II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3544 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to ensure that certain firefighters 

retain retirement benefits while injured or disabled, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2016 

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

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to ensure that certain 

firefighters retain retirement benefits while injured or 

disabled, 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 ‘‘Wildland Firefighter 

5 Retirement and Disability Compensation Benefits Act of 

6 2016’’. 

7 SEC. 2. CIVIL SERVICE RETENTION RIGHTS. 

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

9 amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the fol10 lowing: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3544 IS

1 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.— 

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

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

4 employee who— 

5 ‘‘(i) held a position with the Forest 

6 Service or the Department of the Interior 

7 as a wildland firefighter; and 

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

9 performance of duty, as determined by the 

10 Director of the Office of Personnel Man11 agement, that prevents the employee from 

12 performing the physical duties of a fire13 fighter; 

14 ‘‘(B) ‘equivalent position’ includes a posi15 tion for a covered employee that allows the cov16 ered employee to— 

17 ‘‘(i) receive the same retirement bene18 fits under subchapter III of chapter 83 or 

19 chapter 84 that the covered employee 

20 would receive in the former position had 

21 the covered employee not been injured or 

22 disabled; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) does not require the covered em24 ployee to complete any more years of serv25 ice that the covered employee would be reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 15, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3544.IS S3544

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3544 IS

1 quired to complete to receive the benefits 

2 described in clause (i) had the covered em3 ployee not been injured or disabled; 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 which 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 or an equivalent position of the em18 ployee, as well as all other attendant rights 

19 which 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 which was 

25 the last employer shall, if the injury or disVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:52 Dec 15, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3544.IS S3544

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3544 IS

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 or equivalent position of the em6 ployee within such department or agency, or 

7 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 Retire11 ment and Disability Compensation Benefits Act 

12 of 2016 may not receive the same retirement 

13 benefits described in paragraph (1)(B)(ii) un14 less the covered employee first makes a pay15 ment to the Forest Service or the Department 

16 of the Interior, as applicable, equal to the 

17 amount that would have been deducted from 

18 pay under section 8334 or 8442, as applicable, 

19 had the covered employee not been injured or 

20 disabled.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. COMPUTATION OF PAY. 

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

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

24 inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(e) OVERTIME.— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3544 IS

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

2 term ‘covered overtime pay’ means pay received by 

3 an employee who holds a position with the Forest 

4 Service or the Department of the Interior as a 

5 wildland firefighter while engaged in wildland fire 

6 suppression activity. 

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

8 quarters, and of any other form of remuneration in 

9 kind for services if its value can be estimated in 

10 money, and covered overtime pay and premium pay 

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

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

13 ‘‘(A) overtime pay; 

14 ‘‘(B) additional pay or allowance author15 ized outside the United States because of dif16 ferential in cost of living or other special cir17 cumstances; or 

18 ‘‘(C) bonus or premium pay for extraor19 dinary service including bonus or pay for par20 ticularly hazardous service in time of war.’’. 

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

22 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2016. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS