To establish fair labor standards, occupational safety protections, and post-incarceration career opportunities for incarcerated individuals engaged in firefighting and to provide previously incarcerated firefighters an opportunity to expunge records of disposition after successful completion of court-imposed probation, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The FIRE Act (Fairness, Inclusion, Rehabilitation, and Expungement for Incarcerated Firefighters Act) establishes labor protections, workplace safety standards, and post-release career pathways for incarcerated individuals who perform firefighting and emergency response work while in prison. It extends federal labor law coverage to incarcerated firefighters, creates grant programs for states and reentry organizations, and provides a federal expungement pathway for formerly incarcerated firefighters who complete their sentences.
Who Benefits and How
Incarcerated firefighters are the primary beneficiaries. Currently, incarcerated individuals who fight wildfires and perform emergency response -- often for negligible pay and under dangerous conditions -- have no federal workplace safety protections and are excluded from minimum wage and overtime requirements. This bill extends OSHA protections and Fair Labor Standards Act coverage to them, meaning they would be entitled to minimum wage (excluding the cost of board and lodging), workplace safety inspections, and reporting on injuries and deaths. After release, formerly incarcerated firefighters gain access to job training, placement services, and mentoring through a new grant program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, with a 180-day reentry window. Those who complete their sentences can petition for federal criminal record expungement, removing a major barrier to firefighting careers and other employment. Nonprofit organizations, local workforce development boards, state and local governments, and tribal entities that serve reentry populations benefit from new grant funding. Fire departments and emergency services benefit from a larger pool of trained, experienced firefighters who can legally work after release.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State and local governments that operate correctional facilities face the most direct compliance burden. They must extend workplace safety protections to incarcerated firefighters, submit annual reports on workplace conditions and injuries, and certify compliance to receive federal law enforcement grants under the Byrne JAG program. Private prison operators who contract with government agencies are also covered and must comply with the same workplace safety and reporting requirements. The Bureau of Prisons must extend its occupational safety programs to incarcerated firefighters in federal facilities and submit annual reports to Congress. The Secretary of Labor must establish and administer two new grant programs. The Attorney General must process expungement petitions and maintain sealed records. States that fail to provide adequate workplace safety protections for incarcerated firefighters risk losing eligibility for federal Byrne JAG grants, creating a significant financial incentive to comply. The bill authorizes $100 million per year for fiscal years 2026-2031 for state OSHA compliance grants and reserves $400,000 annually from Byrne JAG funds for workplace safety implementation.
Key Provisions
- Extends OSHA workplace safety protections to incarcerated firefighters in both state and federal facilities, including annual reporting requirements on workplace conditions, injuries, and deaths
- Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to classify incarcerated firefighters as employees entitled to minimum wage, with protections against deductions for board, lodging, and court-imposed fees
- Conditions federal Byrne JAG law enforcement grants on states certifying workplace safety protections for incarcerated firefighters
- Authorizes $100 million annually (FY2026-2031) in grants to help states amend their OSHA laws to cover incarcerated firefighters
- Creates a reentry grant program for job training, placement, and mentoring of formerly incarcerated firefighters during a 180-day reentry period
- Establishes a federal expungement pathway: automatic expungement after 7 years post-sentence completion, discretionary expungement after 1 year, with full restoration of legal status and prohibition on disclosure of expunged records
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends federal workplace safety protections and fair labor standards to incarcerated firefighters, creates grant programs for state compliance and post-release reentry, and establishes a federal criminal record expungement pathway for formerly incarcerated firefighters who complete their sentences.
Key Policy Areas
Labor, Criminal Justice, Public Safety, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Extends federal workplace safety protections and fair labor standards to incarcerated firefighters, creates grant programs for state compliance and post-release reentry, and establishes a federal criminal record expungement pathway for formerly incarcerated firefighters who complete their sentences.
Policy Domains
Sections 2-3 -- Workplace Safety and Labor Standards
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Incarcerated firefighters (workplace safety protections and minimum wage)
- Incarcerated firefighter families (wage protections against fee deductions)
- Prison labor reform advocates and civil rights organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Bureau of Prisons (OSHA program extension and annual reporting)
- State correctional agencies (OSHA compliance and reporting)
- Private prison operators (workplace safety compliance)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Section 7 -- Criminal Record Expungement
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Formerly incarcerated firefighters (criminal record removal and employment access)
- Criminal justice reform advocates
- Defense attorneys and public defenders (new expungement tool)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- U.S. Attorneys' offices (petition processing)
- Attorney General (record retention, indexing, rulemaking)
- Federal and state law enforcement agencies (record updates upon expungement)
- Federal courts (petition adjudication and appointed counsel costs)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Section 6 -- Reentry Program Grants
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Formerly incarcerated firefighters (job training, placement, mentoring)
- Nonprofit reentry organizations (new grant funding stream)
- Local workforce development boards (expanded mission and funding)
- Fire departments and emergency services (trained workforce pipeline)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Secretary of Labor (program establishment and grant administration)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sections 4-5 -- State Incentives and Compliance Grants
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- State and local governments (grant funding for compliance)
- Incarcerated firefighters in state facilities (extended protections)
- Occupational safety and health agencies (expanded jurisdiction and funding)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- State and local governments (certification requirements and reporting mandates)
- Private prison operators contracting with state/local agencies
- Federal taxpayers ($100M/year authorization for 6 years)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Mr. Moore of Alabama, Mr. Rutherford, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Attorney General (record management), Bureau of Prisons, Federal and state law enforcement agencies
Positive-direction: Indian and Native American entities, Local workforce development boards, State governments, State occupational safety agencies, State occupational safety and health agencies
Negative-direction: Attorney General (record management), Bureau of Prisons, Federal and state law enforcement agencies, Federal courts, OSHA and state occupational safety agencies, Public agencies operating correctional facilities, State and local court systems, State and local governments receiving Byrne JAG grants, State correctional agencies, U.S. Attorneys' offices
Fire departments and emergency services, Formerly incarcerated firefighters, Incarcerated firefighters
Positive-direction: Fire departments and emergency services, Formerly incarcerated firefighters, Incarcerated firefighters, Incarcerated firefighters in state facilities
Negative-direction: Taxpayers
Nonprofit reentry organizations, Nonprofit reentry organizations (501(c)(3))
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Bureau of Prisons
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Labor
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Labor
- "the_attorney_general"
- → Attorney General of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An individual incarcerated in a correctional facility operated by a public agency or private entity under contract with a public agency who performs firefighting or emergency response services work, including prison work programs, work release, public works, restitution centers, facility operations, or private entity assignments.
An incarcerated firefighter who has fulfilled all sentence requirements: paid or is on a payment plan for fines/restitutions/assessments, completed imprisonment and probation, met supervised release conditions, and if required, remained free from substance dependency for at least 1 year.
A jail, prison, or other detention facility used to house people who have been arrested, detained, held, or convicted by a criminal justice agency or a court.
Any fee imposed by a court as a result of a criminal conviction, including surcharges, administrative fees, attorney fees, clerk fees, DNA database fees, jury fees, crime lab fees, and other court costs. Excludes child support, crime victim compensation, civil judgments, and criminal fines.
The 180-day period beginning on the date an individual is released from incarceration.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology