S. 279 — Tim’s Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act” or “Tim’s Act”; defines key terms including “Director” (i.e., Director of the Office of Personnel Management), “Federal wildland firefighter” (i.e., certain qualified positions at the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, or Tribal firefighters primarily engaged in wildland fire management activities), and “Secretaries” (i.e., Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior); and includes the table of contents.

This section establishes special base rates of pay for wildland firefighters (as defined in the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act) by adding a new section 5332a to title 5, U.S. Code. For General Schedule (GS) wildland firefighters at grades 1 through 15, the special base rate replaces the otherwise applicable GS base rate and increases it by a specified percentage—42% for GS-1, decreasing incrementally to 1.5% for GS-15 (rounded to the nearest dollar)—with the rate treated as basic pay for all purposes (e.g., locality pay) and adjusted concurrently with GS rates. For prevailing rate wildland firefighters (e.g., certain Forest Service employees paid under title 5 wage schedules), the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior must increase wage rates by generally consistent percentages (as determined after mutual consultation), not exceeding the annual rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule, with such rates treated as basic pay for the same purposes. The amendments take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning after the last pay period for which temporary wildland firefighter salary increases were in effect under specified prior laws (i.e., Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act §40803(d)(4)(B), as extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024; Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025; and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025). (Thus, the provision replaces time-limited pay boosts with permanent special rates to improve recruitment and retention of federal wildland firefighters who suppress wildfires on public lands.)

This section amends Subchapter V of chapter 55 of title 5, United States Code, by inserting new section 5545c to establish incident response premium pay for covered employees (i.e., Forest Service or Department of the Interior wildland firefighters, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5332a(a), or agency-certified personnel performing wildland fire duties) deployed outside their duty station, or within it at a fire camp or field location, to a qualifying incident (i.e., wildfire, prescribed fire, severity assignment, or similar, excluding initial attacks contained within 36 hours). Covered employees receive premium pay at a daily rate of 450% of their hourly basic pay rate (or the GS-10 step 10 rate in their locality if higher), capped at $9,000 per calendar year. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior must (1) assess average total compensation for covered employees by grade in FY2023 and FY2024; (2) jointly report results to specified congressional committees 180 days after one year from enactment; and (3) after the report, consult with the Office of Personnel Management to potentially adjust pay or take other actions ensuring average annual compensation by grade aligns with FY2023 levels, with notification to Congress within three days of final action. Premium pay is not basic pay; is excluded from calculations for annual leave lump sums, workers' compensation, paid leave, or Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage and overtime; and does not affect other pay entitlements.

This section establishes new 5 U.S.C. §5547a to provide special premium pay rules for covered wildland firefighters (i.e., Forest Service or Department of the Interior employees qualified as wildland firefighters or certified for wildland fire incident duties), effective with the first pay period having a payment date in January 2026. (1) Premium pay for covered services (i.e., emergency wildland fire suppression activities, including sleeping or resting during extended deployments, but excluding prescribed fires) is disregarded in applying the aggregate pay limitation under §5547(a) (i.e., max GS-15 rate or Executive Schedule (ES) level V) and §5307; (2) such disregarded premium pay, plus basic pay, other premium pay, and hazard pay under §5545(d), is capped at the ES level II rate for the calendar year (with biweekly-limited premium pay under §5547(c) paid first); (3) the ES level II cap may be waived at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior or Agriculture after prescribing criteria; (4) additional pay from this section is excluded from lump-sum annual leave payments under §§5551-5552; and (5) for prevailing rate employees, aggregate basic pay (i.e., wages, environmental/night differentials) plus premium pay (i.e., overtime, Sunday, holiday) is capped at the ES level II rate. This section further applies §5547 limits to incident standby premium pay in calendar year 2025 (effective first pay period on/after October 1, 2025) and makes conforming and clerical amendments. (Thus, wildland firefighters may exceed the standard GS-15/ES level V aggregate cap during fire suppression by disregarding such premium pay, up to the higher ES level II cap of approximately $221,900 as of CY2024.)

This section establishes paid rest and recuperation leave under new 5 U.S.C. §6329e for covered wildland firefighters (i.e., Forest Service or Department of the Interior employees qualifying as firefighters under 5 U.S.C. §5332a(a) or certified for duties on a qualifying incident, defined in 5 U.S.C. §5545c(a)(5)) following completion of service on such an incident. The leave, subject to agency policies set by the Secretary of Agriculture or Interior after interagency consultation, must be used immediately after the incident during scheduled tour-of-duty hours (paid like annual leave), may not be carried over or paid out if unused, and— for employees on intermittent schedules—entitles them to equivalent pay while excused from duty. The provision takes effect the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2025.

This section requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to (1) establish, by one year after enactment, a public website database—the Federal Wildland Firefighter Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Database—to track chronic diseases from occupational environmental exposures among current and former federal wildland firefighters, with annual updates and development of exposure mitigation recommendations; and (2) establish, by January 1, 2026, a mental health awareness and support program including awareness campaigns, onboarding education and training, peer-to-peer support networks for firefighters and families, expansion of the Critical Incident Stress Management Program to increase qualified professionals and track mental health trends, and a new unlimited-session counseling service with trauma-informed providers. The section further entitles each federal wildland firefighter to seven consecutive days of paid mental health leave annually (non-accumulating and not counting as annual or vacation leave) and directs the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)—which administers federal workers' compensation—to recognize post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related psychological injuries from wildland fire protection, suppression, and support activities; provide long-term coverage for such injuries; and expand the Special Claims Unit to expedite claims processing. (Thus, the changes aim to address health risks unique to wildland firefighting, including carcinogens from smoke and high-stress incidents.)

