(1) Labor-management relationships and part-
nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 
communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 
and shared accountability. Labor-management co-
operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 
to best serve the interests of the public, operating as 
a team, to carry out the fire and EMS mission in 
a quality work environment. In many fire and EMS 
agencies, it is the union that provides the institu-
tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 
come and go. 
(2) State and local fire and EMS personnel 
play an essential role in the efforts of the United 
States to detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist 
attacks, and to respond to natural disasters, haz-
ardous materials, and other mass casualty incidents. 
State and local fire and EMS personnel, as first re-
sponders, are a component of the National Incident 
Management System, developed by the Department 
of Homeland Security to coordinate response to and 
recovery from terrorism, major natural disasters, 
and other major emergencies. Fire and EMS em-
ployer-employee cooperation is essential in meeting 
these needs and is, therefore, in the National inter-
est. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:12 Jun 03, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2586.IH
H2586
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(3) The Federal Government needs to encour-
age conciliation, mediation, and arbitration to aid 
and encourage employers and the representatives of 
their employees to reach and maintain agreements 
concerning rates of pay, hours, and working condi-
tions, and to make all reasonable efforts through ne-
gotiations to settle their differences by mutual agree-
ment reached through collective bargaining or by 
such methods as may be provided for in any applica-
ble agreement for the settlement of disputes. 
(4) The absence of adequate cooperation be-
tween fire and EMS employers and employees has 
implications for the security of employees and can 
affect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack 
of such labor-management cooperation can detrimen-
tally impact the upgrading of fire and emergency 
medical services of local communities, the health and 
well-being of fire and EMS personnel, and the mo-
rale of fire and EMS departments. Additionally, 
these factors could have significant commercial re-
percussions. Moreover, providing minimal standards 
for collective bargaining negotiations in the fire and 
EMS sector can prevent industrial strife between 
labor and management that interferes with the nor-
mal flow of commerce. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:12 Jun 03, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2586.IH
H2586
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(5) Many States and localities already provide 
fire and EMS personnel with collective bargaining 
rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 
responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 
and local laws should be respected. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 
the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 
(2) 
CONFIDENTIAL
EMPLOYEE.—The 
term 
‘‘confidential employee’’ has the meaning given such 
term under applicable State law on the date of en-
actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 
the term means an individual, employed by a fire 
and EMS employer, who— 
(A) is designated as confidential; and 
(B) is an individual who routinely assists, 
in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ-
ees and management employees. 
(3) EMERGENCY
MEDICAL
SERVICES
PER-
SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 
personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of- 
hospital emergency medical care, including an emer-
gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re-
sponder. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:12 Jun 03, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2586.IH
H2586
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(4) EMPLOYER; FIRE AND EMS AGENCY; FIRE 
AND EMS EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer’’, ‘‘fire 
and EMS agency’’, and ‘‘fire and EMS employer’’ 
mean any State, or political subdivision of a State, 
that employs fire and EMS personnel. 
(5) FIRE
AND
EMS
PERSONNEL.—The term 
‘‘fire and EMS personnel’’— 
(A) means an employee of a fire and EMS 
agency who is a firefighter and/or an emergency 
medical services personnel; 
(B) includes an individual who is tempo-
rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage-
ment position; and 
(C) does not include a permanent super-
visory, management, or confidential employee. 
(6) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has 
the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 
fire protection activities’’ in section 3(y) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 
(7) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 
organization’’ means an organization of any kind, in 
which employees participate and which exists for the 
purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ-
ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 
and related matters. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:12 Jun 03, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2586.IH
H2586
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(8) 
MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE.—The 
term 
‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 
such term under applicable State law in effect on 
the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State 
law is in effect, the term means an individual em-
ployed by a fire and EMS employer in a position 
that requires or authorizes the individual to formu-
late, determine, or influence the policies of the em-
ployer. 
(9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in-
dividual or a labor organization. 
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 
United States. 
(11) SUBSTANTIALLY
PROVIDES.—The term 
‘‘substantially provides’’, when used with respect to 
the rights and responsibilities described in section 
4(b), means comparable to or greater than each 
right and responsibility described in such section. 
(12) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su-
pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 
term under applicable State law in effect on the date 
of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:12 Jun 03, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2586.IH
H2586
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS