,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ace ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #af1 #bjbe,mr4 ,padilla 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,barrasso1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,sheehy1 and ,mr4 ,heinrich7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 to provide for special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,wildland ,firefighter ,paycheck ,protection ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,iii of chapter #ec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #eccb the following3 #eccb;a4 ,special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term firefighter means an employee who-- 7,a7 is a firefighter within the meaning of section #hcca7ba7 or section #hdja7ad72 7,b7 in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to subchapter ,,iii of chapter #hc1 but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section #hcca7ba71 would otherwise qualify if the employee had transferred directly to that position after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of that section2 7,c7 in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to chapter #hd1 but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section #hdja7ad71 would otherwise qualify if the employee had transferred directly to that position after performing duties described in section #hdja7ad77;,a7 for at least #c years2 or 7,d7 in the case of an employee who is not subject to subchapter ,,iii of chapter #hc or chapter #hd1 holds a position that the ,office of ,personnel ,management determines would satisfy subparagraph 7,a71 7,b71 or 7,c7 if the employee were subject to subchapter ,,iii of chapter #hc or chapter #hd2 7#b7 the term ,general ,schedule base rate means an annual rate of basic pay established under section #eccb before any additions1 such as a locality-based comparability payment under section #ecjd or #ecjd;a or a special rate supplement under section #ecje2 7#c7 the term special base rate means an annual rate of basic pay payable to a wildland firefighter1 before any additions or reductions1 that replaces the ,general ,schedule base rate otherwise applicable to the wildland firefighter and that is administered in the same manner as a ,general ,schedule base rate2 and 7#d7 the term wildland firefighter means a firefighter-- 7,a7 who is employed by the ,forest ,service or the ,department of the ,interior2 and 7,b7 the duties of the position of whom relate primarily to wildland fires1 as opposed to structure fires4 7b7 ,special base rates of pay 7#a7 ,entitlement to special rate ,notwithstanding section #eccb1 a wildland firefighter is entitled to a special base rate at grades #a through #ae1 which shall-- 7,a7 replace the otherwise applicable ,general ,schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter2 7,b7 be basic pay for all purposes1 including the purpose of computing a locality-based comparability payment under section #ecjd or #ecjd;a2 and 7,c7 be computed as described in paragraph 7#b7 and adjusted at the time of adjustments in the ,general ,schedule4 7#b7 ,computation 7,a7 ,in general ,the special base rate for a wildland firefighter shall be derived by increasing the otherwise applicable ,general ,schedule base rate for the wildland firefighter by the following applicable percentage for the grade of the wildland firefighter and rounding the result to the nearest whole dollar3 7i7 ,for ,,gs-#a1 #db percent4 7ii7 ,for ,,gs-#b1 #ci percent4 7iii7 ,for ,,gs-#c1 #cf percent4 7iv7 ,for ,,gs-#d1 #cc percent4 7v7 ,for ,,gs-#e1 #cj percent4 7vi7 ,for ,,gs-#f1 #bg percent4 7vii7 ,for ,,gs-#g1 #bd percent4 7viii7 ,for ,,gs-#h1 #ba percent4 7ix7 ,for ,,gs-#i1 #ah percent4 7x7 ,for ,,gs-#aj1 #ae percent4 7xi7 ,for ,,gs-#aa1 #ab percent4 7xii7 ,for ,,gs-#ab1 #i percent4 7xiii7 ,for ,,gs-#ac1 #f percent4 7xiv7 ,for ,,gs-#ad1 #c percent4 7xv7 ,for ,,gs-#ae1 #a4e percent4 7,b7 ,hourly1 daily1 weekly1 or biweekly rates ,when the special base rate with respect to a wildland firefighter is expressed as an hourly1 daily1 weekly1 or biweekly rate1 the special base rate shall be computed from the appropriate annual rate of basic pay derived under subparagraph 7,a7 in accordance with the rules under section #eejd7;b74 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for subchapter ,,iii of chapter #ec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #eccb the following3 #eccb;a4 ,special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters4 4 7c7 ,prevailing rate employees ,section #ecdc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7g7 7#a7 ,for a prevailing rate employee described in section #ecdb7;a77#b77;,a7 who is a wildland firefighter1 as defined in section #eccb;a7a71 the ,secretary of ,agriculture or the ,secretary of the ,interior 7as applicable7 shall increase the wage rates of that employee by an amount 7determined at the sole and exclusive discretion of the applicable ,secretary after consultation with the other ,secretary7 that is generally consistent with the percentage increases given to wildland firefighters in the ,general ,schedule under section #eccb;a4 7#b7 ,an increased wage rate under paragraph 7#a7 shall be basic pay for the same purposes as the wage rate otherwise established under this section4 7#c7 ,an increase under this subsection may not cause the wage rate of an employee to increase to a rate that would produce an annualized rate in excess of the annual rate for level ,,iv of the ,executive ,schedule4 4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning after the last day of the last pay period for which ,federal wildland firefighter temporary salary increases were in effect1 as originally authorized under section #djhjc7;d77#d77;,b7 of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;d77#d77;,b77 and as extended under the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbd 7,public ,law #aah-db2 #ach ,stat4 #be71 the ,continuing ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbe 7division ,a of ,public ,law #aah-hc2 #ach ,stat4 #aebd71 and the ,further ,continuing ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbe 7division ,a of ,public ,law #aah-aeh74 #c4 ,wildland fire incident response premium pay 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,v of chapter #ee of title #e1 ,united ,sates ,code1 is amended by inserting after section #eede;b the following3 #eede;c4 ,incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate2 7,c7 the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry of the ,senate2 7,d7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 7,e7 the ,committee on ,oversight and ,accountability of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,f7 the ,committee on ,agriculture of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,g7 the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,h7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 7#b7 the term covered employee means an employee of the ,forest ,service or the ,department of the ,interior who is-- 7,a7 a wildland firefighter1 as defined in section #eccb;a7a72 or 7,b7 certified by the applicable agency to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period that employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident2 7#c7 the term incident response premium pay means pay to which a covered employee is entitled under subsection 7c72 7#d7 the term prescribed fire incident means a wildland fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with applicable laws1 policies1 and regulations to meet specific objectives2 7#e7 the term qualifying incident-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 a wildfire incident1 a prescribed fire incident1 or a severity incident2 or 7ii7 an incident that the ,secretary of ,agriculture or the ,secretary of the ,interior determines is similar in nature to an incident described in clause 7i72 and 7,b7 does not include an initial response 7including an initial attack fire7 in which a wildfire is contained within #cf hours2 and 7#f7 the term severity incident means an incident in which a covered employee is pre-positioned in an area in which conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires4 7b7 ,eligibility ,a covered employee is eligible for incident response premium pay under this section if-- 7#a7 the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident2 and 7#b7 the deployment described in paragraph 7#a7 is-- 7,a7 outside of the official duty station of the covered employee2 or 7,b7 within the official duty station of the covered employee and the covered employee is assigned to an incident-adjacent fire camp or other designated field location4 7c7 ,entitlement to incident response premium pay 7#a7 ,in general ,a covered employee who satisfies the conditions under subsection 7b7 is entitled to premium pay for the period in which the covered employee is deployed to respond to the applicable qualifying incident4 7#b7 ,computation 7,a7 ,formula ,subject to subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c71 premium pay under paragraph 7#a7 shall be paid to a covered employee at a daily rate of #dej percent of the hourly rate of basic pay of the covered employee for each day that the covered employee satisfies the requirements under subsection 7b71 rounded to the nearest whole cent4 7,b7 ,limitation ,premium pay under this subsection-- 7i7 with respect to a covered employee for whom the annual rate of basic pay is greater than that for step #aj of ,,gs-#aj1 shall be paid at the daily rate established under subparagraph 7,a7 for the applicable rate for step #aj of ,,gs-#aj 7where the applicable rate is the rate in effect in the same locality that is the basis for a locality-based comparability payment payable to the covered employee under section #ecjd72 and 7ii7 may not be paid to a covered employee in a total amount that exceeds #i1jjj in any calendar year4 7,c7 ,adjustments 7i7 ,assessment ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior shall assess the difference between the average total amount of compensation that was paid to covered employees1 by grade1 in fiscal years #bjbc and #bjbd4 7ii7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date that is #a year after the effective date of this section1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior shall jointly publish a report on the results of the assessment conducted under clause 7i74 7iii7 ,administrative actions ,after publishing the report required under clause 7ii71 the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,office of ,personnel ,management1 may1 in the sole and exclusive discretion of the ,secretaries acting jointly1 administratively adjust the amount of premium pay paid under this subsection 7or take other administrative action7 to ensure that the average annual amount of total compensation paid to covered employees1 by grade1 is more consistent with such amount that was paid to those employees in fiscal year #bjbc4 7iv7 ,congressional notification ,not later than #c days after an adjustment made1 or other administrative action taken1 under clause 7iii7 becomes final1 the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a notification regarding that adjustment or other administrative action1 as applicable4 7d7 ,treatment of incident response premium pay ,incident response premium pay under this section-- 7#a7 is not considered part of the basic pay of a covered employee for any purpose2 7#b7 may not be considered in determining the lump-sum payment of a covered employee for accumulated and accrued annual leave under section #eeea or section #eeeb2 7#c7 may not be used in determining pay under section #haad2 7#d7 may not be considered in determining pay for hours of paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium pay is not payable2 and 7#e7 shall be disregarded in determining the minimum wage and overtime pay to which a covered employee is entitled under the ,fair ,labor ,standards ,act of #aich 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #bja et seq474 4 7b7 ,additional premium pay amendments ,subchapter ,v of chapter #ee of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #eedd-- 7,a7 by amending the section heading to read as follows3 ,wage-board overtime1 ,sunday rates1 and other premium pay2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7d7 ,a prevailing rate employee