[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 102 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S7320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Webb, Mr. Dood, Ms. Murkowski, 
        Ms. Collins, and Mr. Bond):
  S. 1422. A bill to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to 
clarify the eligibility requirements with respect to airline flight 
crews; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
following colloquy be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act

       Mr. ENZI. Mr. 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, FLMA. The FMLA eligibility calculation does not include 
     paid vacation, sick, medical or personal leave unless 
     otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement 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 FLMA'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 mentions the FLMA'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.
       Mr. ENZI. I would like to thank the Senator from Washington 
     and the former Senator from New York for the deliberative 
     process you both utilized while drafting this legislation. As 
     you know I am a frequent advocate for following Senate 
     Committee process so as to create the opportunity for all 
     affected stakeholders to be included in the process. In this 
     case, you have done an admirable job of vetting the 
     legislation with most stakeholders and produced a better 
     product.
       Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
     the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1422

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Airline Flight Crew 
     Technical Corrections Act''.

     SEC. 2. LEAVE REQUIREMENT FOR AIRLINE FLIGHT CREWS.

       (a) Inclusion of Airline Flight Crews.--Section 101(2) of 
     the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(2)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Airline flight crews.--
       ``(i) Determination.--For purposes of determining whether 
     an employee who is a flight attendant or flight crewmember 
     (as such terms are defined in regulations of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration) meets the hours of service 
     requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(ii), the employee 
     will be considered to meet the requirement if--

       ``(I) the employee has worked or been paid for not less 
     than 60 percent of the applicable total monthly guarantee, or 
     the equivalent, for the previous 12-month period, for or by 
     the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under 
     section 102; and
       ``(II) the employee has worked or been paid for not less 
     than 504 hours (not counting time spent on vacation leave or 
     medical or sick leave) during the previous 12-month period, 
     for or by that employer.

       ``(ii) File.--Each employer of an employee described in 
     clause (i) shall maintain on file with the Secretary (in 
     accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may 
     prescribe) containing information specifying the applicable 
     monthly guarantee with respect to each category of employee 
     to which such guarantee applies.
       ``(iii) Definition.--In this subparagraph, the term 
     `applicable monthly guarantee' means--

       ``(I) for an employee described in clause (i) other than an 
     employee on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for 
     which an employer has agreed to schedule such employee for 
     any given month; and
       ``(II) for an employee described in clause (i) who is on 
     reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has 
     agreed to pay such employee on reserve status for any given 
     month, as established in the applicable collective bargaining 
     agreement or, if none exists, in the employer's policies.''.

       (b) Calculation of Leave for Airline Flight Crews.--Section 
     102(a) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
     2612(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(5) Calculation of leave for airline flight crews.--The 
     Secretary may provide, by regulation, a method for 
     calculating the leave described in paragraph (1) with respect 
     to employees described in section 101(2)(D).''.
                                 ______