---
kind: "section"
citation: "5 U.S.C. § 5545c"
title: "5"
title_heading: "Government Organization and Employees"
number: "5545c"
heading: "Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/5/5545c"
units:
  - "Part III — Employees"
  - "Subpart D — Pay and Allowances"
  - "Chapter 55 — Pay Administration"
  - "Subchapter V — Premium Pay"
---

# §5545c. Incident response premium pay for employees engaged in wildland firefighting

- (a) **Definitions.—** In this section—
  - (1) the term “[appropriate committees of Congress](/usc/5/9801.md?p=6)” means—
    - (A) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;
    - (B) the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives;
    - (C) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives;
    - (D) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;
    - (E) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
    - (F) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
    - (G) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
    - (H) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
  - (2) the term “covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2)” means an [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) of the Forest [Service](/usc/5/8401.md?p=26) or the [Department](/usc/5/10101.md?p=4) of the Interior who is—
    - (A) a wildland [firefighter](/usc/5/7103.md?p=a-17), as defined in [section 5332a(a)](/usc/5/5332a.md?p=a); or
    - (B) certified by the applicable [agency](/usc/5/5541.md?p=1) to perform wildland fire incident-related duties during the period that [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident;
  - (3) the term “incident response premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4)” means [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) to which a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is entitled under [subsection (c)](#c);
  - (4) the term “prescribed fire incident” means a wildland fire originating from a planned ignition in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and regulations to meet specific objectives;
  - (5) the term “qualifying incident”—
    - (A) means—
      - (i) a wildfire incident, a prescribed fire incident, or a severity incident; or
      - (ii) an incident that the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of Agriculture or the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of the Interior determines is similar in nature to an incident described in [clause (i)](#a-5-A-i); and
    - (B) does not include an initial response incident that is contained within 36 hours; and
  - (6) the term “severity incident” means an incident in which a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is pre-positioned in an area in which conditions indicate there is a high risk of wildfires.
- (b) **Eligibility.—** A covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is [eligible](/usc/5/4701.md?p=a-3) for incident response premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) under this section if—
  - (1) the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is deployed to respond to a qualifying incident; and
  - (2) the deployment described in [paragraph (1)](#b-1) is—
    - (A) outside of the official duty station of the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2); or
    - (B) within the official duty station of the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) and the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is assigned to an incident-adjacent fire camp or other designated field location.
- (c) **Entitlement to Incident Response Premium Pay.—**
  - (1) **In general.—** A covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) who satisfies the conditions under [subsection (b)](#b) is entitled to premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) for the period in which the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is deployed to respond to the applicable qualifying incident.
  - (2) **Computation.—**
    - (A) **Formula.—** Subject to subparagraphs [(B)](#c-2-B) and [(C)](#c-2-C), premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) under [paragraph (1)](#c-1) shall be paid to a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) at a daily rate of 450 percent of the hourly rate of [basic pay](/usc/5/8401.md?p=4) of the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) for each day that the covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) satisfies the requirements under [subsection (b)](#b), rounded to the nearest whole cent.
    - (B) **Limitation.—** Premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) under this subsection may not be paid—
      - (i) with respect to a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) for whom the annual rate of [basic pay](/usc/5/8401.md?p=4) is greater than that for step 10 of GS–10, at a daily rate that exceeds the daily rate established under [subparagraph (A)](#c-2-A) for step 10 of GS–10; or
      - (ii) to a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) in a total amount that exceeds $9,000 in any calendar year.
    - (C) **Adjustments.—**
      - (i) **Assessment.—** The [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of Agriculture and the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of the Interior shall assess the difference between the average total amount of compensation that was paid to covered [employees](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2), by [grade](/usc/5/5102.md?p=a-5), in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
      - (ii) **Report.—** Not later than 180 days after the date that is 1 year after the effective date of this section, the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of Agriculture and the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of the Interior shall jointly publish a report on the results of the assessment conducted under [clause (i)](#c-2-C-i).
      - (iii) **Administrative actions.—** After publishing the report required under [clause (ii)](#c-2-C-ii), the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of Agriculture and the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of the Interior, in consultation with the [Director](/usc/5/8401.md?p=8) of the [Office](/usc/5/5402.md?p=3) of Personnel Management, may, in the sole and exclusive discretion of the [Secretaries](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) acting jointly, administratively adjust the amount of premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) paid under this subsection (or take other administrative action) to ensure that the average annual amount of total compensation paid to covered [employees](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2), by [grade](/usc/5/5102.md?p=a-5), is more consistent with such amount that was paid to those [employees](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) in fiscal year 2023.
      - (iv) **Congressional notification.—** Not later than 3 days after an adjustment made, or other administrative action taken, under [clause (iii)](#c-2-C-iii) becomes final, the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of Agriculture and the [Secretary](/usc/5/9901.md?p=2) of the Interior shall jointly submit to the [appropriate committees of Congress](/usc/5/9801.md?p=6) a notification regarding that adjustment or other administrative action, as applicable.
- (d) **Treatment of Incident Response Premium Pay.—** Incident response premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) under this section—
  - (1) is not considered part of the [basic pay](/usc/5/8401.md?p=4) of a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) for any purpose;
  - (2) may not be considered in determining a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2)’s lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave under [section 5551](/usc/5/5551.md) or [section 5552](/usc/5/5552.md);
  - (3) may not be used in determining [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) under [section 8114](/usc/5/8114.md) (relating to compensation for work injuries);
  - (4) may not be considered in determining [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) for hours of paid leave or other paid time off during which the premium [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) is not payable; and
  - (5) shall be disregarded in determining the minimum wage and overtime [pay](/usc/5/7511.md?p=a-4) to which a covered [employee](/usc/5/5541.md?p=2) is entitled under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ([29 U.S.C. 201](/usc/29/201.md) et seq.).

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 119–4, div. A, title VIII, § 1807, Mar. 15, 2025, 139 Stat. 30.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

For the effective date of this section, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(C)(ii), see Effective Date note below.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (d)(5), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 676, 52 Stat. 1060, which is classified generally to chapter 8 (§ 201 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 201 of Title 29 and Tables.

### Codification

Section is based on section 457(a) of H.R. 8998, from the 118th Congress (Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Congress, Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025), as passed by the House of Representatives on July 24, 2024, which was enacted into law by section 1807 of div. A of Pub. L. 119–4.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Change of Name

Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives changed to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, Jan. 3, 2025.

### Effective Date

Section effective the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after Mar. 15, 2025, see section 457(d) of H.R. 8998 from the 118th Congress, as passed by the House of Representatives on July 24, 2024, set out as an Effective Date of 2025 Amendment note under section 5544 of this title.