Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act

Floor Speech

AIRLINE FLIGHT CREW TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS ACT -- (Senate - November 10, 2009)

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Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I would like to engage my friend, the Senator from Washington and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, with whom I have been pleased to work on many initiatives on behalf of America's workforce, in a conversation about the bill she has just introduced. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the treatment of workers contained in the Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act before us today that pertains to flight crews. Is it the Senator's understanding that her legislation resolves a problem unique to flight crews--meaning flight attendants and pilots--and that no other group of workers is addressed under this bill?

Mrs. MURRAY. Yes, the Senator is correct. This bill is narrowly constructed to address the unique situation faced by flight attendants and pilots in the calculation of the hours they need to qualify for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA. I understand that the FMLA eligibility calculation does not include paid vacation, sick, medical or personal leave unless otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreements or the employers manual. This bill reflects the intent of the FMLA's original sponsors to provide an alternative way to include flight crews that addresses the airline industry's unique time-keeping methods. I am proud that the Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act fixes a technical problem that has left many full-time flight crew members ineligible for family medical leave for many years due to the unique way their work hours are calculated.

Mr. ENZI. In other words, is it the Senator's understanding that the bill should not be construed to apply to other occupational groups that operate under reserve systems such as health care, railway, and emergency services to seek similar treatment?

Mrs. MURRAY. Correct, this bill narrowly deals with flight crews only. The bill is a technical correction for language that was intended to be in the original Family Medical Leave Act, but for some reason or another was left out. Flight crews were specifically mentioned in the FMLA's legislative history. Thus, I believe that the correction is clearly appropriate for flight crews. If other groups were to attempt an adjustment in their FMLA eligibility requirements, I suggest that their situation and the ramifications of such an adjustment would need to be examined on a case by case basis.

Mr. ENZI. The Senator mentioned the FMLA's legislative history. Is it the Senator's further understanding that this is the only group of employees which was intended to be included with an alternative eligibility standard?

Mrs. MURRAY. The Senator is correct. The original authors stated that they did not intend to exclude flight crews in unique circumstances from the bill's protection simply because of the airline industry's ``unusual time keeping methods.'' They believed that these workers--flight attendants and pilots--were entitled to family and medical leave under the law based upon the situation they specifically faced.

This legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. I am pleased to present it in the Senate with bipartisan support. This language was drafted through a process that included representatives from large and small airline carriers and carrier associations, and organized labor. I need to recognize the work that Senator Clinton did on this bill when she introduced its precursor in the 110th Congress.

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