision,
  includes territory in this state and territory in the adjoining state.
    6.  A person who cannot meet the residence requirements of subdivision
  three may be elected to membership as a volunteer  member  of  any  fire
  company  of  the  fire  department  if by reason of his residence in the
  vicinity and his usual occupation he will be available to render  active
  service  as  a  volunteer  fireman  in the city or in territory which is
  afforded fire protection pursuant to a contract for fire  protection  by

  the  fire  department  of  the  city  or  a  fire  company thereof. Such
  authorization shall be pursuant to the by-laws,  if  any,  of  the  fire
  company;  otherwise  by  a three-fourths vote of the members of the fire
  company present and voting at a regular or special meeting thereof. Such
  authorization  shall  not become effective unless approved by resolution
  of the board of fire commissioners or other body or officer  hereinabove
  mentioned.  The  membership  of any volunteer member elected pursuant to
  the provisions of this  subdivision  shall  terminate  when  the  member
  cannot meet either the requirements of this subdivision or the residence
  requirements  of  subdivision three. In the case of a city which adjoins
  another state,  the  term  "vicinity",  as  used  in  this  subdivision,
  includes territory in this state and territory in the adjoining state.
    7.  The  membership  of  any  volunteer fireman shall not be continued
  pursuant to subdivision five,  and  persons  shall  not  be  elected  to
  membership  pursuant to subdivision six, if, by so doing, the percentage
  of such non-resident members in the fire company would exceed forty-five
  per centum of the actual membership of the fire company.
    8.  The  legislative  body  of  the  city,  or  the  board   of   fire
  commissioners  or other body or officer hereinabove mentioned subject to
  approval of such  legislative  body,  by  resolution  may  restrict  the
  membership  of  volunteer members in any or all of the fire companies of
  the fire department to residents of the city. Any volunteer  member  who
  then resides in territory outside the city shall cease to be a member of
  any  fire  company  to  which  the  restriction is applicable unless the
  resolution provides  that  his  membership  shall  continue  during  the
  existence  of  any lawful contract for fire protection to such territory
  by his company or the fire department or during the period in  which  he
  may continue to meet the requirements of subdivision three, five or six.
    9. Residents of outside territory protected pursuant to a contract for
  fire  protection  who  have  been  elected  to volunteer membership, and
  non-residents  whose  volunteer  memberships  have  been  authorized  or
  continued  pursuant  to  subdivision  five  or  six,  shall have all the
  powers,  duties,  immunities,  and  privileges  of  resident   volunteer
  members,  except  (1) they may not be elected or appointed to any office
  of the fire department which is required by law to be held by an elector
  of the city, (2) non-residents of the state  may  not  be  appointed  or
  elected  to any office in the fire company or fire department, and (3) a
  non-resident of this state whose membership has been continued  pursuant
  to  subdivision five, or a non-resident of this state who was elected to
  membership pursuant to subdivision six of this  section,  shall  not  be
  considered  to be performing any firemanic duty, or to be engaged in any
  firemanic activity, as a member of the fire company while he is  outside
  of  this  state unless and until he has first reported to the officer or
  fireman in command of his fire department,  or  any  company,  squad  or
  other  unit  thereof,  engaged  or  to  be  engaged in rendering service
  outside this state, or has received  orders  or  authorization  from  an
  officer  of  the  fire  department  or fire company to participate in or
  attend authorized activities outside of this state in the same manner as
  resident members of the fire company.
    10. A person shall not be eligible to  volunteer  membership  in  more
  than one fire company at one time.
    11.  The  term  "contract for fire protection" as used in this section
  means one under which a cash consideration is received by the city or by
  the fire department or a fire company thereof for the furnishing of fire
  protection to an area outside the  city.  Any  such  contract  shall  be
  deemed  in  full  force  and  effect for the purposes of this section if
  negotiations are pending for the renewal thereof.

    12. The provisions of this section shall not be  deemed  to  authorize
  the  election  of  any  person  as  a  member  of  a fire company or the
  continuance of membership in a fire company as herein provided  if  such
  election  or continuance of membership shall be contrary to the by-laws,
  rules  or  regulations  of the fire company or of the fire department of
  the city
    13. Any person:
    (1) who was recognized prior to the first day of January, two thousand
  three, as a volunteer member of any fire company of a  city  subject  to
  the  provisions  of this section by the governing board or board of fire
  commissioners of the city or by the officers and  members  of  his  fire
  company, and
    (2)  who  rendered  active service with such fire company between such
  dates, and
    (3) who was, at the time of his election to membership, a resident  of
  the  city  or  of  territory  outside  the  city which was afforded fire
  protection by the fire department of  the  city,  or  any  fire  company
  thereof,  pursuant  to  a  contract  for  fire  protection, or who was a
  non-resident who was elected to membership or who  was  continued  as  a
  member,  pursuant  to  the provisions of subdivision five or six of this
  section, shall for all purposes in law be considered to have  been  duly
  elected  and approved, or continued, as a member in such fire company as
  of the date of such approval, if any, and, if none, then as of the  date
  of such election or, in the case of a continuance, as of the date of the
  approval,  if  any,  by the board of fire commissioners or the governing
  board, and, if none, as of the date of authorization of  continuance  by
  the  fire  company;  notwithstanding that there may have been some legal
  defect in such election, or the  proceedings  precedent  thereto,  or  a
  failure of the board of fire commissioners or governing board to approve
  such member, or approve the continuance of membership of such member, as
  provided  by  the  law  in  force  at  the  time  of  such  election, or
  continuance, and the status of such person as a volunteer fireman as  of
  such date is hereby legalized, validated and confirmed. This subdivision
  shall  not  apply  to  a person, if any, whose volunteer membership in a
  fire company was disapproved by  the  board  of  fire  commissioners  or
  declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction prior to the first
  day of January, two thousand three.
    14.  (a)  It  shall  be  an  unlawful  discriminatory practice for any
  volunteer fire department or fire company, through any member or members
  thereof, officers, board of fire commissioners or other body  or  office
  having  power of appointment of volunteer firemen in any fire department
  or fire company pursuant to this section, because of  the  race,  creed,
  color,  national  origin,  sex  or  marital status of any individual, to
  exclude or to expel from its volunteer membership such individual, or to
  discriminate against any of its members  because  of  the  race,  creed,
  color, national origin, sex or marital status of such volunteer members.
    (b)  Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory
  practice pursuant to this section may by himself or his attorney at  law
  make,  sign and file with the state division of human rights, a verified
  complaint which shall set forth the particulars of the alleged  unlawful
  discriminatory  practice  and  contain  such  other  information  as the
  division of human rights may require. The division shall thereupon cause
  to be made an investigation and disposition of the charges  pursuant  to
  the provisions of article fifteen of the executive law.