Sen. Padilla and Sen. Sheehy Introduce the Support our Firefighters Act to Expand Paid Leave
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for review. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
This bill has support from both parties and fixes a major pay issue for firefighters, but it still needs to pass through the full Senate and House.
Federal wildland firefighters employed by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior would gain a new category of paid rest leave after deployments to fire incidents. This improves working conditions for a workforce that routinely faces grueling multi-week assignments with limited downtime. The permanent extension of overtime pay cap waivers also means these workers will be fully compensated for every hour worked, no matter how long a fire season runs.
“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 incident”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Tim Sheehy introduced the Support Our Firefighters Act to provide federal wildland firefighters with mandatory rest and recuperation time and ensure they are paid for their work by permanently waiving the annual compensation cap.
Sens. Alex Padilla and Tim Sheehy introduced the Support Our Firefighters Act. The bill aims to end 'arbitrary pay caps' that force firefighters to choose between working for free or leaving the line, while also establishing mandatory paid rest periods after long deployments.
The Support Our Firefighters Act would establish mandatory rest and recuperation periods—three days after a 14-day assignment and four days after 21 days—and permanently remove the annual compensation cap that limits pay during peak fire season.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Support our Firefighters Act
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