The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“INTRODUCTION OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER FAIRNESS ACT OF 2010” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1118 on June 16, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER FAIRNESS ACT OF 2010
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HON. DAVID WU
of oregon
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, I rise to let my colleagues know that today I introduced the Volunteer Firefighter Fairness Act.
This bill would clarify for volunteer fire departments, volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel, and the Internal Revenue Service that volunteers are not employees of the fire departments where they serve.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, volunteers comprise approximately 72 percent of our nation's fire and emergency services. Although volunteers make up the majority of firefighters nationwide, we are experiencing an overall decline in the number of volunteer personnel. This is due to increased emergency call volumes, the time demands of ongoing training, and the struggle many Americans face trying to balancing family and work obligations.
To help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters and other volunteer first responders, some states and local governments offer nominal payments or benefits, such as covering expenses for uniforms.
Historically, fire departments have used the IRS Form 1099 to report these benefits and nominal payments for their volunteers. However, recently many volunteer fire departments have been told by local or regional IRS offices that they must the Form W-2, instead of the 1099, to report payments and benefits. In Oregon, a volunteer fire department was even hit with a $9,900 fine for using a Form 1099 instead of a Form W-2.
The bill I am introducing today will clarify the law to ensure that fire departments will be able to use Form 1099 to report any minimal pay or benefits for volunteer first responders. I am pleased to report that this bill has the full support of the International Fire Chiefs Association.
Finally, Madam Speaker, I would like to clarify one point about who the bill would cover. This legislation is designed to specifically cover volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency personnel. The practice of providing volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel with reimbursement, reasonable benefits, and nominal fees for their services is allowed under both the IRS Code and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ruled on August 7, 2006, that ``generally an amount not exceeding 20 percent of the total compensation that the employer would pay to employ a full-time firefighter for performing comparable services would be deemed nominal.'' Since both the IRS Code and the FLSA use the term
``nominal fee'' as an allowable form of compensation for volunteer firefighters, I urge the IRS to use the U.S. Department of Labor's ruling in drafting any regulations to implement this legislation or define the term ``nominal fee'' for volunteer firefighter compensation.
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