[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1505 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1505
To reform and enhance the pay and benefits of Federal wildland
firefighters, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2023
Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reform and enhance the pay and benefits of Federal wildland
firefighters, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Tim Hart Wildland
Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act'' or ``Tim's Act''.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management.
(2) Federal wildland firefighter.--The term ``Federal
wildland firefighter'' means any temporary, seasonal, or
permanent position at the Department of Agriculture or the
Department of the Interior, and Tribal Firefighters, that
maintains group, emergency incident management, or fire
qualifications, as established annually by the Standards for
Wildland Fire Position Qualifications published by the National
Wildfire Coordinating Group, and primarily engages in or
supports wildland fire management activities, including
forestry and rangeland technicians and positions concerning
aviation, engineering heavy equipment operations, dispatch, or
fire and fuels management.
(3) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL BASE PAY RATES FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.
(a) In General.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after section 5332 the following:
``Sec. 5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters
``(a) In this section--
``(1) the term `firefighter' means an employee who--
``(A) is a firefighter within the meaning of
section 8331(21) or section 8401(14);
``(B) in the case of an employee who holds a
supervisory or administrative position and is subject
to subchapter III of chapter 83, but who does not
qualify to be considered a firefighter within the
meaning of section 8331(21), would otherwise qualify if
the employee had transferred directly to such position
after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of
that section;
``(C) in the case of an employee who holds a
supervisory or administrative position and is subject
to chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be
considered a firefighter within the meaning of section
8401(14), would otherwise qualify if the employee had
transferred directly to such position after performing
duties described in section 8401(14)(A) for at least 3
years; and
``(D) in the case of an employee who is not subject
to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84, holds a
position that the Office of Personnel Management
determines would satisfy subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)
if the employee were subject to subchapter III of
chapter 83 or chapter 84;
``(2) the term `General Schedule base rate' means an annual
rate of basic pay established under section 5332, before any
additions such as a locality-based comparability payment under
section 5304 or 5304a or a special rate supplement under
section 5305;
``(3) the term `special base rate' means an annual rate of
basic pay payable to a wildland firefighter, before any
additions or reductions, that replaces the General Schedule
base rate otherwise applicable to the wildland firefighter and
that is administered in the same manner as General Schedule
base rates; and
``(4) the term `wildland firefighter' means any temporary,
seasonal, or permanent position at the Department of
Agriculture or the Department of the Interior, or Tribal
Firefighters, that maintains group, emergency incident
management, or fire qualifications, as established annually by
the Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications
published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and
primarily engages in or supports wildland fire management
activities, including forestry and rangeland technicians and
positions concerning aviation, engineering heavy equipment
operations, dispatch, training, development and technology, or
fire and fuels management.
``(b)(1) Notwithstanding section 5332, a wildland firefighter is
entitled to a special base rate of pay at grades 1 through 15 of the
General Schedule, as prescribed by this subsection. This special base
rate shall replace the otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate
and shall be basic pay for all purposes, including the purpose of
computing a locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or
5304a. Such special base rates shall be computed as described in
paragraphs (2) and (3) and adjusted at the time of adjustments in the
General Schedule.
``(2) The minimum rate of basic pay for any wildland firefighter in
levels 1 through 5 of the General Schedule shall--
``(A) be not less than the rate of pay for step 3 of GS-6,
as adjusted by the pay locality designated as `Rest of U.S.'
under section 5304; and
``(B) not be greater than the minimum rate of basic pay
provided to GS-6 under paragraph (3).
``(3) The special base rates for a wildland firefighter in levels 6
through 15 of the General Schedule shall be derived by increasing the
otherwise applicable General Schedule base rate on the date of
enactment of this Act by the applicable percentage for the wildland
firefighter's grade as shown below and rounding the result to the
nearest whole dollar:
``GS-6, 27 percent.
``GS-7, 24 percent.
``GS-8, 21 percent.
``GS-9, 18 percent.
``GS-10, 15 percent.
``GS-11, 12 percent.
