House Passes Bill to Allow Flight Attendants and Airline Pilots to take Family and Medical Leave

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation today to clarify that flight attendants and pilots are entitled to take unpaid family and medical leave to recover from an illness and care for newborn children and sick or injured family members.

By a vote of 402 to 9, the House passed the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 2744). The bill would close a loophole which, because of the unique way many air crews’ hours are calculated, effectively excludes more than 200,000 flight attendants and pilots from coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

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 the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“While more than 60 million American workers have taken advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act, narrow Department of Labor regulations have denied the law’s protections to more than 200,000 flight crew personnel,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Hard working flight attendants and pilots should be able to take needed family and medical leave without worrying about lose their jobs.”

“This legislation is long overdue and clarifies the original intent of the Family and Medical Leave Act,” said Rep. 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.”

“When airline crewmembers need to take time away from serving passengers in order to care for themselves or family members, they face unexpected hurdles. This bill would prevent crewmembers from losing out on their FMLA benefits, which have helped so many working families in this country,” said Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-NY), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee and chief sponsor of the legislation.

Under H.R. 2744, a flight attendant or pilot will be eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act 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.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible workers can take up to 12 work weeks 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.

The House Education and Labor Committee approved the legislation by a vote of 43 to 0 on May 14. The Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on the Family and Medical Leave Act on April 10. For more information on the hearing, click here.

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