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HB1333 • 2026

Paid firefighters; hours of work.

An Act to amend and reenact § 9.1-702 of the Code of Virginia, relating to hours of work for paid firefighters.

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Feggans
Last action
2026-04-06
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide details on consequences if employers do not follow the guidelines.

Paid Firefighters' Work Hours

This act changes the rules for paid firefighters' work hours, encouraging their employers not to schedule them for more than 42 hours a week.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law about how long paid firefighters can work each week.
  • Encourages fire departments to make sure no firefighter works more than 42 hours in one week.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Paid firefighters and their employers

Terms To Know

Work period
The time frame used to calculate overtime pay for firefighters and law enforcement employees.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify what happens if employers do not follow the new guidelines.
  • Only applies to paid firefighters, not volunteer or unpaid firefighters.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 299 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 299 (effective 7/1/2026)

  3. 2026-04-06 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0299)

  4. 2026-03-25 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026

  5. 2026-03-25 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  6. 2026-03-17 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1333)

  7. 2026-03-14 House

    Signed by Speaker

  8. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Signed by President

  9. 2026-03-14 House

    Enrolled

  10. 2026-03-14 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1333ER)

  11. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Read third time

  12. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Rules suspended

  14. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  15. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  16. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  17. 2026-03-04 General Laws and Technology

    Reported from General Laws and Technology (15-Y 0-N)

  18. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-18 General Laws and Technology

    Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

  20. 2026-02-17 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-02-16 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  22. 2026-02-15 House

    Read first time

  23. 2026-02-13 Public Safety

    Reported from Public Safety (20-Y 0-N)

  24. 2026-02-12 Subcommittee #2

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N)

  25. 2026-02-10 Subcommittee #2

    Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #2

  26. 2026-01-26 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1333)

  27. 2026-01-19 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26104726D

  28. 2026-01-19 Public Safety

    Referred to Committee on Public Safety

Official Summary Text

Hours of work for paid firefighters.
Provides that the Department of Fire Programs shall encourage employers to implement work schedules that do not require any paid firefighter's normally scheduled shifts to exceed 42 hours per workweek.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend and reenact §
9.1-702
of the Code of Virginia, relating to hours of work for paid firefighters.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
9.1-702
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
9.1-702
. Work period.
Employers may adopt any work period to compute overtime compensation for fire protection or law-enforcement employees between seven and 28 days
,
provided that the work period is recurring and fixed, and is not changed for purposes of denying overtime compensation to such employees to which they may be entitled under subsection A of §
9.1-701
.
The Department of Fire Programs shall encourage employers to implement work schedules that do not require a paid firefighter's normally scheduled shifts to exceed 42 hours per workweek.
The provisions of this section pertaining to law-enforcement employees shall only apply to employers of 100 or more law-enforcement employees.