II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 949 

To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to create 

a classification that more accurately reflects the vital role of wildland 

firefighters. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2017 

Mr. DAINES (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to create a classification that more accurately reflects the vital role of wildland firefighters. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildland Firefighter 

5 Recognition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

9 the Office of Personnel Management; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘employee’’ has the meaning given 

2 the term in section 2105 of title 5, United States 

3 Code; 

4 (3) the term ‘‘Federal land management agen5 cy’’ means— 

6 (A) within the Department of the Inte7 rior— 

8 (i) the Bureau of Land Management; 

9 (ii) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

10 (iii) the National Park Service; and 

11 (iv) the United States Fish and Wild12 life Service; and 

13 (B) within the Department of Agriculture, 

14 the Forest Service; 

15 (4) the term ‘‘wildland fire’’— 

16 (A) means any non-structure fire that oc17 curs in vegetation or natural fuels; and 

18 (B) includes prescribed fire and wildfire; 

19 and 

20 (5) the term ‘‘wildland firefighter’’ means— 

21 (A) an employee of a Federal land man22 agement agency, the duties of whose position 

23 are primarily to perform work directly related 

24 to the prevention, control, suppression, or man25 agement of wildland fires, including an emVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Apr 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S949.IS S949

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1 ployee of a Federal land management agency 

2 who is assigned to support wildland fire activi3 ties; and 

4 (B) an employee of a Federal land man5 agement agency who is transferred to a super6 visory or administrative position from a position 

7 described in subparagraph (A). 

8 SEC. 3. CLASSIFICATION OF WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS. 

9 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in 

12 cooperation with the Federal land management 

13 agencies, shall commence development of a distinct 

14 wildland firefighter occupational series that more ac15 curately reflects the variety of duties performed by 

16 wildland firefighters. 

17 (2) DESIGNATION.—The official title assigned 

18 to any occupational series established under para19 graph (1) shall include the designation of ‘‘Wildland 

20 Firefighter’’. 

21 (3) POSITIONS DESCRIBED.—Paragraph (1) 

22 shall apply with respect to any class or other cat23 egory of positions that consists primarily or exclu24 sively of forestry technician positions, range techniVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Apr 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S949.IS S949

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1 cian positions, or any other positions the duties and 

2 responsibilities of which include— 

3 (A) significant prevention, preparedness, 

4 control, suppression, or management activities 

5 for wildland fires; or 

6 (B) activities necessary to meet any other 

7 emergency incident to which assigned. 

8 (4) CONSULTATION.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the Director should consult with employee 

10 associations and any other groups that represent 

11 wildland firefighters in carrying out this subsection. 

12 (5) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 2 years 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act— 

14 (A) the Director shall complete the devel15 opment of the wildland firefighter occupational 

16 series required under paragraph (1); and 

17 (B) the Secretary of the Interior and the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture shall use the wildland 

19 firefighter occupational series developed under 

20 paragraph (1) in the advertising and hiring of 

21 a wildland firefighter. 

22 (b) HAZARDOUS DUTY DIFFERENTIAL NOT AF23 FECTED.—Section 5545(d)(1) of title 5, United States 

24 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘except’’ and all that follows 

25 and inserting the following: ‘‘except— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an employee in an occupational series 

2 covering positions for which the primary duties 

3 involve the prevention, control, suppression, or 

4 management of wildland fires, as determined by 

5 the Office; and 

6 ‘‘(B) in such other circumstances as the 

7 Office may by regulation prescribe; and’’. 

8 (c) CURRENT EMPLOYEES.—Any individual employed 

9 as a wildland firefighter on the date on which the occupa10 tional series established under subsection (a) takes effect 

11 may elect to— 

12 (1) remain in the occupational series in which 

13 the individual is working; or 

14 (2) be included in the wildland firefighter occu15 pational series established under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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