Sponsors (12)
Introduced May 26, 2025 by Sydney Kamlager-Dove · Last progress May 26, 2025
The bill expands safety protections, wages, transparency, and reentry relief for incarcerated firefighters — improving health, labor rights, and prospects for a specific group — at the cost of higher public and private spending, added administrative burdens, and uneven coverage that may limit who benefits.
Incarcerated firefighters gain formal employee status under the FLSA with legal wage and overtime protections, improving pay and basic labor rights for people performing firefighting and emergency work while incarcerated.
Required OSHA‑equivalent safety protections, certification, and related training/reporting should reduce workplace injuries and deaths for incarcerated firefighters and prison staff.
Annual reporting to Congress, the Attorney General, and by States/localities increases transparency about safety conditions, injuries, and program compliance in correctional firefighting programs.
Taxpayers and state budgets will face increased costs from wage/overtime obligations, expanded reporting/certification, grant administration, and the federal funding authorizations included in the bill.
Private contractors and some public employers may incur higher payroll and operational costs (wages, overtime, meeting OSHA standards), which could increase contracting costs or lead jurisdictions to reduce or eliminate incarcerated firefighter programs and opportunities.
The bill imposes substantial administrative and compliance burdens across state and local governments, courts, DOJ, and grant applicants (collecting/certifying reports, recordkeeping, grant administration, and notifications), increasing workloads and costs.
Based on analysis of 12 sections of legislative text.
Extends OSHA and FLSA coverage to incarcerated firefighters, requires safety reporting, funds State implementation grants and reentry services, and creates an expungement pathway for eligible participants.
Extends federal workplace safety and wage protections to incarcerated individuals who serve as firefighters or emergency responders, requires annual reporting on safety and injuries, establishes grant programs to help States implement protections, creates a reentry job program for former incarcerated firefighters, and allows eligible participants to petition for expungement of certain convictions. It funds state grant assistance and DOJ-administered set-asides, sets reporting timelines (first reports within two years), and authorizes $100 million per year for state safety grants from FY2026–FY2031.