``GS-12, 9 percent.
``GS-13, 6 percent.
``GS-14, 3 percent.
``GS-15, 1.5 percent.
``(4) When the special base rate is expressed as an hourly, daily,
weekly, or biweekly rate, the rate is computed from the appropriate
annual rate of basic pay derived under paragraph (2) or (3) in
accordance with the rules prescribed by section 5504(b).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (d)
shall be effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period
beginning on or after October 1, 2023.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 53 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 5332 the following:
``5332a. Special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters.''.
(d) Prevailing Rate Employees.--Section 5343 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) For prevailing rate employees described in section
5342(a)(2)(A) who qualify as a `wildland firefighter' based on the
definitions of `firefighter' and `wildland firefighter' in section
5332a(a), the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior
(as applicable) shall increase the wage rates of such employees by
amounts (determined at the sole and exclusive discretion of the
applicable Secretary after consultation with the other Secretary) that
are generally consistent with the percentage increases given to
wildland firefighters in the General Schedule under section 5332a. Such
an increased wage rate shall be basic pay for the same purposes as the
wage rate otherwise established under this section. An increase under
this subsection may not cause an employee's wage rate to increase
beyond a rate that would produce an annualized rate in excess of the
annual rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule.''.
SEC. 3. WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT STANDBY PREMIUM PAY.
(a) In General.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after section 5545b the following:
``Sec. 5545c. Incident standby premium pay for employees engaged in
wildland firefighting
``(a) In this section--
``(1) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the
Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who--
``(A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on
the definitions of `firefighter' and `wildland
firefighter' in section 5332a(a); or
``(B) is certified by the applicable agency to
perform wildland fire incident related duties during
the period such employee is assigned to a qualifying
incident;
``(2) the term `designated sleep and rest period' means the
hours during an incident deployment that a covered employee is
deemed to be in sleep or rest status for pay computation
purposes, regardless of actual hours spent in that status;
``(3) the term `incident standby premium pay' means pay to
which a covered employee is entitled under subsection (c);
``(4) the term `prescribed fire incident' means a wildland
fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with
applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific
objectives;
``(5) the term `qualifying incident' means a wildfire
incident, a prescribed fire incident, or a severity incident,
but excludes an initial response incident involving a single
operational period of less than 36 hours (unless a longer
period is approved by an authorized agency official due to
exceptional circumstances) if the employee is in continual work
status with no designated sleep and rest period established by
the agency;
``(6) the term `severity incident' means an incident in
which a covered employee is pre-positioned in an area where
conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires; and
``(7) the term `wildfire incident' means a wildland fire
originating from an unplanned ignition, such as lightning,
volcanos, unauthorized and accidental human-caused fires, and
prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.
``(b) A covered employee is eligible for incident standby premium
pay under this section when meeting all of the following conditions:
``(1) The employee is deployed to the field by the
employing agency to respond to a qualifying incident.
``(2) The employee is placed by the employing agency in
continuous duty status during the incident deployment.
``(3) Any periods of sleeping and resting occur in a field
location associated with the duty assignment.
``(c) A covered employee who meets the conditions in subsection (b)
is entitled to incident standby premium pay for designated sleep and
rest periods, and such pay shall be the only compensation payable to
the employee for those periods, notwithstanding any other law. Such
premium pay shall be paid at an hourly rate equal to 50 percent of the
employee's hourly rate of basic pay, rounded to the nearest whole cent.
In determining an employee's minimum wage and overtime pay entitlements
under the Fair Labor Standards Act, incident standby premium pay and
associated hours shall be disregarded.
``(d) A covered employee's designated sleep and rest periods shall
be fixed at 9 hours for every 24-hour duty period associated with a
qualifying incident, including necessary travel time. If the hours of
an incident deployment are not an exact multiple of 24-hour periods,
the ratio of 9/24 shall be multiplied by hours for the less-than-24-
hours period of duty to derive the designated sleep and rest period for
that duty period, with the result rounded to the nearest fractional
increment established by the agency in tracking hours of work.
