This bill ensures that federal wildland firefighters who perform prescribed burns receive hazard pay equal to what firefighters earn while fighting wildfires on the front lines. It also extends hazard pay eligibility to smokejumpers, who are aerial firefighters that parachute from aircraft during training and operational missions. The legislation recognizes that prescribed burn suppression and smokejumping involve comparable risks, smoke exposure, and physical demands to active wildfire suppression work. The Office of Personnel Management must issue implementing regulations within 90 days of the bill's enactment, with the new pay differential taking effect for pay periods beginning after that deadline. No new funding is specified in the legislation, as it modifies existing hazard pay provisions under federal personnel law rather than creating a separate appropriation.
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