described in section #ecdb7;a77#b77;,a7 shall receive incident response premium pay under the same terms and conditions that apply to a covered employee under section #eede;c if that employee-- 7#a7 is employed by the ,forest ,service or the ,department of the ,interior2 and 7#b7 7,a7 is a wildland firefighter1 as defined in section #eccb;a7a72 or 7,b7 is certified by the applicable agency to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident 7as defined in section #eede;c7a774 2 and 7#b7 in section #eedg7;a71 in the matter preceding paragraph 7#a71 by inserting #eede;c1 after #eede;a14 7c7 ,clerical amendments ,the table of sections for subchapter ,v of chapter #ee of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by amending the item relating to section #eedd to read as follows3 #eedd4 ,wage-board overtime1 ,sunday rates1 and other premium pay4 2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the item relating to section #eede;b the following3 #eede;c4 ,incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting4 4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning after the last day of the last pay period for which ,federal wildland firefighter temporary salary increases were in effect1 as originally authorized under section #djhjc7;d77#d77;,b7 of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;d77#d77;,b77 and as extended under the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbd 7,public ,law #aah-db2 #ach ,stat4 #be71 the ,continuing ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbe 7division ,a of ,public ,law #aah-hc2 #ach ,stat4 #aebd71 and the ,further ,continuing ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbe 7division ,a of ,public ,law #aah-aeh74 #d4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #fc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #fcbi;e4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term applicable ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture or the ,secretary of the ,interior1 as applicable to a covered employee2 7#b7 the term covered employee means an employee of the ,forest ,service or the ,department of the ,interior who-- 7,a7 qualifies as a wildland firefighter based on the definitions of the terms firefighter and wildland firefighter in section #eccb;a7a7 7applying the definition of employee in section #fcja7b7 in lieu of the definition of employee in section #ecca7;a772 or 7,b7 is certified by the applicable ,secretary to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period the employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident2 and 7#c7 the term qualifying incident has the meaning given the term in section #eede;c7a74 7b7 ,rest and recuperation leave 7#a7 ,in general ,a covered employee may receive paid rest and recuperation leave following the completion of service in which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 subject to the policies prescribed under this subsection4 7#b7 ,prescription of policies ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture and the ,secretary of the ,interior shall1 in the sole and exclusive discretion of the ,secretaries acting jointly1 prescribe uniform policies described in paragraph 7#a7 after consulting with the other applicable ,secretary4 7#c7 ,content of policies ,the policies prescribed under paragraph 7#b7 may include-- 7,a7 a maximum period of days in which a covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident1 which shall-- 7i7 begin on the date on which the covered employee departs from the official duty station of the covered employee and end on the date on which the covered employee returns to the official duty station of the covered employee2 and 7ii7 be followed by a minimum number of days of rest and recuperation for the covered employee2 or 7,b7 a requirement that prohibits a covered employee from working more than #af hours per day on average over a #ad-;day period during which the covered employee is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident4 7c7 ,use of leave 7#a7 ,in general ,rest and recuperation leave granted under this section-- 7,a7 shall be used during scheduled hours within the tour of duty of the applicable covered employee established for leave-charging purposes2 7,b7 shall be paid in the same manner as annual leave2 7,c7 shall be used immediately after a qualifying incident2 and 7,d7 may not be set aside for later use4 7#b7 ,no payment ,a covered employee may not receive any payment for unused rest and recuperation leave granted under this section4 7d7 ,intermittent work schedule ,a covered employee with an intermittent work schedule-- 7#a7 shall be excused from duty during the same period of time that other covered employees in the same circumstances are entitled to rest and recuperation leave2 and 7#b7 shall receive a payment as if the covered employee were entitled to rest and recuperation leave under subsection 7b74 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for subchapter ,,ii of chapter #fc of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #fcbi;d the following3 #fcbi;e4 ,rest and recuperation leave for employees engaged in wildland firefighting4 4 #e4 ,transfer authority ,notwithstanding section #djhjc7;c77#b7 of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;c77#b771 not more than #e1jjj1jjj of the unobligated balances of amounts made available under the heading ,wildland ,fire ,management under the heading ,forest ,service under the heading ,department of ,agriculture in title ,,vi of division ,j of that ,act 7,public ,law #aag-eh2 #ace ,stat4 #adaj7 pursuant to section #djhjc7;c77#b77;,b7 of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;c77#b77;,b77 may1 as necessary to continue uninterrupted the ,federal wildland firefighter base salary increase described in section #djhjc7;d77#d77;,b7 of that ,act 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #feib7;d77#d77;,b771 be transferred to and merged with the amounts made available under the heading ,wildland ,fire ,management under the heading ,department-wide programs under the heading ,department of the ,interior in title ,,vi of division ,j of that ,act 7,public ,law #aag-eh2 #ace ,stat4 #acic74