Fractional FLSA or RLA?

[Rated G]

How is it that Netjets falls under the RLA? Can someone provide the scope of the RLA that applies to fractional aircraft companies? Operating with owners under part 91 with limited part 135 charter trips seems more closely linked to corporate operations than commercial. In fact a whole new subpart to part 91 (non-commercial aviation) was developed for fractional companies. It almost seems that you might have better protection under the FLSA. This is a very interesting topic for everyone involved in fractional or corporate aviation.

 

[Guitar Guy]

Here's a link that might answer part of your question...

http://aviationpolicy.org/railway_labor_act.htm#181

 

[Rated G]

FROM FLSA:

Similarly, employers may, on their own initiative or under a collective bargaining agreement, provide a higher wage, shorter workweek, or higher overtime premium than provided under the FLSA. While collective bargaining agreements cannot waive or reduce FLSA protections, nothing in the FLSA or the Part 541 regulation relieves employers from their contractual obligations under such bargaining agreements

Can this be understood to mean that even under a RLA collective agreement overtime equal to FLSA protection must be met??

 

[Rated G]

FROM THE FLSA:

Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay.

The Act applies on a workweek basis. An employee's workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours -- seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It need not coincide with the calendar week, but may begin on any day and at any hour of the day. Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees.

The DOL provided an interpretation of its view of the pilot status as being "not exempt," meaning that pilots subject to this rule should receive overtime pay for work over 40 hours within one week.

If you want to treat an employee as exempt, you must pay him or her a salary. Employees who are paid by hourly wage are automatically considered to be nonexempt. However, you can have nonexempt employers who are paid by salary.

Salary for Workweek Exceeding 40 Hours: A fixed salary for a regular workweek longer than 40 hours does not discharge FLSA statutory obligations. For example, an employee may be hired to work a 45 hour workweek for a weekly salary of $300. In this instance the regular rate is obtained by dividing the $300 straight-time salary by 45 hours, resulting in a regular rate of $6.67. The employee is then due additional overtime computed by multiplying the 5 overtime hours by one-half the regular rate of pay ($3.335 x 5 = $16.68).
Overtime Pay May Not Be Waived: The overtime requirement may not be waived by agreement between the employer and employees.

Waiting Time: Whether waiting time is time worked under the Act depends upon the particular circumstances. Generally, the facts may show that the employee was engaged to wait (which is work time) or the facts may show that the employee was waiting to be engaged (which is not work time). For example, a secretary who reads a book while waiting for dictation or a fireman who plays checkers while waiting for an alarm is working during such periods of inactivity. These employee have been "engaged to wait."

Sleeping Time and Certain Other Activities: An employee who is required to be on duty for less than 24 hours is working even though he/she is permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy. An employee required to be on duty for 24 hours or more may agree with the employer to exclude from hours worked bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping periods of not more than 8 hours, provided adequate sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer and the employee can usually enjoy an uninterrupted night's sleep. No reduction is permitted unless at least 5 hours of sleep is taken.

Lectures, Meetings and Training Programs: Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time only if four criteria are met, namely: it is outside normal hours, it is voluntary, not job related, and no other work is concurrently performed.
Travel Time: The principles which apply in determining whether time spent in travel is compensable time depends upon the kind of travel involved.

Travel Away from Home Community: Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during corresponding hours on nonworking days. As an enforcement policy the Division will not consider as work time that time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile.

Regardless of if you fall under the RLA or FLSA, a non-exempt pilot as determined by the DOL, we all should be receiving overtime pay. According to the DOL definition, wait time in combination with time away from home, is time worked. Under the DOL definition a fractional pilot away from home works 14 hours a day since all fractional companies have a 10 hour rest period per 24 hours built into their company operating policies.

example: 14 hours per day X 6 days= 84 hours or 44 hours overtime per week. The regular hourly rate in this example is $17. This totals a very significant amount when you do the math.

 

[rajflyboy]

some people are dreaming on this one!

 

[Hawk Driver]

Perhaps it was an attempt at humor because part of the FLSA is used for minimum wage employees.

HD

 

[Rated G]

"The FLSA requires that employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek."

The FLSA oversees that employees are paid at least minimum wage and overtime in excess of 40 hours per work week. Don't confuse the FLSA overtime rules with minimum wage standards. How much you are compensated has no bearing on whether or not you are legally obligated to receive overtime pay. This applies to employees up to $100,000. At the $100,000 per year point new standards and policy apply. For more information go to the Department of Labor website.

 

[Rated G]

I do find that the wait time and time away from home hard to imagine applies even though in black and white the FLSA says it does. That might have to be decided by the Wages Division of the DOL. Without a doubt if you work 10 hour duty days 6 or 7 days in a row you should be compensated for 20 or 30 hours overtime. That is very clear under this Act. There is case law that supports this conclusion. It can be found on the DOL website and elaw website. Which fractionals pay overtime and what are their respective overtime rules? Does it equal or exceed the DOL policies?

 

[Rated G]

This FLSA information was given to me by a friend who flies managed aircraft and charter. He and all other pilots that work at his company successfully received back wages from overtime through the FLSA. The enforcement was retroactive 2 years. In his case the amount totaled $14,976 and $13,552 for each year! After taxes he received a check from the US Treasury for just over $20,000. The DOL collected the total amount from the company for all pilots and disbursed it individually. He was not involved in the investigation or enforcement and it was a surprise to him.
I am sharing this information with everyone on this fractional message board in hopes that we can improve things for all with the legal tools we have available. I am currently inquiring and discussing this same matter with a DOL Wages and Overtime officer. I work at FLOPS. We are reviewing all of my saved flight logs for the past 3 years. We have so far determined that there is overtime due and the amount is to be determined after the investigation is complete. There will soon be an official investigation by the DOL Wages and Hours Division at the company where I work. A review of random pilot records, work hours and interviews will be conducted.
I don't know why this topic makes rajflyboy get so negative or upset. Do whatever you want with this information it really doesn't matter to me. If you don't want to pursue it than don't. My hope is that after a DOL enforcement action of fractional companies they will be forced to pay what is due to the hard working pilots working 10-14 hour days or hire more pilots to lower the overtime paid or reduce our daily duty. After enforcement one of these things will have to occur and none of them are bad for any of us!
According to the enforcement officer fractional pilots are not exempt from overtime. He said that the company can work us as much as they want, but after 40 hours a week they MUST pay 1.5 your hourly rate. If you are a past or present fractional pilot interested in more information go to the DOL website. Inquiry and enforcement information and phone numbers are also provided there.

Best wishes to all.