II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1683 

To correct problems pertaining to human resources for career and volunteer 

personnel engaged in wildland fire and structure fire. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 

Mr. DAINES introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To correct problems pertaining to human resources for career 

and volunteer personnel engaged in wildland fire and 

structure fire. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Wildland Firefighter Fairness Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Single qualification and certification system. 

Sec. 3. Personnel flexibility relating to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

and Emergency Assistance Act. 

Sec. 4. Extension of service limits for seasonal hires. 


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Sec. 5. Civil service retention rights. 

Sec. 6. Computation of pay. 

1 SEC. 2. SINGLE QUALIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION SYS2 TEM. 

3 (a) MERGING 2 SYSTEMS.—The Secretary of the In4 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall work with 

5 States and the Workforce Development Committee of the 

6 National Wildfire Coordinating Group to merge the Inci7 dent Qualification System and the Incident Qualification 

8 and Certification System into a single system by Sep9 tember 30, 2027. 

10 (b) ELIMINATION OF BUREAU ADD-ON REQUIRE11 MENTS.—On and after October 1, 2023, the Secretary of 

12 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture may not re13 quire a person to demonstrate additional competencies to 

14 obtain, make use of, or maintain a qualification or certifi15 cation for a fire position, regardless of which jurisdictional 

16 agency employs the person. 

17 SEC. 3. PERSONNEL FLEXIBILITY RELATING TO THE ROB18 ERT T. STAFFORD DISASTER RELIEF AND 

19 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ACT. 

20 (a) DEFINITION OF TIME-LIMITED APPOINTMENT.— 

21 Section 9601 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

22 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘time-limited appointment’ in24 cludes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a temporary appointment and a term 

2 appointment, as defined by the Office of Per3 sonnel Management; 

4 ‘‘(B) an appointment pursuant to section 

5 306(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

6 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 5149(b)(1)); and 

8 ‘‘(C) an appointment pursuant to subtitle 

9 E of title I of the National and Community 

10 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611 et 

11 seq.).’’. 

12 (b) COMPETITIVE SERVICE; TIME-LIMITED APPOINT13 MENTS.—Section 9602 of title 5, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

16 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; 

17 (2) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

18 paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and in20 serting ‘‘APPOINTMENTS TO LAND MANAGE21 MENT AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘described in section 

23 9601(2)(A)’’ after ‘‘time-limited appointment’’; 

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE ROBERT T. STAF2 FORD DISASTER RELIEF AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

3 ACT.—Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other provision 

4 of law relating to the examination, certification, and ap5 pointment of individuals in the competitive service— 

6 ‘‘(1) an employee appointed under the authority 

7 described in section 9601(2)(B) and serving under a 

8 full-time, time-limited appointment is eligible to 

9 compete for a permanent appointment in the com10 petitive service at the Federal Emergency Manage11 ment Agency or any other agency (as defined in sec12 tion 101 of title 31) under the internal merit pro13 motion procedures of the applicable agency if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the employee has served under one or 

15 more time-limited appointments for at least 2 

16 years without a break in service; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the performance of the employee has 

18 been at an acceptable level of performance 

19 throughout the one or more time-limited ap20 pointment periods referred to in subparagraph 

21 (A); and 

22 ‘‘(2) an employee appointed under the authority 

23 described in section 9601(2)(B) and serving under 

24 an intermittent, time-limited appointment is eligible 

25 for a permanent appointment in the competitive 


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1 service at the Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency or any other agency (as defined in section 

3 101 of title 31) under the internal merit promotion 

4 procedures of the applicable agency if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the employee has served under one or 

6 more time-limited appointments; 

7 ‘‘(B) the employee has been deployed at 

8 least 522 days; 

9 ‘‘(C) the employee has not declined any de10 ployments while in an ‘available’ status; and 

11 ‘‘(D) the performance of the employee has 

12 been at an acceptable level of performance 

13 throughout the one or more time-limited ap14 pointments referred to in subparagraph (A). 

15 ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE NATIONAL AND

16 COMMUNITY SERVICE ACT OF 1990.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE.—Notwith18 standing section 160(a) of the National and Commu19 nity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12620(a)), in 

20 this subsection, the term ‘employee’ includes individ21 uals appointed under subtitle E of title I of that Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 16211 et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPETITION FOR PERMANENT APPOINT24 MENT.—Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other 

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1 cation, and appointment of individuals in the com2 petitive service, a member of the National Civilian 

3 Community Corps appointed under subtitle E of title 

4 I of the National and Community Service Act of 

5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.) who serves 2 con6 secutive terms is eligible to compete for a permanent 

7 appointment in the competitive service at the Fed8 eral Emergency Management Agency or any other 

9 agency (as defined in section 101 of title 31) under 

10 the internal merit promotion procedures during the 

11 2-year period beginning on the date of the expiration 

12 of the appointment under section 160(a) of the Na13 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

14 U.S.C. 12620(a)), if the performance of the em15 ployee has been at an acceptable level of perform16 ance throughout the period.’’; 

17 (4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para18 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘In determining’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘WAIVER OF AGE REQUIREMENTS.—In deter20 mining’’; 

21 (5) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para22 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘An individual’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘TENURE AND STATUS.—An individual’’; 

24 (6) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by para25 graph (1)), in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘A former’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘FORMER EMPLOYEES.—A former’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or the Federal Emer4 gency Management Agency’’ after ‘‘manage5 ment agency’’; and 

6 (7) in subsection (g) (as redesignated by para7 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘The Office’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘REGULATIONS.—The Office’’. 

