A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would remove overtime pay caps for wildland firefighters.
Crews in the U.S. departments of the Interior and Agriculture face annual limits on the amount of overtime they can work but frequently exceed those limits as fire seasons have become longer.
According to bill sponsor Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Wildland Firefighter Fair Pay Act would ensure firefighters receive all overtime time pay they’re owed.
The U.S. Forest Service says up to 500 supervisors either stop working or continue to work without additional compensation upon reaching the salary cap each year.