PLI Reimbursement for Firefighters
December 27, 2007 Legislative Update
For years, law enforcement officers and agency supervisors have been eligible for 50% reimbursement for personal liability insurance (PLI). One of NFFE’s priorities for the FY2008 legislative cycle was extension of this benefit to firefighting personnel who, as recent experience has made all too clear, have significant liability exposure as well.
The Senate Appropriations Committee reported out language in the FY 2008 Interior appropriations bill that would have extended the PLI reimbursement benefit to some, but not all, fire line supervisors. This language would have modified the law pertaining to PLI reimbursement to read as follows (proposed changes are in blue):
SEC. 636. REIMBURSEMENTS
RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE.—(a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, amounts appropriated by this Act (or any other Act
for fiscal year 1997 or any fiscal year thereafter) for salaries and expenses
shall be used to reimburse any qualified employee for not to exceed one-half
the costs incurred by such employee for professional liability insurance. A
payment under this section shall be contingent upon the submission of such
information or documentation as the employing agency may require.
(b) QUALIFIED
EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘qualified employee’’ means
an agency employee whose position is that of—
(1) a law
enforcement officer;
(2) a supervisor or
management official; or
(3) a temporary fire line
supervisor.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—For
purposes of this section—
(1) * * * * * * * *
* *
(4) the term
‘‘professional liability insurance’’ means insurance which provides coverage
for—
(A) legal liability
for damages due to injuries to other persons, damage to their property, or
other damage or loss to such other persons (including the expenses of
litigation and settlement) resulting from or arising out of any tortious act,
error, or omission of the covered individual (whether common law, statutory, or
constitutional) while in the performance of such individual’s official duties
as a qualified employee; and
(B) the cost of
legal representation for the covered individual in connection with any
administrative or judicial proceeding) relating to any act, error, or omission
of the covered individual while in the performance of such individual’s
official duties as a qualified employee, and other legal costs and fees
relating to any such administrative or judicial proceeding; and
(5) the term ‘‘temporary fire
line supervisor’’ means an employee of the Department of the Interior or the
(A) a type 1, 2, or 3 incident
commander;
(B) an operations section
chief;
(C) a division group
supervisor;
(D) a fire use manager; or
(E) a prescribed fire manager
or burn boss.
We felt this language unfairly excluded positions with significant liability exposure. For example, it seemed to imply that single resource bosses, squad bosses, and a number of other positions would not be covered. We contacted Congressional staff to express our concerns, and were advised to work with the agency to develop a consensus on how the language should be modified. After much back and forth with Legislative Affairs, Human Resources, Fire Officials, Department lawyers, the Whitehouse Office of Management and Budget, and Congressional appropriations staff, we were successful in expanding the coverage significantly. It is no longer limited just to upper-level fire-line supervisors, but now extends to temporary fire line managers, defined in broad terms as:
an employee of the
(A)
temporary supervision or management of personnel engaged in
wildland or managed fire activities;
(i) a type 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 incident
commander;
(ii) an operations section chief,
(iii) a division group supervisor,
(iv) a fire use manager,
(v) a prescribed fire manager or burn boss,
(vi) a single resource boss, or
(vii) a squad boss
(B)
providing analysis or information that affects a decision by
a supervisor or manager about a wildland or managed fire; or
(i) a fire behavior analyst,
(ii) a safety officer, or
(iii) a long term analyst
(C) directing the
deployment of equipment for a wildland or managed fire
(i) a base camp manager
(ii) an equipment
manager
(iii) a helicopter
coordinator, or
(iv) an initial
attack dispatcher
[Note: Statutory language is in blue. The examples of covered positions are given in the Report that accompanies the statute and gives guidance on its implementation. Report language is in green.]
This provision is in the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations
bill, which the president signed into law on