``(e) Incident standby premium pay under this section--
``(1) is not considered part of the basic pay of an
employee for any purpose;
``(2) may not be considered in determining an employee's
lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave under
section 5551 or section 5552;
``(3) may not be used in determining pay under section 8114
(related to workers' compensation); and
``(4) may not be considered in determining pay for hours of
paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium pay
is not payable.''.
(b) Other Employees.--Title 5, United States Code, is further
amended--
(1) in section 5544, by--
(A) adding the following:
``(d) A prevailing rate employee described in section 5342(a)(2)(a)
shall receive incident standby premium pay under the same terms and
conditions that apply to a covered employee under section 5545c if such
employee is employed by the Forest Service or the Department of the
Interior and--
``(1) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on the
definitions of `firefighter' and `wildland firefighter' in
section 5332a(a); or
``(2) is certified by the applicable agency to perform
wildland fire incident related duties during the period such
employee is assigned to a qualifying incident (as defined in
section 5545c(a)(5)).''; and
(B) amending the section heading to read: ``Wage-
board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay'';
(2) in section 5545, by adding at the end the following:
``(e) For an employee of the Forest Service or the Department of
the Interior who is temporarily deployed to perform wildland fire
incident related duties, subsection (c)(2) shall not apply to hours
during such temporary deployment notwithstanding any other provision of
law.'';
(3) in section 5545a, by adding at the end the following:
``(l) For an employee of the Forest Service or the Department of
the Interior who is temporarily deployed to perform wildland fire
incident related duties, subsection (c)(2) shall not apply to hours
during such temporary deployment notwithstanding any other provision of
law.''; and
(4) in section 5547(a), by inserting ``5545c,'' after
``5545a,''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall be
effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning
on or after October 1, 2023.
(d) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for chapter 55 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by--
(1) amending the item relating to section 5544 to read as
follows:
``5544. Wage-board overtime, Sunday rates, and other premium pay.'';
and
(2) inserting after the item relating to section 5545b the
following new item:
``5545c. Incident standby premium pay for employees engaged in wildland
firefighting.''.
SEC. 4. SPECIAL LIMITATIONS ON PAY FOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS.
(a) In General.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting after section 5547 the following:
``Sec. 5547a. Special limitations on premium pay for employees engaged
in wildland firefighting
``(a) In this section--
``(1) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the
Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who--
``(A) qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on
the definitions of `firefighter' and `wildland
firefighter' in section 5332a(a); or
``(B) is certified by the applicable agency to
perform wildland fire incident related duties during
the period such employee is assigned to a qualifying
incident;
``(2) the term `covered services' means services performed
by an employee that are determined by the Secretary of the
Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as applicable, to
primarily involve emergency wildfire suppression activities,
including any periods of duty when the employee is sleeping or
resting during an extended period of deployment to engage in
those activities;
``(3) the term `emergency wildland fire suppression
activities' means initial-response and extended-response
activities that directly relate to suppression of a wildfire,
including activities associated with a severity incident but
excluding activities associated with a prescribed fire incident
(as those terms are defined section 5545c); and
``(4) the term `premium pay' means the premium pay paid
under the provisions of law cited in section 5547(a), except as
otherwise provided in subsection (h).
``(b) Any premium pay earned by a covered employee for covered
services shall be disregarded in calculating the aggregate of such
employee's basic pay and premium pay for purposes of applying a
limitation under section 5547.
``(c) Any premium pay that is disregarded under subsection (b)
shall be disregarded in calculating such employee's aggregate pay for
purposes of applying the limitation in section 5307.
``(d) Pay that is disregarded under subsection (b) may not be paid
to the extent it would cause the aggregate of the employee's basic pay,
premium pay, and hazard pay under section 5545(d) payable in the
applicable calendar year to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for a
position at level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313, as
in effect at the end of such calendar year. Any premium pay that is
subject to a biweekly limitation under section 5547(c) must be paid
first before other premium pay in applying the level II limitation.
