Eligibility Explained

Each and every submittal of FML Certification paperwork stands on its own, regardless of whether or not the employee has ever had FML in the past. …there is no such thing as “renewing” one’s Family Leave.  When the period for which an employee does have approved FML ends, any subsequent certification would be initiated upon the 'need' for a FML-qualifiying absence rather than simply submitting new paperwork because the previous period has expired.  There are advantages to the Flight Attendant for waiting until there is an actual absence in order to gain sufficient qualifying hours (Duty Time as well as Flight Time) toward the following two (2) benchmarks which BOTH must be met in order gain eligibility for FML.

***Note:  At the time of the absence, when contacting FAST, the FA should inform FAST of the need to miss a pairing with “Family Leave Pending” (for the employee’s own illness/injury the FA would be advising of the need for Sick Leave/Family Leave Pending….or if needing the absence to care for a family member, the FA would advise FAST of needing to take a Missed Trip/Family Leave Pending).  In either of these circumstances, the FA would then have 15-days within which to submit the necessary Family Leave Certification documentation.  If seeking Family Leave, It is critical to remember to NOT use personal sickleave in order to care for a family member… (currently there is the ability under the JCBA for a single occurrence per calendar year of sickleave able to be used to care for a spouse or child, however this is distinct from pursuing Family Leave and is explained in detail in JCBA Section 15.D.7.)  Once the Family Leave Certification is approved, starting with the initiating absence, the Attendance Points associated with that absence will be removed and converted to a zero-point FML absence.

Benchmarks

The two FML eligibility benchmarks which must be met are as follows (the basis for the eligibility determination is calculated by the work activity of the 12-months/365 days immediately preceding the date of the absence:

1) 504 DUTY TIME Hours (not flight time but DUTY Time which is typically less burdensome to achieve)....(*sometimes the credit time of the pairing is used in a circumstance where the pairing has canceled with no reassignment and the FA is Pay-Protected….in such case, the value of the Pay-Protection is counted toward the eligibility calculations per the language of the Airline Flight Crewmember Technical Corrections Act/AFCTCA of 2009 which states that the basis for such eligibility calculations is the greater of what the Flight Attendant “has worked or been paid”.)

2)  60% threshold

[Both benchmarks are in line with the Federal Family Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Airline Flight Crewmember Technical Corrections Act of 2009 (AFCTCA).]

#1 Calculation of 504 Duty Time Hours

Calculation of 504 Duty Time Hours refers to the duty time calculation for each day of work activity, using the number of hours from Report Time to Release Time for EACH DUTY PERIOD (whether it be for a one-day or multi-day pairing).  In the case of a multi-day pairing, layover time is not included in the Duty Time calculation, but rather the duty time (report to release) of each duty period.  [Note: in the case of a training day or days, while there may be a number of Flight Time hours associated for pay purposes, in the calculation of Duty Time the relevant number of hours would be from start to finish of the training day.]

#2 Calculation of the 60% Threshold for FML Eligibility

Calculation of the 60% Threshold for FML eligibility will take some explaining: once there is an absence, then the eligibility calculation period is the 12-month period (365 days) immediately preceding the DATE OF THE ABSENCE. For the 60% calculation, it means the FA must be available for at least 60% of their minimum contractually guaranteed hours for that previous 12-month period. For a Lineholder, the monthly contractual minimum is 71 hours. For a Reserve, it is 78 hours (typically).    [AFA has successfully argued the position that for Jobshare and Partnership months the contractual obligation for FML eligibility calculations is half of each… 35 hours for a Lineholder Jobshare/Partnership, and 39 hours for a Reserve Jobshare/Partnership month]. 

Therefore, to calculate eligibility regarding the 60% threshold benchmark, one would do the following:

1)     add up the above number(s) for the 12 months prior to the absence associated with the request for FML certification (dependent upon the FAs respective monthly designation – either as a Reserve or as a Lineholder for each month).

