II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2178 

To provide collective bargaining rights for fire fighters and emergency medical 

services personnel employed by States or their political subdivisions, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2021 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide collective bargaining rights for fire fighters and 

emergency medical services personnel employed by States 

or their political subdivisions, 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 ‘‘Fire Fighters and 

5 EMS Employer-Employee Cooperation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that the following is the 

8 policy of the United States: 


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1 (1) Labor-management relationships and part2 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 

3 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 

4 and shared accountability. Labor-management co5 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 

6 to best serve the interests of the public, operating as 

7 a team, to carry out the fire and EMS mission in 

8 a quality work environment. In many fire and EMS 

9 agencies, it is the labor organization that provides 

10 the institutional stability as elected leaders and ap11 pointees come and go. 

12 (2) State and local fire and EMS personnel 

13 play an essential role in the efforts of the United 

14 States to detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist 

15 attacks, and to respond to natural disasters, haz16 ardous materials, and other mass casualty incidents. 

17 State and local fire and EMS personnel, as first re18 sponders, are a component of the National Incident 

19 Management System, developed by the Department 

20 of Homeland Security to coordinate response to and 

21 recovery from terrorism, major natural disasters, 

22 and other major emergencies. Fire and EMS em23 ployer-employee cooperation is essential in meeting 

24 these needs and is, therefore, in the National inter25 est. 


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1 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour2 age conciliation, mediation, and arbitration to aid 

3 and encourage employers and the representatives of 

4 their employees to reach and maintain agreements 

5 concerning rates of pay, hours, and working condi6 tions, and to make all reasonable efforts through ne7 gotiations to settle their differences by mutual agree8 ment reached through collective bargaining or by 

9 such methods as may be provided for in any applica10 ble agreement for the settlement of disputes. 

11 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be12 tween fire and EMS employers and employees has 

13 implications for the security of employees and can 

14 affect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack 

15 of such labor-management cooperation can detrimen16 tally impact the upgrading of fire and emergency 

17 medical services of local communities, the health and 

18 well-being of fire and EMS personnel, and the mo19 rale of fire and EMS departments. Additionally, 

20 these factors could have significant commercial re21 percussions. Moreover, providing minimal standards 

22 for collective bargaining negotiations in the fire and 

23 EMS sector can prevent industrial strife between 

24 labor and management that interferes with the nor25 mal flow of commerce. 


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1 (5) Many States and localities already provide 

2 fire and EMS personnel with collective bargaining 

3 rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 

4 responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 

5 and local laws should be respected. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

9 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

10 (2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

11 ‘‘confidential employee’’ has the meaning given such 

12 term under applicable State law on the date of en13 actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 

14 the term means an individual, employed by a fire 

15 and EMS employer, who— 

16 (A) is designated as confidential; and 

17 (B) is an individual who routinely assists, 

18 in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ19 ees and management employees. 

20 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER21 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 

22 personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of23 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer24 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re25 sponder. 


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1 (4) EMPLOYER; FIRE AND EMS AGENCY; FIRE

2 AND EMS EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘fire 

3 and EMS agency’’, and ‘‘fire and EMS employer’’ 

4 mean any State, or political subdivision of a State, 

5 that employs fire and EMS personnel. 

6 (5) FIRE AND EMS PERSONNEL.—The term 

7 ‘‘fire and EMS personnel’’— 

8 (A) means an employee of a fire and EMS 

9 agency who is— 

10 (i) a firefighter; 

11 (ii) an emergency medical services 

12 personnel; or 

13 (iii) an individual trained as a fire14 fighter who provides out-of-hospital emer15 gency medical care; 

16 (B) includes an individual who is tempo17 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage18 ment position; and 

19 (C) does not include a permanent super20 visory, management, or confidential employee. 

21 (6) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has 

22 the meaning given the term ‘‘employee in fire protec23 tion activities’’ in section 3(y) of the Fair Labor 

24 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 


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1 (7) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

2 organization’’ means an organization of any kind, in 

3 which employees participate and which exists for the 

4 purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ5 ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 

6 and related matters. 

7 (8) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

8 ‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 

9 such term under applicable State law in effect on 

10 the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State 

11 law is in effect, the term means an individual em12 ployed by a fire and EMS employer in a position 

13 that requires or authorizes the individual to formu14 late, determine, or influence the policies of the em15 ployer. 

16 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in17 dividual or a labor organization. 

18 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

19 the several States of the United States, the District 

20 of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 

21 United States. 

22 (11) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

23 ‘‘substantially provides’’, when used with respect to 

24 the rights and responsibilities described in section 

25 4(b), means providing rights and responsibilities 


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1 that are comparable to or greater than each right 

2 and responsibility described in such section. 

3 (12) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su4 pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 

5 term under applicable State law in effect on the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in 

7 effect, the term means an individual, employed by a 

8 fire and EMS employer, who— 

9 (A) has the authority in the interest of the 

10 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re11 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus12 pend, discipline, or remove fire and EMS per13 sonnel, to adjust their grievances, or to effec14 tively recommend such action, if the exercise of 

15 the authority is not merely routine or clerical in 

16 nature but requires the consistent exercise of 

17 independent judgment; and 

18 (B) devotes a majority of time at work to 

19 exercising such authority. 

20 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL21 ITIES. 

22 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author25 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 


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1 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil2 ities described in subsection (b). 

3 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN4 IONS.—In making the determination described in 

5 paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin6 ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 

7 In the case where the Authority is notified by an af8 fected employer and labor organization that both 

9 parties agree that the law applicable to such em10 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

11 for the rights and responsibilities described in sub12 section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 

13 weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 

14 the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 

15 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter16 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 

17 shall be limited to the application of the criteria de18 scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 

19 additional criteria. 

20 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

22 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef23 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub24 sequent determination, in accordance with the 

25 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (B) PROCEDURES FOR SUBSEQUENT DE2 TERMINATIONS.—Upon establishing that a ma3 terial change in State law or its interpretation 

4 has occurred, an employer or a labor organiza5 tion may submit a written request for a subse6 quent determination. If satisfied that a material 

7 change in State law or its interpretation has oc8 curred, the Authority shall issue a subsequent 

9 determination not later than 30 days after re10 ceipt of such request. 

11 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person or em12 ployer aggrieved by a determination of the Authority 

13 under this section may, during the 60-day period be14 ginning on the date on which the determination was 

15 made, petition any United States Court of Appeals 

16 in the circuit in which the person or employer re17 sides or transacts business or in the District of Co18 lumbia Circuit for judicial review. 

19 (b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a 

20 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 

21 shall consider a State’s law to substantially provide the 

22 required rights and responsibilities unless such law fails 

23 to provide rights and responsibilities comparable to or 

24 greater than the following: 


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1 (1) Granting fire and EMS personnel the right 

2 to form and join a labor organization, which may ex3 clude management employees, supervisory employ4 ees, and confidential employees, that is, or seeks to 

5 be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining represent6 ative of such employees. 

7 (2) Requiring fire and EMS employers to recog8 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 

9 by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain 

10 with the labor organization, and to commit any 

11 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 

12 of understanding. 

13 (3) Providing for the right to bargain over 

14 hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employ15 ment. 

16 (4) Making available an interest impasse resolu17 tion mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, ar18 bitration, or comparable procedures. 

19 (5) Requiring enforcement of all rights, respon20 sibilities, and protections enumerated in this section, 

21 and of any written contract or memorandum of un22 derstanding between a labor organization and a fire 

23 and EMS employer, through— 

24 (A) a State administrative agency, if the 

25 State so chooses; or 


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1 (B) any court of competent jurisdiction. 

2 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au3 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under 

4 subsection (a), that a State substantially provides rights 

5 and responsibilities described in subsection (b), then this 

6 Act shall not preempt State law. 

7 (d) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority determines, 

9 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 

10 (a), that a State does not substantially provide for 

11 the rights and responsibilities described in sub12 section (b), then such State shall be subject to the 

13 regulations and procedures described in section 5 be14 ginning on the later of— 

15 (A) the date that is 2 years after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act; or 

17 (B)(i) in the case of a State receiving an 

18 initial determination under subsection (a)(1), 

19 the date that is the last day of the first regular 

20 session of the legislature of the State that be21 gins after the date the Authority makes the de22 termination under such subsection; or 

23 (ii) in the case of a State receiving a sub24 sequent determination under subsection (a)(4), 

25 the date that is the last day of the first regular 


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1 session of the legislature of the State that be2 gins after the date the Authority makes the de3 termination under such subsection. 

4 (2) PARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority makes 

5 a determination that a State does not substantially 

6 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

7 in subsection (b) solely because the State law sub8 stantially provides for such rights and responsibil9 ities for certain categories of fire and EMS per10 sonnel covered by this Act but not others, the Au11 thority shall identify those categories of fire and 

12 EMS personnel that shall be subject to the regula13 tions and procedures described in section 5, pursu14 ant to section 8(b)(3) and beginning on the appro15 priate date described in paragraph (1), and those 

16 categories of fire and EMS personnel that shall re17 main solely subject to State law with respect to the 

18 rights and responsibilities described in subsection 

19 (b). 

20 SEC. 5. ROLE OF FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue 

23 regulations, in accordance with the rights and responsibil24 ities described in section 4(b), establishing collective bar25 gaining procedures for employers and fire and EMS perVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2178.IS S2178

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1 sonnel in States that the Authority has determined under 

2 section 4(a) do not substantially provide for such rights 

3 and responsibilities. 

4 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU5 THORITY.—The Authority, to the extent provided in this 

6 Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

7 Authority, shall— 

8 (1) determine the appropriateness of units for 

9 labor organization representation; 

10 (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine 

11 whether a labor organization has been selected as an 

12 exclusive representative by a voting majority of the 

13 employees in an appropriate unit; 

14 (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar15 gain in good faith; 

16 (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of 

17 unfair labor practices; 

18 (5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra19 tors; 

20 (6) protect the right of each employee to form, 

21 join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain 

22 from any such activity, freely and without fear of 

23 penalty or reprisal, and protect each employee in the 

24 exercise of such right; and 


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1 (7) take such other actions as are necessary 

2 and appropriate to effectively administer this Act, 

3 including issuing subpoenas, requiring the attend4 ance and testimony of witnesses and the production 

5 of documentary or other evidence from any place in 

6 the United States, and administering oaths, taking 

7 or ordering the taking of depositions, ordering re8 sponses to written interrogatories, and receiving and 

9 examining witnesses. 