``(e) Application of the limit in subsection (d) or subsection (h)
to a covered employee may be waived at the sole and exclusive
discretion of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of
Agriculture, as applicable. Before authorizing such a waiver for
employees of their respective agencies, each Secretary, after
consulting with the other Secretary, shall prescribe criteria that will
be applied in making a determination to grant a waiver.
``(f) Any additional pay resulting from application of this section
may not be used in computing a lump-sum payment for accumulated and
accrued annual leave under section 5551 or section 5552.
``(g) The Departments of the Interior and Agriculture shall
maintain records that document uses of the authority provided by this
section.
``(h)(1) For prevailing rate employees described in section
5342(a)(2)(A) who meet the requirements in subsection (a)(l) to qualify
as a covered employee, premium pay may not be paid to the extent it
would cause the aggregate of the employee's basic pay and premium pay
in the applicable calendar year to exceed the rate of basic pay payable
for a position at level II of the Executive Schedule under section
5313, as in effect at the end of such calendar year.
``(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term `basic pay'
means wages, environmental differential pay, and night shift
differential pay, and the term `premium pay' means overtime pay, Sunday
premium pay, and holiday premium pay.''; and
(2) in section 5541(2)(xi), by inserting ``, section
5547a(h),'' after ``section 5544''.
(b) Calendar Year 2023.--For the purpose of applying section 5547
and section 1701 of division B of Public Law 117-43 (5 U.S.C. 5547
note) in calendar year 2023, incident standby premium pay shall be
included in premium pay that is subject to the limits established in
those sections.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the first day of the first pay period that has a payment
date in January 2024. Subsection (b) shall be effective on the first
day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1,
2023.
(d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 55 of
title 5, United States Code, is further amended by inserting after the
item for section 5547 the following new item:
``5547a. Special limitations on premium pay for employees engaged in
wildland firefighting.''.
SEC. 5. REST AND RECUPERATION LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN WILDLAND
FIREFIGHTING.
(a) In General.--Title 5, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after section 6329d the following:
``Sec. 6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in
wildland firefighting
``(a) In this section--
``(1) the term `applicable Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior;
``(2) the term `covered employee' means an employee of the
Forest Service or the Department of the Interior who--
``(A) qualifies as a `wildland firefighter' based
on the definitions of `firefighter' and `wildland
firefighter' in section 5332a(a) (applying the
definition of `employee' in section 6301(2) in lieu of
the definition of `employee' in section 5331(a)); or
``(B) is certified by the applicable agency to
perform wildland fire incident related duties dwing the
period such employee is assigned to a qualifying
incident; and
``(3) the term `qualifying incident' has the meaning given
that term in section 5545c(a)(5).
``(b) A covered employee may receive paid rest and recuperation
leave following the completion of service under a qualifying incident,
subject to policies established at the sole and exclusive discretion of
the Secretary of the Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior, as
applicable. Each Secretary shall prescribe such policies after
consulting with the other Secretary.
``(c) Rest and recuperation leave granted under this section shall
be used during scheduled hours within the covered employee's tour of
duty established for leave-charging purposes and shall be paid in the
same manner as annual leave. Rest and recuperation leave must be used
immediately after a qualifying incident and may not be set aside for
later use. A covered employee may not receive any payment for unused
rest and recuperation leave.
``(d) A covered employee with an intermittent work schedule shall
be excused from duty during the same period of time that other covered
employees in the same circumstances are entitled to rest and
recuperation leave and shall receive a payment as if the covered
employee with an intermittent work schedule were entitled to rest and
recuperation leave under subsections (b) and (c).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall be
effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning
on or after October 1, 2023.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter II of
chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 6329d the following new item:
``6329e. Rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland
firefighting.''.
SEC. 6. HEALTH PROVISIONS.
(a) Database; Recommendations.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall--
(1) establish and maintain a publicly accessible,
searchable database on a website, to be called the ``Federal
Wildland Firefighter Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease
Database'', to track chronic disease caused by on-the-job
environmental exposure over the lifetimes of current and former
Federal wildland firefighters;
(2) update such database not less than on a yearly basis;
and
(3) develop and adhere to recommendations on mitigation
strategies to minimize exposure to environmental hazards for
Federal wildland firefighters.
