The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines firefighter positions as those that are charged primarily with preventing or suppressing fires.

SSA will determine if a position constitutes a firefighter position for purposes of coverage under a State’s Section 218 Agreement. In evaluating whether a position is a firefighter position, SSA looks at how State statutes or court decisions characterize the position. If SSA determines that State statutes and court decisions clearly and completely resolve its determination, then SSA will base its determination on those sources. If the issue is not clearly and completely resolved, SSA will consider the following additional factors, in order of importance:

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  Whether the primary functions of the position as described in the position description include preventing or suppressing fires;

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  Any guidance from the State’s attorney general about how the State views the position; and

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  Whether the position exists within a regularly organized fire department or fire district.

In order to facilitate SSA’s determination in particular cases, the State Administrator should provide SSA, as soon as practicable at SSA’s request, the position descriptions for all positions in question as well as any other relevant information or evidence known to the State Administrator.

The State may choose to submit to SSA an interpretation by the State’s attorney general on the whether a position is a firefighter position. SSA will give due weight to a State attorney general’s determination as part of its overall analysis, but is not bound by that determination. Where the State attorney general is unable or unwilling to provide SSA with a determination, SSA will proceed to make its own determination without the attorney general’s input.

A position is not a firefighter position solely because the services performed are connected with firefighters, fire departments, or fire districts. If SSA determines that the position does not primarily involve preventing or suppressing fires, SSA will generally conclude that the position is not a firefighter position, regardless of the position’s characterization in State statutes or court decisions.

Firefighters are not considered emergency workers under the Social Security and Medicare exception for emergency workers defined in Section 210(a)(7)(F)(iii) of the Social Security Act (Act). The emergency worker exclusion applies only to services of an employee that was hired because of an unforeseen emergency to do work in connection with that emergency on a temporary basis (e.g., individual hired to battle a major forest fire or to provide emergency assistance in other similar disasters such as volcano eruption, severe ice storm, earthquake, and flood).

Firefighters who are on call and work regularly but on an intermittent basis only do not qualify for the emergency exclusion under Section 218(c)(6) of the Act, even if their work involves situations that may be considered emergencies. This exclusion applies only to services of an employee who was hired because of an unforeseen emergency to do work in connection with that emergency on a temporary basis.

Any worker who receives compensation for services performed subject to the will and control of an employer is a common law employee (see RS 02101.020). If the worker is a common law employee (see RS 02101.020), the amounts paid, whether in cash or some other form, are subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) withholding, unless an exclusion applies. It does not matter whether the workers are called “volunteers.” Accordingly, volunteer firefighters generally are considered employees of the fire departments or fire districts for which they perform their services. Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, SSA will treat volunteer firefighters the same as other firefighters for purposes of coverage.

While volunteer firefighters may not receive wages, they may receive remuneration intended to reimburse them for expenses. Expense reimbursements (whether cash, in-kind benefits, or tax exemptions) paid to firefighters must be made under an accountable plan. According to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 62(c), an accountable plan must:

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  Require firefighters to substantiate actual business expenses;

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  Allow no reimbursements for unsubstantiated expenses; and

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  Require that any amounts received that exceed substantiated expenses be returned with a reasonable period.

Any amounts paid for reimbursement that do not meet these conditions are considered made under a non-accountable plan and are treated as wages. Therefore, a per diem amount that does not reimburse actual, documented expenses is subject to Social Security and Medicare. It does not matter whether the amount is paid as reimbursements, a per diem, or under a point system.