9 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF SERVICE LIMITS FOR SEASONAL 

10 HIRES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘covered Secretary’’ means— 

13 (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

14 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

15 (2) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

16 the Office of Personnel Management; and 

17 (3) the term ‘‘pilot program’’ means the pilot 

18 program established under subsection (b). 

19 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Director shall establish 

20 a pilot program for seasonal or temporary Federal employ21 ees, the duties of which primarily involve being a fire22 fighter. 

23 (c) EXPANSION OF SERVICE YEAR LIMITATIONS.— 

24 Under the pilot program, each covered Secretary may ex25 pand a service year limitation to enable a seasonal fireVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1683.IS S1683

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1 fighter to be employed for a period that exceeds 1,040 

2 hours in a given year if the covered Secretary determines 

3 the expansion to be necessary to stage fire crews earlier 

4 or later in a year to accommodate longer fire seasons. 

5 (d) STANDARDS.—The Director, in cooperation with 

6 each covered Secretary, shall establish standards and 

7 guidelines for the pilot program. 

8 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

9 on which the pilot program is established, the Director 

10 shall submit a report that describes the use and impact 

11 of the pilot program to— 

12 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re13 sources and the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

15 (2) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

16 the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 

17 House of Representatives. 

18 (f) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall termi19 nate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which 

20 the pilot program is established. 

21 SEC. 5. CIVIL SERVICE RETENTION RIGHTS. 

22 Section 8151 of title 5, United States Code, is 

23 amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered employee’ means an 

3 employee who— 

4 ‘‘(i) served in a position in the Forest 

5 Service or the Department of the Interior 

6 as a wildland firefighter; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) sustained an injury while in the 

8 performance of duty, as determined by the 

9 Director of the Office of Personnel Man10 agement, that prevents the employee from 

11 performing the physical duties of a fire12 fighter; 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘equivalent position’ includes 

14 a position for a covered employee that— 

15 ‘‘(i) allows the covered employee to re16 ceive the same retirement benefits under 

17 subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 

18 that the covered employee would have re19 ceived in the former position had the cov20 ered employee not been injured or disabled; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) does not require the covered em23 ployee to complete any more years of serv24 ice than the covered employee would have 

25 been required to complete to receive the 


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1 benefits described in clause (i) had the cov2 ered employee not been injured or disabled; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) the term ‘firefighter’ has the meaning 

5 given the term in section 8331. 

6 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Under regulations issued 

7 by the Office of Personnel Management— 

8 ‘‘(A) the department or agency that was 

9 the last employer shall immediately and uncon10 ditionally accord the employee, if the injury or 

11 disability has been overcome within 1 year after 

12 the date of commencement of compensation or 

13 from the time compensable disability recurs if 

14 the recurrence begins after the injured em15 ployee resumes regular full-time employment 

16 with the United States, the right to resume the 

17 former position of the employee or an equiva18 lent position, as well as all other attendant 

19 rights that the employee would have had, or ac20 quired, in the former position of the employee 

21 had the employee not been injured or disabled, 

22 including the rights to tenure, promotion, and 

23 safeguards in reductions-in-force procedures; 

24 ‘‘(B) the department or agency that was 

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1 ability is overcome within a period of more than 

2 1 year after the date of commencement of com3 pensation, make all reasonable efforts to place, 

4 and accord priority to placing, the employee in 

5 the former position of the employee or an equiv6 alent position within the department or agency, 

7 or within any other department or agency; and 

8 ‘‘(C) a covered employee who was injured 

9 during the 20-year period ending on the date of 

10 enactment of the Wildland Firefighter Fairness 

11 Act may not receive the same retirement bene12 fits described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) unless the 

13 covered employee first makes a payment to the 

14 Forest Service or the Department of the Inte15 rior, as applicable, equal to the amount that 

16 would have been deducted from pay under sec17 tion 8334 or 8442, as applicable, had the cov18 ered employee not been injured or disabled.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. COMPUTATION OF PAY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8114 of title 5, United 

21 States Code, is amended by striking subsection (e) and 

22 inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(e) OVERTIME.— 

24 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

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1 ployee who serves in a position in the Forest Service 

2 or the Department of the Interior as a wildland fire3 fighter while engaged in wildland fire suppression 

4 activity. 

5 ‘‘(2) OVERTIME.—The value of subsistence and 

6 quarters, and of any other form of remuneration in 

7 kind for services if its value can be estimated in 

8 money, and covered overtime pay and premium pay 

9 under section 5545(c)(1) of this title are included as 

10 part of the pay, but account is not taken of— 

11 ‘‘(A) overtime pay; 

12 ‘‘(B) additional pay or allowance author13 ized outside the United States because of dif14 ferential in cost of living or other special cir15 cumstances; or 

16 ‘‘(C) bonus or premium pay for extraor17 dinary service including bonus or pay for par18 ticularly hazardous service in time of war.’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

20 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2021. 

Æ 


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