(b) Mental Health.--
(1) Mental health program.--Not later than January 1, 2024,
the Secretaries shall establish and carry out a program for
Federal wildland firefighters for mental health awareness and
support. Such program shall include the following:
(A) A mental health awareness campaign.
(B) A mental health education and training program
that includes an on-boarding curriculum.
(C) An extensive peer-to-peer mental health support
network for Federal wildland firefighters and their
immediate family.
(D) Expansion of the Critical Incident Stress
Management Program, to develop and retain a larger pool
of qualified mental health professionals who are
familiar with the experiences of the emergency response
workforce. The Program shall monitor and track mental
health in the profession to better understand the scope
of the issue and provide ongoing assistance and
professional long term care to patients.
(E) Establish and carry out a new and distinct
mental health support service specific to Federal
wildland firefighters and their immediate family, with
culturally relevant and trauma informed mental health
professionals who are readily available, and not
subject to any limit on the number of sessions or
service provided.
(2) Mental health leave.--Each Federal wildland firefighter
shall be entitled to 7 consecutive days of leave, without loss
or reduction in pay, during any calendar year. Leave provided
under this paragraph shall not--
(A) accumulate for use in succeeding years; and
(B) be considered to be annual or vacation leave
for purposes of section 5551 or 5552 of title 5, United
States Code, or for any other purpose.
(c) Coordination.--In carrying out subsections (a) and (b), the
Secretaries may enter into partnerships or cooperative agreements with
other Federal agencies, universities, or non-profit institutions.
(d) OWCP.--The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs within the
Department of Labor shall--
(1) recognize post-traumatic stress disorder and
psychological stress-related injuries or illnesses correlated
to fire protection, suppression, and incident support
activities, and ensure long term coverage for the duration of
the illnesses; and
(2) expand the Special Claims Unit to ensure adequate unit
staffing levels are sufficient to expedite the claims process
and shorten response times to wildland firefighter and incident
support personnel injured or effected on the job in order to
alleviate the psychological and financial burdens placed on the
patient and their families.
SEC. 7. RETIREMENT FOR FIREFIGHTERS.
(a) Deposit Service.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
any service performed by an individual as a Federal wildland
firefighter on or after January 1, 1989, for which retirement
deductions under chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code, have not
been made shall be creditable under such chapter, but only if such
firefighter--
(1) submits a written election to the Director; and
(2) the deposit requirements of section 8411(f) of such
title had been met with respect to such service.
(b) Disability Annuity.--Beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act, any Federal wildland firefighter who suffers from a disease
described in section 8143b(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, due to
environmental job-related exposure, including smoke inhalation,
silicate inhalation, and firefighting toxic exposure, shall be
considered to be disabled for purposes of section 8451 of such title.
Such section 8451 shall be applied to any such firefighter by
substituting ``12 months'' for ``18 months''.
(c) Including Overtime as Basic Pay.--Section 8331(3) of title 5,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (I), by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
``(J) with respect to a Federal wildland
firefighter (as that term is defined in section 1(b) of
the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and
Pay Parity Act), overtime pay received on or after the
date of enactment of this subparagraph;''; and
(4) in the undesignated matter following subparagraph (J)
(as added by paragraph (3)), by striking ``subparagraphs (B)
through (I) of this paragraph'' and inserting ``subparagraphs
(B) through (J) of this paragraph,''.
(d) Separate Normal-Cost Percentage.--Section 8423(a)(1)(B)(i) of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
``firefighters,'' the following: ``Federal wildland firefighter (as
that term is defined in section 1 of the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter
Classification and Pay Parity Act),''.
