II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3910 

To establish a presumption that certain firefighters who are Federal employees and have COVID–19 contracted that disease while in the performance 

of their official duties, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 8, 2020 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish a presumption that certain firefighters who are 

Federal employees and have COVID–19 contracted that 

disease while in the performance of their official duties, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘COVID–19 as a Pre5 sumptive Disease in Wildland Firefighters Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COVID–19 AND FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3910 IS

1 (1) FIRE SEASON.—The term ‘‘fire season’’ 

2 means the period beginning on May 15, 2020, and 

3 ending on November 15, 2020. 

4 (2) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ 

5 means an employee, as that term is defined in sec6 tion 8101 of title 5, United States Code, who— 

7 (A) possesses a certification that qualifies 

8 the individual to work on a wildland fire inci9 dent (commonly known as an ‘‘Incident Quali10 fication Card’’); and 

11 (B)(i) occupies a position that identifies 

12 wildland firefighting as a primary job duty; or 

13 (ii) has been deployed to a wildland fire in14 cident, as documented in— 

15 (I) a resource order; or 

16 (II) the Interagency Resource Order17 ing Capability system administered by the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary 

19 of the Interior. 

20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Director 

22 of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs of 

23 the Department of Labor. 

24 (4) WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENT.—The term 

25 ‘‘wildland fire incident’’ means a wildfire that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3910 IS

1 (A) occurs during the fire season; and 

2 (B) is— 

3 (i) tracked in the Integrated Report4 ing of Wildland-Fire Information service; 

5 or 

6 (ii) assigned a unique fire code by a 

7 geographic area coordination center. 

8 (b) PRE-WORK TESTING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with paragraph 

10 (2), the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

11 of Agriculture shall ensure that each firefighter who 

12 is employed by the applicable agency— 

13 (A) is tested for— 

14 (i) COVID–19; or 

15 (ii) symptoms of COVID–19; or 

16 (B) self-quarantines for not less than 14 

17 days and is determined to not have symptoms 

18 of COVID–19 through the use of a COVID–19 

19 screening tool developed by the Secretary of the 

20 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture. 

21 (2) TIMING OF ACTION.—The Secretary of the 

22 Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall take 

23 the applicable action required under paragraph 

24 (1)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3910 IS

1 (A) with respect to a firefighter described 

2 in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i)— 

3 (i) before the beginning of the fire 

4 season; or 

5 (ii) before the firefighter performs any 

6 work as a firefighter during the fire sea7 son; and 

8 (B) with respect to a firefighter described 

9 in subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii), before the firefighter 

10 performs any work as a firefighter during a 

11 wildland fire incident. 

12 (c) COMPENSATION FOR WORK INJURIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of sections 

14 8103 and 8124 of title 5, United States Code, a fire15 fighter described in paragraph (2) is deemed to have 

16 been injured while in the performance of the duty of 

17 the firefighter. 

18 (2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A firefighter is de20 scribed in this paragraph if— 

21 (i)(I) the firefighter records at a 

22 wildland fire incident, duty station, or 

23 medical facility— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3910 IS

1 (aa) a fever of not less than 

2 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit, as meas3 ured with a thermometer; and 

4 (bb) a blood-oxygen saturation 

5 level of less than 94 percent, as meas6 ured with a pulse oximeter; 

7 (II) a qualified physician issues a 

8 written opinion that the firefighter likely 

9 has COVID–19; or 

10 (III) the firefighter has a positive 

11 COVID–19 test result; and 

12 (ii) the qualifying event with respect to the 

13 firefighter under clause (i) occurs— 

14 (I) with respect to a firefighter de15 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), during 

16 the period beginning on the date on which 

17 the fire season begins and ending on the 

18 date that is 28 days after the date on 

19 which the fire season ends; and 

20 (II) with respect to a firefighter de21 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii), during 

22 the period beginning on the date on which 

23 the firefighter is deployed to the applicable 

24 wildland fire incident and ending on the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3910 IS

1 date that is 28 days after the date on 

2 which that deployment ends. 

3 (B) RESEARCH.—The Secretary of the In4 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture, in con5 sultation with the Secretary, may— 

6 (i) research COVID–19 detection 

7 methods; and 

8 (ii) modify the list of symptoms de9 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) if any 

10 findings made while conducting research 

11 performed under clause (i) of this subpara12 graph warrant such a modification. 

13 (3) CLASSIFICATION OF INJURY.—With respect 

14 to a firefighter to whom the presumption under 

15 paragraph (1) applies, the injury suffered by the 

16 firefighter shall be considered to result from 

17 COVID–19. 

18 (4) PERIOD OF DISABILITY.—The period of dis19 ability with respect to a firefighter to whom the pre20 sumption under paragraph (1) applies shall be deter21 mined in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 81 

22 of title 5, United States Code, and the rules issued 

23 under that subchapter. 

24 (d) CLAIMS.—The Secretary may waive or modify the 

25 requirements under any of paragraphs (1) through (6) of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3910 IS

1 section 8121 of title 5, United States Code, with respect 

2 to a firefighter to whom the presumption under subsection 

3 (c)(1) applies if the Secretary determines that such waiver 

4 or modification is necessary or appropriate in carrying out 

5 this section. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF PROCEDURES.—The Sec7 retary shall expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, 

8 authorization for the furnishing of medical procedures and 

9 for bill processing relating to treatment of COVID–19 for 

10 a firefighter to whom the presumption under subsection 

11 (c)(1) applies. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS