Why do federal fire fighters utilize trade time?
Federal Fire Fighters work uncommon tours of duty and in the federal sector this is exasperated by a regularly scheduled 72 hour work week and minimum staffing requirements. At the workplace, minimum staffing requirements dictate that a certain number of fire fighters be on duty at all times. Although minimum staffing is an understood requirement, this can make it very difficult for federal fire fighters to be involved in family events or functions. The problem is compounded by manpower shortages within the federal sector. Currently it is taking between two to six months for a department to fill a vacancy when a fire fighter retires or leaves the work place. As a result, many requests for annual leave are not granted due to the minimum staffing needs and manpower shortages. Can federal fire fighters trade time now? Yes, however they are only permitted to trade time within one (two week) pay period. This means that if one employee works for another the time must be repaid within that pa
