12.23.19 – What You Need to Know About Intermittent FMLA

Monday, December 23, 2019

How are Vacation Days Used for Intermittent FMLA?

(JCBA Section 25.F.2.)

FMLA for Self

“Caregiver” FMLA for a Family Member

Vacation days bid in the annual vacation process in blocks of seven (7) or more consecutive days will be paid and credited at four (4) hours per day at your current rate of pay. Vacation days in blocks of less than seven (7) consecutive days will be paid and credited at three and one-half (3.5) hours per day. Vacation days used for FMLA will be paid and credited based on your longevity at the time the vacation days are utilized. *

*Vacation pay for FMLA should be based on original block bid – Presidential Grievance Pending

FMLA and the Flight Service Attendance Policy

Attendance points will not be generated for days covered by FMLA.

If a banked point was used to mitigate a point generated by a sick absence, the banked point will be restored overnight after the absence is re-coded as FMLA.
ODANs, All-Nighter Turns, Double-Ups & Multiple Sequences

If you are scheduled to fly multiple sequences in one day, you call out sick for one of the sequences, and you plan to recode the absence with FMLA, the FASC will wait until all legs of your sequences have originated before recoding your absence.

Example:
You are scheduled to fly sequence 12345 which reports at 2140 HBT on the 9^th of the month and releases at 0500 HBT on the 10th. You are scheduled an ODAN (sequence 54321) reporting at 2300 HBT on the 10th and releases at 0500 HBT on the 11th. You called out sick for sequence 12345 and on the morning of the 10^th, requested a recode for that sequence.

The FASC will notate the call and advise you that they will process the recode when all legs of the sequence departing the evening of the 10th are completed to preserve the second sequence.

How to Call Out Sick for an FMLA Covered Illness

FMLA for Yourself
Contact Crew Schedule to call out sick for a sequence, standby, or reserve day of availability prior to calling the FASC for a recode.

“Caregiver” FMLA for a Family Member
Contact the FASC as far out in advance as possible to be removed from your sequence so that your absence may be coded to IV or FM.

Should your needs be unforeseeable and the FASC is closed, you should request a Personal Day (PO) from Crew Schedule. If Crew Schedule denies the PO, and you still need the day off, contact your FSM or a MOD at your based to request the Personal Day. After the PO is granted, contact the FASC within 48-hours of your return to work date to have the PO recoded as FMLA.

Calling In Well for FMLA Absences

With a valid FMLA designation on file and FMLA days available, you may call-in-well to the Flight Attendant Service Center. However, the time you notify the FASC ultimately determines your ability to Call-In-Well (CIW).

You must call the FASC between 0001 to 1430 HBT the day before you intend to be made available. The deadline to request to CIW is 1430 HBT.

You are unable to call in well and fly the same day.

If you call the FASC at 1530 HBT or 1802 HBT and leave a voicemail, the company has stated you would be ineligible to be made available for the following day, but depending on the duration of your sequence, you may be made available for 2 days out.

Example:
You are on a 3-day sequence beginning, Monday the 28th, reporting at 2050. You contact crew scheduling at 1900 to call out sick.

You immediately call the FASC to recode your absence to intermittent FMLA.

Since the FASC is closed at 1800, you leave a voicemail requesting to recode your absence to your FMLA case on file and requests to call in well for the next day (30^th) and the following day the (31^st).

In this example, you are not administratively eligible to be made available tomorrow as you missed the cut off time of 1430 HBT to be made available the following day. However, a FASC Representative will call you back in the morning explaining they were unable to make you available on the 30^th as your request was past the 1430 HBT request deadline, but they will make you available the 31^st.

Lineholders (JCBA Section 9.D.1.c.)

• • You may call in well at any time to pick up a sequence via TTS/UBL on days other than the first day of the sequence you called in sick.

• • If you call out sick for a trip over a weekend or holiday, and you call in well, you will not be restricted to the same number of weekend days. You will only need to pick up a trip that includes at least a weekend day or a holiday.

Reserves (JCBA Section 9.D.2.d.)

• • You must notify Crew Scheduling prior to 1430 HBT on the day prior to the RSV day to be available for ROTA processing.

• • If you notify Crew Scheduling after 1430 HBT the day prior, Crew Scheduling will not provide consent for the following day but may provide consent for 2 days out. You will be charged sick for the following day and will not be available to the company.

• • If you call in well, you may pick-up sequences via ETB for a future date.

How to Recode a Sick Absence

If you call out sick for a sequence, standby or reserve day, contact the Flight Attendant Service Center (FASC) within 2 days of returning to work from that absence.

Consider calling the FASC immediately after you call scheduling to recode your absence. 

You may reach the FASC to recode via the following 2 methods:

1. Call 800-VIP-CREW, press #, then press 6 followed by one of the options below:
   • Press 1 – For Training
   • Press 2 – For Absence Recording (Including FMLA) 
   • Press 3 – For Administration
2. Send an email to the following addresses:
   • [email protected] – (Absence recode requests)
   • [email protected] – (Administrative requests, maternity, leave of absence questions)

FMLA Utilization and Administrative Eligibility Hours

You may view your current FMLA utilization and eligibility hours in the MyView Section on the Flight Service Website.

Total Days Used 
The number of FMLA days you have used towards the annual allotment of 72 days.

FMLA Eligible Hours
Eligibility hours are calculated in a rolling 12-month period with the current month’s eligibility hours reflecting through the end of the previous month.

Example: 
November 2019 eligibility hours are a sum of November 2018 through the end of contractual October 2019.

On Duty Hours are calculated using the following: 

• All time from sign-in to debrief for each day of a sequence, including sit time between flights.
• Layover time is not counted.
• Only actual time worked is included – not the greater of scheduled or actual.
• 8:00 (eight hours) is credited for each day of training.
• 4:10 (four hours and ten minutes) is credited for each RSV day of availability on which you are obligated to the company but does no flying.
• Scheduled time (sign-in to debrief) for each trip removal for AP/UJ (APFA Removals).
• FA on Special Assignment will receive 6:00 (six hours).

Voluntary Leaves of Absence (VLOA) will reduce your On-Duty Hours (ODH) as there are no hours worked during those periods.

While you still accrue sick and vacation hours while on a VLOA, the required 504 FMLA eligibility hours are not dependent on sick and vacation accrual.

FMLA Medical Eligibility

For information pertaining to the medical portion of FMLA, please reach out to the APFA Health Department and visit the “Leaves” section of JetNet.

Additional information regarding intermittent FMLA can be found in Section 9 & Section 25 of the JCBA or you may email [email protected].

In Unity,

Erik Harris
APFA National Contract Chair