SEC. 8. PAY PARITY FOR FEDERAL STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, any pay, benefits, and bonuses provided to any Federal
structural firefighter shall be comparable with the pay, benefits, and
bonuses provided for Federal wildland firefighters under this Act and
the amendments made by this Act. Not later than 1 year after the date
the pay scale is established under section 5332a of title 5, United
States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, the Director shall
submit a report to Congress on whether pay for such Federal structural
firefighters is competitive with Federal wildland firefighters.
(b) Federal Structural Firefighter Defined.--In this section, the
term ``Federal structural firefighter''--
(1) has the meaning given the term ``firefighter'' in
section 8401 of chapter 84 of title 5, United States Code; and
(2) does not include any Federal wildland firefighter.
SEC. 9. OTHER MATTERS.
(a) Annual Adjustments.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, beginning in the first pay period beginning on or after the date
that the pay scale is established under section 5332a of title 5,
United States Code, as added by section 2 of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the basic rate of pay for each Federal wildland firefighter
occupying a position within such pay scale shall be increased by not
less than the percentage equal to the percent change in the Consumer
Price Index (all items--United States city average), published monthly
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for December of the preceding year
over such Consumer Price Index for the December of the year prior to
the preceding year, adjusted to the nearest one-tenth of 1 percent.
(b) Compensation Comparable to Non-Federal Firefighters.--Not later
than 1 year after the date the pay scale is established under section
5332a of title 5, United States Code, as added by section 2 of this
Act, the Secretaries shall submit a report to Congress on whether pay,
benefits, and bonuses provided to Federal wildland firefighters are
comparable to the pay, benefits, and bonuses provided for non-Federal
firefighters in the State or locality where Federal wildland
firefighters are based.
(c) Hazardous Duty Pay.--Each Federal wildland firefighter carrying
out work completed during prescribed fire, parachuting, tree climbing
over 20 feet, hazard tree removal, and other hazardous work as
identified by the Secretaries, shall be entitled to be paid the
appropriate differential under section 5545(d) of title 5, United
States Code, as if such employee was covered by such section. The
Director may prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.
(d) Other Matters.--
(1) Unpaid leave to care for family member.--A Federal
wildland firefighter not covered by the Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993 or subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5,
United States Code, shall be allowed a period of unpaid leave,
during each calendar year, not to exceed 180 days in order to
care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the
employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a
serious health condition. Leave provided under this paragraph
shall not accumulate for use in subsequent years.
(2) Recruitment and retention bonus.--In order to promote
the recruitment and retention of Federal wildland firefighters,
the Director, in coordination with the Secretaries, shall
establish a program under which a recruitment or retention
bonus of not less than $1,000 may be paid to a Federal wildland
firefighter in an amount as determined appropriate by the
Director and the Secretaries. The minimum amount of such bonus
in the previous sentence shall be increased each year by the
Consumer Price Index in the manner prescribed under subsection
(a). Any bonus under this subsection--
(A) shall be paid to any primary or secondary
Federal wildland firefighter upon the date that such
firefighter successfully completes a work capacity
test; and
(B) may not be paid to any such firefighter more
than once per calendar year.
(3) Housing allowance.--The Secretaries, if the Secretaries
are not already providing reasonable housing accommodations,
shall provide a housing allowance to any Federal wildland
firefighter deployed to a location more than 50 miles from
their primary residence. Such allowance shall be in an amount
determined appropriate by the Secretaries and adjusted based on
the cost of housing in the area of deployment.
(4) Career transition.--
(A) In general.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall
establish, maintain, coordinate, and operate a
voluntary tuition assistance program for Federal
wildland firefighters occupying a permanent position
that encompass a broad range of educational experiences
(either in-person or through distance-learning),
including academic skills development, vocational
programs, career and technical programs, and programs
leading to the award of undergraduate and graduate
degrees.
(B) Amount.--The program under subparagraph (A)
shall provide, not more than once during each calendar
year, a payment of not less than $4,000 to each Federal
wildland firefighter who elects to participate in the
program.
(C) Review.--The Secretaries shall conduct an
annual review of whether the amount provided under
subparagraph (B) is adequate, in consideration of
inflation and other effects.
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