2)     Take 60% of that cumulative 12-month total and that is the minimum number of hours the FA must have “worked or been paid” using the credited flight time. Things that reduce
the cumulative total will be vacation hours, sickeavel/OJI-OCC, Personal Drops, COLAs, trip
drops, etc.  But should include work hours for training, required meetings, CBTs, etc.

The 60% is a function of the ENTIRE 12 months preceding the absence
prompting the certification...for example... the contractual minimum value of a LH is 71 hrs...if a RSV, then the value of that month would be 78 hrs..... Add all those 12-month values up for the 365 days immediately preceding the absence, and as long as the FA has flown or been available (in the case of a Reserve FA) for at least 60% of that total, the FA  then HAS MET the 60% threshold. Contractually these calculations are to be done automatically by the ESC but now this explanation will hopefully allow a better understanding of how that calculation is met.

For this reason it is recommended that the FA should WAIT until there is an absence associated with the medical condition, rather than simply submitting the certification without a triggering absence, because the law speaks to eligibility based upon the 12 months prior to (and then approved for a period up to 12 months after) the “triggering absence”, i.e. the absence, whether for self or to care for a family member.

The phone number to call to put yourself on FML (when you have an approved FML case number already) is 1-800-FLT-LINE (1.800.358.5463) to reach a FAST Representative. [Follow the prompts to put oneself on or off SickLeave and advise the FAST Representative that you are using your approved Family Leave and Case Number.]  FAST will then send a notification to Scheduling (SK) that you won't be on your trip and will code the absence accordingly (and send that notification to your Inflight Supervisor). 

 If the FA has to miss a trip, does not yet have an approved FML Certification, and believes the absence will be a FML-eligible illness/injury, the FA would do the SAME as above, however, let the FAST representative know you are placing yourself "on Sickleave/Family-Leave-Pending"..... you then have 15 days from the start of the absence to submit the certification papers via HelpHub on Flying Together (simply access HelpHub and in the search box write “Family Leave”….you will receive a list of links, one being the link to submit a FML Request).  **Note: AFA recommends submitting the certification paperwork via HelpHub....as doing so has become more reliable than faxing and, as well, the FA retains the original paperwork AND receives an email confirmation that the paperwork was received.... something lacking in the fax process.

There is no need to obtain a Family Leave Case Number prior to submitting the FML Certification paperwork.  A case number will be provided in the communication from the Employee Service Center either granting, denying, or requesting additional information for the submitted FML Certification.  [***Please note, receiving a Request for Additional Information is NOT a denial of Family Leave.  Rather it is simply a request for clarification and such letter must include the specific additional information which is needed for further review of the FML Certification.]

For Intermittent use of Family Leave, once approved, the Certification would verify the FREQUENCY (for example, the number of occurrences per month) and DURATION (for example, the number of days the medical condition is anticipated to last per each occurrence).

·       Please note that the number of occurrences per month are registered by the CALENDAR month rather than the BID month. For example purposes only, if the FA is approved for 1-3 occurrences per month and calls ON FML for a pairing scheduled to depart January 29 but the February BID month starts on January 28th, this occurrence would be charged to the January CALENDAR month rather than the February BID month, even if the pairing would overlap from one calendar month to the next.

·       Another critical point to consider when using Family Leave is that the DURATION parameter should be certified by the Health Care Provider based upon how long the episode of the medical condition typically lasts and DOES NOT relate to the number of days of a Pairing that is to be missed. Using the same example as above, the Health Care Provider certifies that a medical condition may occur 1-3x per month, and the medical condition may prevent the FA from working for 1-2 days per occurrence.  In this circumstance, the FA could still use their approved FML for a 3 or 4-day pairing and would not exceed their approved Duration Parameter as long as the FA contacts FAST prior to the end of DAY TWO.  All 4 days of the Pairing will be designated as Family Leave, and all 4 days will be charged against the 78 days of allowable FML usage, BUT the duration parameter will not be considered to have been exceeded as long as the FA calls OFF (to END) the occurrence no later than the certified duration parameter of, in this example, 2-days.  If a Lineholder, the FA is not reassignable for the remaining day/s of the Pairing missed.