DOL Issues Fact Sheet on FMLA Calculation for Airline Flight Crews

In February 2024, the DOL issued several revised FMLA Fact Sheets to help employers better understand their compliance obligations under the FMLA. One such fact sheet is Fact Sheet #28J, which discusses how FMLA requirements are applied to airline flight crew employees, as it may be difficult for employers to easily calculate eligibility and leave entitlement for these employees.

Pilots, co-pilots, flight attendants, flight engineers, and flight navigators are all considered to be airline flight crew for purposes of FMLA compliance. Due to the unique nature of these positions, the FMLA’s standard eligibility, leave calculation, and recordkeeping requirements apply differently and, thus, Fact Sheet #28J outlines how employers should handle FMLA for these employees.

Eligibility. To determine eligibility, during the 12 months prior to requested leave, the airline flight crew employee must have worked or been paid for “not less than 60 percent of the applicable total monthly guarantee – or its equivalent – and not less than 504 duty hours.” The applicable total monthly guarantee is the minimum number of hours an employer has agreed to schedule the employee during the previous 12 months. Duty hours are the number of hours the employee has worked or been paid during the previous 12 months. However, duty hours do not include vacation, medical, or sick leave, or personal commute time.

Calculation of Leave. Unlike traditional employees who have up to 12 workweeks of leave under FMLA, the workweek for airline flight crew employees is based on a six-day workweek, so eligible employees may receive up to 72 days (six days x 12 weeks). Qualifying leave due to military caregiver leave provides up to 156 days (six days x 26 weeks). This leave allowance is more complex to calculate, so the fact sheet provides examples that employers can use to calculate both traditional and intermittent leave.

Recordkeeping. To support the unique eligibility calculation, employers must maintain additional documentation, including support for the applicable monthly guarantee and records of actual hours worked or paid.

Employers who are subject to the FMLA and employ airline flight crews should review their current administrative practices to ensure their employees’ leave eligibility and usage are calculated correctly, as outlined in the fact sheet.

Fact Sheet #28J: Special Rules for Airline Flight Crew Employees Under the Family and Medical Leave Act »