10 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY TO PETITION COURT.—The Au12 thority may petition any United States Court of Ap13 peals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 

14 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

15 Columbia Circuit, to enforce any final orders under 

16 this section, and for appropriate temporary relief or 

17 a restraining order. 

18 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B) and unless the Authority has 

21 filed a petition for enforcement as provided in 

22 paragraph (1), any party has the right to file 

23 suit in any appropriate district court of the 

24 United States to enforce compliance with the 

25 regulations issued by the Authority pursuant to 


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1 this section, or to enforce compliance with any 

2 order issued by the Authority pursuant to this 

3 section. The right provided by this subpara4 graph to bring a suit to enforce compliance with 

5 any order issued by the Authority pursuant to 

6 this section shall terminate upon the filing of a 

7 petition seeking the same relief by the Author8 ity. 

9 (B) EXCLUSIVE ENFORCEMENT.—In the 

10 case a State has not waived its sovereign immu11 nity, the Authority shall have the exclusive 

12 power to enforce the provisions of this Act 

13 against such State as an employer. 

14 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), an em16 ployer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor organization may 

17 not engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, 

18 or any other organized job action that will measurably dis19 rupt the delivery of emergency services and is designed 

20 to compel an employer, fire and EMS personnel, or labor 

21 organization to agree to the terms of a proposed contract. 

22 (b) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

23 be construed to preempt any law of any State or political 

24 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by fire and 

25 EMS personnel. 


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1 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective 

4 bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 

5 that has been issued, approved, or ratified by any public 

6 employee relations board or commission or by any State 

7 or political subdivision or its agents and is in effect on 

8 the day before the date of enactment of this Act shall not 

9 be invalidated by the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

11 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

12 construed— 

13 (1) to preempt or limit the remedies, rights, 

14 and procedures of any law of any State or political 

15 subdivision of any State that provides comparable or 

16 greater rights and responsibilities than the rights 

17 and responsibilities described in section 4(b); 

18 (2) to prevent a State from enforcing a right19 to-work law that prohibits employers and labor orga20 nizations from negotiating provisions in a labor 

21 agreement that require labor organization member22 ship or payment of labor organization fees as a con23 dition of employment; 

24 (3) to preempt or limit any State law in effect 

25 on the date of enactment of this Act that provides 

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1 tion 4(b) solely because such State law permits an 

2 employee to appear on the employee’s own behalf 

3 with respect to the employee’s employment relations 

4 with the fire and EMS agency involved; 

5 (4) to prohibit a State from exempting from 

6 coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the 

7 State that has a population of less than 5,000 or 

8 that employs less than 25 full-time employees, in9 cluding each individual employed by the political 

10 subdivision, except not including any individual 

11 elected by popular vote or appointed to serve on a 

12 board or commission; or 

13 (5) to preempt or limit the laws or ordinances 

14 of any State or political subdivision of a State that 

15 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

16 in section 4(b) solely because such law or ordinance 

17 does not require bargaining with respect to pension 

18 or retirement. 

19 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

20 (1) ACTIONS OF STATES.—Nothing in this Act 

21 or the regulations promulgated under this Act shall 

22 be construed to require a State to rescind or pre23 empt the laws or ordinances of any of the State’s 

24 political subdivisions if such laws provide rights and 

25 responsibilities for fire and EMS personnel that are 


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1 comparable to or greater than the rights and respon2 sibilities described in section 4(b). 

3 (2) ACTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

4 this Act or the regulations promulgated under this 

5 Act shall be construed to preempt— 

6 (A) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

7 political subdivision of a State, if such laws pro8 vide collective bargaining rights for fire and 

9 EMS personnel that are comparable to or 

10 greater than the rights enumerated in section 

11 4(b); 

12 (B) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

13 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

14 the rights and responsibilities described in sec15 tion 4(b) with respect to certain categories of 

16 fire and EMS personnel covered by this Act 

17 solely because such rights and responsibilities 

18 have not been extended to other categories of 

19 fire and EMS personnel covered by this Act; or 

20 (C) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

21 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

22 the rights and responsibilities described in sec23 tion 4(b), solely because such laws or ordi24 nances provide that a contract or memorandum 

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1 ployer and a labor organization must be pre2 sented to a legislative body as part of the proc3 ess for approving such contract or memo4 randum of understanding. 

5 (3) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

6 case of a law or ordinance described in paragraph 

7 (2)(B), the Authority shall only exercise the powers 

8 provided in section 5 with respect to those categories 

9 of fire and EMS personnel who have not been af10 forded the rights and responsibilities described in 

11 section 4(b). 

12 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

14 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

15 Act. 

Æ 


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