A bipartisan group of senators this week urged their colleagues to move quickly to advance legislation that would permanently boost the pay of federal wildland firefighters, as labor organizations warn of a looming “mass exodus” of the first responders when temporary raises expire this fall.
Last month, Democrats in both the House and Senate reintroduced the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act (H.R. 3108). The bill would set new special pay rates for federal wildland firefighters to ensure they make at least $20 per hour and would establish a new form of overtime pay—incident standby premium pay—to compensate firefighters for all hours they are mobilized to respond to a fire incident.
The measure also would grant paid leave for rest and recuperation following a firefighter’s deployment to combat wildfires, seven days of mental health leave per year, as well as create a database to track chronic diseases caused by on-the-job exposure to environmental toxins. And it would allow firefighters to credit years of service under temporary appointments toward their retirement benefits, as well as include premium pay in the calculation of their defined benefit annuity.
The legislation comes on the heels of a number of piecemeal efforts to improve federal firefighter compensation, including a series of bonuses and cash awards issued by President Biden to ensure they make $15 per hour and raises of up to $20,000 as authorized by the bipartisan...
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