FIREFIGHTER'S WIDOW DENIED FUNDS TANKER PILOT FLEW FOR STATE ON CONTRACT.Byline: STEVE v. t. 1. To pack or stow, as cargo in a ship's hold. See Steeve. GEISSINGER Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO -- Larry Groff roared out of Ukiah in state Air Tanker 87 on Aug. 27, 2001, doing what he loved -- flying and fighting wildfires. Like thousands of contract firefighters hired by the government, Groff figured that if anything ever happened to him, his private employers or the government would take care of his wife and six children. That day, Groff was killed in a midair collision while maneuvering above a North Coast wildfire ignited ig·nite v. ig·nit·ed, ig·nit·ing, ig·nites v.tr. 1. a. To cause to burn. b. To set fire to. 2. To subject to great heat, especially to make luminous by heat. by a a meth-lab explosion. The two who started the fire were convicted of murder and sent to prison, but a courthouse battle continues. Today, Groff's widow, Christine Wells-Groff of Santa Rosa Santa Rosa, city, Argentina Santa Rosa, city (1991 pop. 80,629), capital of La Pampa prov., central Argentina. It is a modern city and road junction surrounded by a rich agricultural and cattle-raising area. , is expected to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in her quest to receive the death benefits her husband had assumed would be provided. So far, one federal court judge ruled that she was entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: to the federal Public Safety Officer Benefits that survivors of government employees receive. But an appellate Relating to appeals; reviews by superior courts of decisions of inferior courts or administrative agencies and other proceedings. judge later overturned that decision. At issue is whether thousands of contract employees who undertake dangerous duty on behalf of California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). taxpayers should be entitled to the same benefits as government employees. "Everyone else has given up after their first denial, but I feel very strongly about this as an issue," said Wells-Groff. "I've already spent more than anything I would receive back. I've mortgaged my house to pay for attorneys in this six-year, six-figure battle. This is for the others now." Slim chance Noun 1. slim chance - little or no chance of success fat chance probability, chance - a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible; "the probability that an Groff was flying a state-operated air tanker that day and even wearing a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection For other uses of "CDF", see CDF (disambiguation). The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) or CAL FIRE is the State of California's agency responsible for the administration of the state's private and public forests. uniform. Nonetheless, he was a contract employee, and legal experts say there's only a slim chance the high court will even review the case, much less reverse the appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. . The benefits program, started by Congress in 1976 to help recruit and retain public-safety workers, includes a lump-sum payoff to survivors of federal, state or local government employees killed in the line of duty In the Line of Duty may refer to:
Wells-Groff's suit has been filed against the federal government since it administers the program and, in this case, denied the claim for benefits. U.S. Justice Department attorneys have sought to clearly label survivor benefits as being only for direct government employees, citing multimillion-dollar costs of making any broader definition. Why, they argue, should taxpayers finance benefits for employees working under contract to the government? But Michael Brook, Wells-Groff's Santa Rosa attorney, argues otherwise. "When Congress enacted this, it was seen to help with morale and recruitment and was a small token of public appreciation for the risks these people face," he said. "Contract employees face the same dangers as they protect the public." But if they die, they are covered only by the contract companies' life-insurance programs, which pay far less. Wells-Groff, 49, got a life insurance award of $50,000 through her husband's employer, San Joaquin San Joaquin (săn wäkēn`), river, c.320 mi (510 km) long, rising in the Sierra Nevada, E Calif., and flowing W then N through the S Central Valley to form a large delta with the Sacramento River near Suisun Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay. Helicopters, but no ongoing benefits. Public-safety officers' benefits would have entitled her to a lump sum Lump sum A large one-time payment of money. of about $250,000, plus ongoing benefits. Benefits limited Contractors' death benefits are limited, government and union officials contend, because the firms are trying to squeeze as much profit as possible out of government pacts. Contractors who were contacted about the matter declined to comment. Associated Airtanker Pilots, a group that represents the tanker pilots, says that since 1958 more than 160 aerial aerial: see antenna, in electronics. firefighters have been killed while on duty. After Groff's death, the state Legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: But that law came too late to help Groff's family. And despite the pleas, congressional proposals to extend government- worker survivor benefits to contract pilots have been opposed by the U.S. Forest Service. The thin line between being a government employee and a contract employee doing government work seemed to be especially important to a federal claims court judge, Lynn Bush, who handed Wells-Groff her initial victory back in July 2006. "Groff was officially recognized as being functionally within the California Department of Forestry," the judge wrote, and was "serving a public agency in an official capacity." She also noted that "survivors of some nongovernmental employees were awarded (government death) benefits during the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks." But in July of this year, a federal appellate court overturned her decision, saying Congress essentially remained silent on whether contract employees would be included in survivor benefits. The Justice Department has interpreted that to mean they are not. Now it may be the Supreme Court's turn to weigh in -- and possibly Wells-Groff's last chance. "There are so many kids out there fighting fire on contract for the U.S. Forest Service," she said. "My court case is really for them, as well as the pilots. It's pretty damn sad, what our government does to its own people -- hiring contractors to hire kids so they don't have to pay benefits." sgeissinger(at)angnewspapers.com (916) 447-9302 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Christine Wells-Groff visits the Hopland, Calif., site where Larry Groff, above, died in a plane crash while fighting a fire. Nader Khouri/Contra Costa Times |
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