House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

Thank you Chairman Miller. This morning we’re going to consider H.R. 2744, the “Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act.”  I think that title is a fair name for the bill before us, in so much as this bill has been crafted narrowly to address a need identified by flight crew personnel that has arisen because of a technicality in how their work hours are calculated.

I have to begin by noting that I am wary of any effort – no matter how well intentioned – to tinker around the edges of the Family and Medical Leave Act.  The FMLA has worked well for fifteen years, but I don’t think there is any doubt that the law needs to be updated.  For that reason, I have been hesitant to embrace efforts like that before us today, which address discrete shortcomings of the law while ignoring the obvious need for broad-based reform.

I am also concerned about the notion that we would write special rules into the law for a single group of employees.  In this context, we recognize that airline personnel such as certain flight attendants are subject to a unique scheduling process in which they are paid for being on-call – yet those hours may not count toward the work requirement for FMLA eligibility.  This is a valid concern.  However, I fear that writing special rules into the law could breed confusion rather than offering the clarity we intend.  For instance, are there other employees with unique scheduling requirements?  Might the courts or federal regulators interpret our explicit coverage of flight crew under this new calculation as a means to exclude other workers?

Still, our job as policymakers is to weigh the sum total of information and determine the best course of action.  As I look at this bill, it is clear to me that steps were taken to maintain a narrow focus that extends the protections of the FMLA to flight crew without opening a Pandora’s Box of disjointed, incremental changes.

And so, while I continue to believe that we must proceed with the utmost caution on this measure, I also believe it is reasonable today to correct this law so that flight crew can benefit from the FMLA just as millions of other workers do.  I want to thank Representative Bishop and Chairman Miller for working with me to strengthen the bill and ensure it does not place us on a slippery slope of piecemeal changes to the FMLA.

The bill before us today is a small step, but one that will make a meaningful difference to this narrow segment of the workforce.  I am hopeful that we can take the same constructive approach when broader FMLA reforms come before the committee, working together to address challenges and ensure the FMLA is working as it was intended, offering a balance for both workers and employers.  Thank you Chairman Miller, I yield back.

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