This bill increases pay and benefits for federal wildland firefighters by establishing special base pay rates, providing incident response premium pay, and granting paid rest and recuperation leave.
Joe Neguse
Representative
CO-2
The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 aims to improve compensation and working conditions for federal wildland firefighters by establishing special base rates of pay, providing incident response premium pay, and granting paid rest and recuperation leave following deployments to qualifying incidents. These changes will take effect after the expiration of previously authorized temporary salary increases for federal wildland firefighters. The Act also allows for the transfer of funds to ensure the continuation of base salary increases.
Wildland Firefighter Pay Gets Major Boost: New Bill Hikes Base Pay, Adds Incident Bonuses, and Mandates Rest Time
The Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act of 2025 is all about giving federal wildland firefighters a much-needed financial and well-being boost. It tackles pay, rest, and how the money moves between agencies to make it all happen. Let's break down what this means in the real world.
Payday Upgrade
This bill directly increases the base pay for wildland firefighters across the board. Instead of the standard government pay grades (General Schedule, or GS), firefighters from GS1 to GS15 will get a "special base rate." Think of it as a built-in raise, ranging from a 1.5% bump for GS15s up to a whopping 42% for GS1s (Section 2). For example, an entry-level GS3 firefighter would see their base pay jump by 36%. This isn't just a one-time bonus; it's their new regular salary, and it affects everything else tied to their pay, like locality adjustments.
Show Me the Money: Incident Pay
Beyond the base pay raise, the bill introduces "incident response premium pay." When firefighters are deployed to a "qualifying incident" – basically, any wildfire, prescribed burn, or high-risk situation that lasts longer than 36 hours – they get extra cash (Section 3). This is a big deal. If a firefighter is sent to a fire outside their usual area, or even if they're at their home base but working out of a fire camp, they qualify. The daily bonus is hefty: 450% of their hourly rate. So, a firefighter making $20 an hour would get $90 an hour for each day they're deployed, on top of their regular pay. The premium pay is capped at $9,000 per year.
Time to Recharge: Mandatory R&R
Recognizing the brutal nature of wildland firefighting, the bill mandates paid rest and recuperation leave after deployments (Section 4). The details will be ironed out by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, but the idea is to ensure firefighters get time off after long stretches on the fire line. This leave is use-it-or-lose-it – it has to be taken right after an incident and can't be banked for later. It's basically recognizing that these folks need to recover physically and mentally.
Funding Shuffle
To make sure the pay raises stick, the bill allows up to $5 million to be transferred from the Forest Service's Wildland Fire Management budget to the Department of the Interior's (Section 5). This is a bit of a budget shell game, but the goal is to keep the increased pay flowing.
The Big Picture
This bill is a significant step toward addressing long-standing concerns about wildland firefighter compensation and well-being. By boosting pay, providing extra money for deployments, and mandating rest, it aims to make the job more sustainable and attractive. This could be a game-changer for recruitment and retention, especially as wildfire seasons become longer and more intense. It's worth noting, that while incident response premium pay is a great benefit, it's not considered "basic pay" and is disregarded when determining minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.