This section enhances Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) benefits for Federal wildland firefighters (as defined in sec. 1(b) of the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act) by— (1) making service performed on or after January 1, 1989, creditable under FERS chapter 84 upon written election to the Director and payment of deposit requirements under 5 U.S.C. §8411(f); (2) deeming any such firefighter disabled for FERS disability retirement purposes (5 U.S.C. §8451) if suffering from diseases listed in 5 U.S.C. §8143b(b)(2) due to job-related environmental exposure (e.g., smoke inhalation), with a 12-month service requirement substituted for 18 months; (3) including overtime pay received on or after enactment as basic pay (5 U.S.C. §8331(3)) for annuity computation; and (4) establishing a separate normal-cost percentage under FERS (5 U.S.C. §8423(a)(1)(B)(i)).

This section defines a Federal structural firefighter as a firefighter under 5 U.S.C. §8401 excluding Federal wildland firefighters (i.e., those eligible for enhanced retirement benefits under the Federal Employees Retirement System). It requires that, beginning one year after enactment, pay, benefits, and bonuses for Federal structural firefighters be comparable to those provided to Federal wildland firefighters under this Act and its amendments. It further directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to submit to Congress, not later than one year after special base rates of pay are established under 5 U.S.C. §5332a (as added by section 2 of this Act), a report on whether pay for Federal structural firefighters is competitive with that for Federal wildland firefighters.

This section establishes annual cost-of-living adjustments to the basic pay of Federal wildland firefighters (i.e., those subject to special base rates under new 5 U.S.C. §5332a), beginning in the first pay period after those rates are set and using the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for December of the preceding year over the prior December (to the nearest 1/10 of 1%). It further requires (1) the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to submit to Congress, within one year after special base rates are established, a report assessing whether federal wildland firefighters' pay, benefits, and bonuses are comparable to those of non-federal firefighters in the same state or locality; (2) hazardous duty pay differentials under 5 U.S.C. §5545(d) for work involving prescribed fire, parachuting, tree climbing over 20 feet, hazard tree removal, or other hazardous duties identified by the Secretaries; (3) a recruitment and retention bonus program with minimum payments of $1,000 (adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index as in subsection (a)), payable once per calendar year to primary or secondary firefighters upon completing a work capacity test; (4) housing allowances for firefighters deployed more than 50 miles from their primary residence, with amounts set by the Secretaries based on local housing costs; and (5) a voluntary tuition assistance program for permanent firefighters, providing at least $4,000 annually (subject to yearly review for inflation) for a broad range of in-person or distance-learning educational programs.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish, not later than 180 days after enactment, the Wildland Fire Management Casualty Assistance Program to provide assistance to federal wildland firefighters or support personnel requiring hospitalization due to line-of-duty injury or illness, or killed in the line of duty (affected firefighters), and their next-of-kin (in descending priority: surviving spouse; children aged 18 or older; parents; siblings aged 18 or older; grandparents; other relatives). The program includes (1) initial and subsequent notifications to next-of-kin; (2) reimbursement of next-of-kin travel expenses to visit affected firefighters; (3) qualifications, training, duties, supervision, and accountability for casualty assistance officers (i.e., Interior Department employees providing advice on benefits and funeral arrangements); (4) procedures for relief or transfer of such officers; (5) centralized short- and long-term case management with access to expert case managers and counselors; (6) a no-cost website and other means providing personalized information on federal benefits and financial assistance; (7) mechanisms for complaints or requests for additional assistance; (8) coordination with the Departments of Justice and Social Security Administration on benefits; and (9) data collection, in consultation with the United States Fire Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, on the incidence and quality of assistance provided. The program does not affect existing line-of-duty death benefits authority.

This section revises the definition of "firefighter" under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in 5 U.S.C. §8401(14) to include (1) employees whose primary duties involve controlling and extinguishing wildland fires and are sufficiently rigorous to limit employment to young and physically vigorous individuals, as determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) considering agency recommendations; and (2) supervisors or administrators in such positions after at least three years of wildland firefighting service with no more than 24 months total breaks in service. (As background, FERS firefighters receive enhanced retirement benefits, including a 1.7% accrual rate on high-3 average pay for the first 20 years of service—versus 1% generally—and eligibility to retire at age 50 with 20 years of service or any age with 25 years.) It further treats, for purposes of FERS, service performed by current employees from October 1, 2003, through the day before enactment as firefighter service if the employee (1) did not qualify under prior law due to breaks in service but would under the new §8401(14)(D); (2) had standard deductions under 5 U.S.C. §§8422 and 8423 during that service; and (3) submits a written election to the relevant agency and remits additional employee contributions under §8422 (reflecting the higher firefighter rates), plus interest per 5 U.S.C. §8334(e). The employing agency must then remit corresponding additional agency contributions under §8423, plus interest; OPM must notify and assist eligible individuals, including verifying service with the Departments of Agriculture and Interior as needed. (Thus, qualifying individuals may receive credit toward enhanced firefighter benefits upon election and payment.) This provision does not affect Thrift Savings Plan contributions.