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LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW — 5/22/08

Bill allowing flight attendants, pilots to take FMLA leave clears committee

The House Education and Labor Committee unanimously approved legislation on May 14, 2008, clarifying that flight attendants and pilots are covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). By a vote of 43 to 0, the committee marked up the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 2744). The bill would close a loophole that effectively excludes more than 200,000 flight attendants and pilots from coverage under the FMLA.

To qualify for FLMA under current law, an employee must have worked at least 60 percent of a normal 40-hour work week in the 12 months preceding leave, which is 1,250 hours annually. Most full-time attendants and pilots' work schedules are calculated only according to their "in-flight" time- hours generally spent while the plane is moving--even though they spend much more time at work, such as the time they spend between flights. As a result, a full-time schedule for a flight attendant or pilot is almost always less than the 1,250 hours needed to qualify for leave under the FMLA.

Under H.R. 2744, which has 240 cosponsors, a flight attendant or pilot will be eligible for leave under the FMLA if he or she has been paid for or worked a minimum of 504 hours a year and at least 60 percent of the employer's full-time schedule -- called a monthly guarantee -- or the equivalent in the 12 months preceding the leave. On average, a full-time flight attendant is scheduled for 960 in-flight hours per year. According to the Federal Aviation Administration regulations, pilots are prohibited from flying more than 1,000 hours a year.

"When working on the Family and Medical Leave Act 15 years ago, Congress never intended to exclude airline attendants and pilots from the law's protections," said Representative George Miller (D-Cal), Chairman of the Committee. "Hard working flight attendants and pilots deserve and need family and medical leave, and should be able to take it when their home lives demand it."

"[The] FMLA has been a great program for working families in this country. No one can question the benefit it has provided for working women and men by being able to take time off from work to care for themselves or family members," said Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY), author of the bill. "This bill will clarify the intent of the law in order to provide a fair and well-deserved benefit to the hard-working airline crewmembers."

"This legislation is long overdue and clarifies the original intent of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed in 1993, to ensure that airline flight crews have access to job-protected unpaid family and medical leave," said Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Chair of the Subcommittee on Workplace Protections. "Flight attendants are parents too, and it's about time that we recognize that they face the same challenges of balancing work and family as the rest of us."

Under the FMLA, eligible workers can take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period in order to care for a sick relative or a new child or to recover from illness. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) introduced a similar bill (S. 2059) in September 2007. S. 2059, which has 24 cosponsors, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.

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