Labor & Employment Law — 11/13/09

Senate passes bill approving FMLA coverage for flight attendants, airline pilots

By unanimous consent, the Senate approved a bill (S. 1422) November 10, 2009, that would close a loophole in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and give flight attendants and airline pilots access to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Called the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, the Senate bill is substantially similar to a bill (H.R. 912) that passed the House February 9 by voice vote. The bill closes a loophole which, because of the way many air crews’ hours are calculated, effectively excludes more than 200,000 flight attendants and pilots from coverage under the FMLA. Before it can be signed into law by President Obama, minor differences must be resolved between the House and Senate bills.

“We look forward to an expedited process to finalize this very important bill and for President Obama to officially sign it into law this fall. No one can question the benefits FMLA has provided for working women and men, allowing them to take time off from work to care for themselves or family members,” said Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America International (AFA-CWA) President Patricia Friend.

To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee must work 60 percent of a full time schedule or 1,250 hours per year. Courts calculate the requisite number of hours using the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which covers most workers. However, the hours worked by airline flight crews are calculated differently. Unlike most workers, flight crewmembers are not credited for each hour they spend on the job. Instead, they are only credited for actual “in flight” hours - hours generally spent while the plane is moving - even though they spend more time at work (i.e., the time they spend between flights). This means that time between flights, such as overnights and layovers do not count toward FMLA coverage and have resulted in flight crews being excluded from receiving unpaid leave.

According to the bill’s sponsor Patty Murray, who introduced the bill on July 9, the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act would clarify the FMLA to reflect the original intent of Congress to include these workers under Act’s protections. This means that flight attendants and pilots would qualify for leave when they have fulfilled 60 percent of a full-time work schedule (or the “monthly guarantee”) at their airline.

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