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New California Laws Increase Pay for Incarcerated Firefighters
Legislation raises pay for incarcerated firefighters to $7.25 per hour during active fires, reflecting years of advocacy and providing improved protections for over 1,800 workers.
- On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five bills raising incarcerated firefighters' pay to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour during active fires.
- After January's blazes that deployed more than 1,000 incarcerated firefighters, state lawmakers introduced a seven-bill `Firefighting to Freedom` package this year to improve pay and protections.
- Previously, incarcerated firefighters earned between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, received $1 per hour during emergencies, and Assembly Bill 799 provides a $50,000 death benefit with a $10 million state budget allocation this year.
- The Youth Offender Program will be established permanently under Assembly Bill 952 to train inmates under 25 for firefighting, with advocacy groups backing reforms and the California State Sheriffs' Association opposing the pay increase.
- Supporters argue Assemblymember Isaac Bryan initially sought $19 per hour but settled on the federal minimum wage, even as wages remain far below California's $16.50 hourly rate.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Young California inmates learn skills to fight wildfires
By ETHAN SWOPE and TRÂN NGUYỄN, Associated Press Inmate firefighters in California will receive higher pay and the state will make permanent firefighting camps that train and educate young offenders under two laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. RELATED: These are the wildfire-related bills the California Legislature OK’d this year California state agencies and the Los Angeles County fire department run 35 “fire camps” where inmates train to become…
New California laws increase pay for incarcerated firefighters
Hundreds of them will see an increase in pay, a new death benefit and a faster path to expungement of their criminal records. This content California’s incarcerated firefighters to see ‘historic’ pay increase in laws Newsom signed appeared first on inewsource.
California Fire Service in Flux: Pay reform, disaster legislation and policy clashes define 2025
A transformative year for California’s fire sector Governor Gavin Newsom has signed and vetoed a series of bills in recent weeks that reshape California’s fire and emergency response system, addressing firefighter pay, disaster recovery, and wildfire prevention. What changes have been made for incarcerated firefighters? Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters in California will now receive increased […]
livermorevine.com
California’s incarcerated firefighters to see ‘historic’ pay increase in laws Newsom signed
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed a set of bills meant to recognize incarcerated firefighters, including a historic measure to raise their pay to meet the federal minimum wage during active fires. The wage increase, funded through the state budget, follows years of advocacy […] The post California’s incarcerated firefighters to see ‘historic’ pay increase in laws New…
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