California Inmate Firefighters Have Path to Employment

Under a new law signed on Friday by Governor Gavin Newsom, inmates at California correctional facilities who served as firefighters during their prison terms now have a path to employment as professional firefighters once they complete their sentences. If you or someone you know has served time in the California prison system and worked as a firefighter during that time, they may now have additional options under this new employment law. To learn more, talk to an experienced California employment law attorney today.

California Inmate Firefighters

In California, certain prisoners of the state penitentiary system have the opportunity to work for the Conservation Camp (Fire) Program, which helps battle wildfires and perform other firefighter duties next to professional firefighters from CalFire and other agencies. Currently, there are 44 camps across the state with 3,100 inmates in the camps. Roughly 2,200 of those inmates are trained to work on the fire lines. Prior to the signing of this new law, once an inmate’s sentence was over, their criminal record prevented them from seeking employment as a professional firefighter, despite their training.

New Inmate Firefighter Employment Law

Under the new law, known as Assembly Bill 2147, inmates that participate in the Conservation Camp Fire Programs have an opportunity to expunge their criminal records in order to seek employment as a professional firefighter. In order to take advantage of this new employment law, an inmate must have minimum custody status, which is the lowest classification of inmate based on their sustained good behavior in prison, and participation in a rehabilitative program. An inmate is automatically ineligible if they were convicted of a violent crime like murder, kidnapping, arson, and other related crimes.  

If an inmate qualifies, the court has the option to terminate their parole, probation, or supervised release as long as no rules are broken during the petition process. Once released from custody, the inmate can petition the court for an expungement of their criminal record. If approved, the inmate is able to seek employment that requires a state license, which includes professional firefighting.

Helping California Workers

One of the most difficult things for a worker with a criminal record is finding meaningful and gainful employment. This new law has the potential to assist thousands of workers throughout California that have been previously incarcerated and worked fighting wildfires throughout the state. In addition to seeking employment as a professional firefighter, expungement of a criminal record opens up the opportunity to seek work in more than two hundred occupations that require a state license. To learn more about whether you or a loved one qualifies for criminal record expungement under the new employment law, talk to an experienced employment law attorney in your area.

Call or Contact a Lawyer Today

With wildfires tearing through California and the Pacific Northwest, professional firefighters are needed now more than ever, and this new employment law provides former inmates the opportunity to work in positions where they have the training and the skills to make a difference. To learn more, call or contact an employment law attorney to start the process.