(a) Jurisdiction. Except as provided in subsection (g), the Merit System Protection Board must hear and decide each appeal filed by a volunteer firefighter or rescuer aggrieved by an adverse final action of the Chief or a local fire and rescue department involving the removal, demotion, or suspension of, or other disciplinary action applied specifically to, that individual as if the individual were a County merit system employee.
(b) Filing Appeals. Any party covered by this Section may appeal the action within 30 days after the action unless another law or regulation requires that an appeal be filed sooner. An appeal must not stay the disputed action.
(c) Procedures. The Executive by regulation must establish procedures for hearing and deciding appeals under this Section. The regulation must specify which categories of appeals may be heard by a hearing examiner or otherwise must be decided on the basis of a written record. The Merit System Protection Board must hear an appeal if it complies with all applicable procedures. If the Board receives more than one appeal involving the same individual personnel action, the Board must consolidate the appeals.
(d) Subpoenas. The chair of the Merit System Protection Board or a hearing examiner considering the case may issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness and the production of any document, and may administer oaths, in any proceeding. The Board or any party to the proceeding may file a petition with any court with jurisdiction to enforce a subpoena as provided by law for the enforcement of subpoenas in a civil action. All provisions of law that compel a person under subpoena to testify apply to proceedings under this Chapter.
(e) Depositions. When relevant to any proceeding and for use as evidence, the Merit System Protection Board or a hearing examiner considering the case may allow a party to depose a witness in the manner and on the terms designated by the Board or hearing examiner if:
(1) the witness cannot be subpoenaed; or
(2) the witness cannot attend a hearing.
(f) Appeals of Board decisions. Any aggrieved party may appeal the decision of the Board to any court with jurisdiction under the rules governing appeals from administrative agencies, and may appeal any adverse decision of that court to the Court of Special Appeals.
(g) Exceptions. This Section does not apply to, and the Board must not consider an appeal of, a personnel matter subject to an employee grievance procedure under a collective bargaining agreement. (1998 L.M.C., ch. 4, §1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2009 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2004 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 2, subparagraph (a), reads as follows:
“Transition. (a) Regulations. A regulation issued by the Fire and Rescue Commission before this Act took effect [January 1, 2005] continues in effect unless it is inconsistent with Chapter 21, as amended by this Act, but must be treated as having been issued by the Fire Chief or the County Executive, as provided in Chapter 21, as amended by this Act. This Section does not apply to procedural regulations that the Commission is authorized to issue under Section 21-7(c), as amended by this Act.
Section 21-7(g) is interpreted and quoted in Kensington Volunteer Fire Department v. Montgomery County, 163 Md. App. 279, 878 A.2d 662 (2005), where the Court held that a volunteer firefighter who seeks review before the Merit System Protection Board of a decision of the Fire and Rescue Commission is entitled to attorney’s fees as if he were a merit system employee.