To qualify for special handling pursuant to § 8143b, an employee must have had not less than five years of Federal employment in aggregate in which they were engaged in fire protection activities.
On September 10, 2024, DFEC issued FECA Bulletin 24-05 to clarify that a combination of Federal and non-Federal employment can satisfy the five-year requirement of the FFA.
Many Federal firefighters are seasonal employees that only work a portion of each calendar year. DFEC is clarifying its procedures to interpret the phrase “employed for not less than 5 years in aggregate as an employee in fire protection activities” to mean that the individual must have worked in fire protection activities for at least five months or 870 hours in a given calendar year for that year to count towards the 5 year requirement of § 8143b.
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