Legal matters are a necessary function of the fire service, as with any business. Therefore, long-term strategies must be established to ensure compliance with mandatory regulations and laws. The legal issues that a fire department may face can fill volumes of books, perhaps even a library, but a plan of action must be established to avoid legal repercussions for the fire department and/or its members. Common legal issues should be addressed within the fire department's guidelines or standard operating procedures and new issues should be reviewed carefully before developing a plan of action. Court decisions have been issued that have negative consequences for jurisdictions, fire departments and their members, ranging from fines to criminal prosecution. It is the responsibility of the fire department to be a good steward of community and taxpayer funds and, therefore, to develop policies and procedures that will responsibly protect the jurisdiction, the fire department , the community and its members against the legal consequences of violation of laws and regulations. Mutual aid agreements are one of many legal issues a fire department may encounter in the course of its operations. “For many years, these agreements were informal and often unwritten” (Varone, 2012, p. 346). The written mutual aid agreement defines goals such as: who will command, the level of assistance to be provided, who will cover damages or injuries, billing issues, the length of time assistance can be provided, who will provide also food and shelter. such as overtime pay, who will substitute, and accountability, among many other issues related to the provision and/or acceptance of mutual assistance (Varone, 2012). Due to the legal coverage provided under a mutual assistance agreement, middle of paper......with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “The ADA does not specifically require employers to provide sick or disability leave” (US Department of Labor, nd, para. 9). References US Department of Labor. (nd). Labor law: medical and disability leave. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/employ.htmUniversity of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. (2007). Confidentiality. Retrieved from http://www.uthsc.edu/Medicine/legaledu/UT/factsheets/Confidentiality.pdfUniversity of Tennessee Institute of Public Service. (June 25, 2004). Mutual Aid and Emergency and Disaster Assistance Agreements Act of 2004 [Press release]. Retrieved from http://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/PUBLIC/web/ctas.nsf/0/39A89BC37A34C2F586256EBE006EC22AVarone, J. C. (2012). Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, New York: Delmar.